So here we go, another AAA title released by the infamous EA and DICE team. Are they going to hold their already given name or will they change and fix all their issues that they are known for creating when releasing a new game?
Mirrors edge is a game about a woman who is fighting against K-sec or Kruger Sec a government security company responsible for killing her parents when she was young. Faith (the main character) becomes a runner to go against the system by fighting Ksec using no weapons, only hand to hand combat to achieve what was developed by K-sec. Faiths main goal is finding out information about what really happened while running away and hiding from Ksec and helping her friends out by delivering messages using parkour a free running/climbing style of movement., the whole game is set in futuristic glass orientated city, that is ‘almost perfect’. The whole game takes place on the rooftops and inside buildings and the first time and only time you touch the floor is in the beginning of the game, it creates for a unique atmosphere.
Okay so let’s talk about what EA is common for doing, which is charging the full amount for the game and only giving half then asking the people to pay even more for what should have been in the game from the start; however with this game they haven’t done this. The game feels pretty complete to me, there’s nothing lacking in the game that could make it better than it already is. This game is already a massive improvement over the first game, in terms of physics and graphics and player ability. Mirrors Edge was a game that EA knew if they ruined it with the second one, they would lose a massive audience of supporters.
The game has three primary colours being Red, White and Black with one or two other colours here or there, but as simple as this may sound the game has been visually improved and the graphics can be outstanding at times, EA and Dice have gone to town using the unreal 4 engine to create the game world. This game also has no HUD when playing, there is a map and a guide line that helps you if you want but it can be disabled if needs be, the game also has very little hand holding which is good, and the cut scenes are skip able if needs be.
That’s all the goodness though, the game also has a few bad sides to it, for example when you do a slide, the floor is really badly rendered were you see pixels and just how badly it’s done, also the adverts on the billboards are terribly done, they are impossible to read/view even though they are so large and are ment to be viewed, the game also has a few frame rate issues when running and loading a vast amount of textures, but my biggest dislike/fault that I thought that EA needs to fix is that when there are Ksec guards in the area and you attack then run away and hide behind A BUILDING the guards can sometimes shoot you and the bullets actually hit you. EA and Dice are still not perfect but they have definitely improved in that department.
The physics and the view point of the game are still the same as the first game, however you can see more of faiths body and the parkour rolls after free falling have also improved, they feel more crisp and the running feels a lot more like gliding as there is very little head bob and feel to the game, it’s an improvement but it has taken away from that connected feeling.
One of the greatest things about this game is that it doesn’t have pay to win, this is something that is slowly creeping in, however it has been kept out.
This is a really great game that I found myself coming back to every time I took a break from my games I always play. The Storyline kept me interested and the fighting mechanics are great, making for good gameplay, and the best thing about this game is that it feels complete, and it isn’t lacking any content.
I would 10/10 play it again and would recommend it to everyone. It’s a great change from the classics that EA normally make such as battlefield; it’s a unique genre that EA have got as close to perfect as possible.