1) Mirror’s Edge has been presented in a misleading way. This is not much of an action-adventure game, the story mode is only a fascinating, and flawed, introduction to the gameplay. With its great course design and original take on the first person perspective, the game shines in the time trials and in the speed mode: in a year with no SSX or Tony Hawk game, and with Skate 2 coming out in january, this is the trick game to buy.
2) The setting is fascinating, with distinctively orginal art design in the choice of colors and in the mood of the musical score. It’s a game that could only have been made in Europe. But many elements seem to have been forced later in development to make the game more “US friendly”. This is most apparent in some of the cut scenes and in the inclusion of compulsive fighting gameplay. Electronic Arts is showing great vision in releasing game like this one and Dead Space, but it’s probably still not comfortable enough to release a completely “off” game.
3) A lot has been said about the focus on story before the release of the game: DICE hired a professional writer to handle the plot, but the result is just another mediocre mystery set in a totalitarian society, a shame considered the unsettling beauty of the city the game is set in (and what’s probably the first ever nod to Pirandello in a video game). If Stuart Battle’s theory on the reason why movies based on games fail is right, something similar can be said about the use of professional screenwriters and novelists to pen stories in games: is it really a good idea to use them, considered that we have great storytellers like Ron Gilbert, a pioneer in video game stories, hidden in the the (glorious) sidelines of the industry?
