Saturday, April 24, 2010

Mirror's Edge: The Aged Review

Ever wanted to run across rooftops and jump from building to building ? Even if you have never craved that, you should give this game a try. Mirror's Edge is about a woman who is trying to solve a couple mysteries all the while dodging the law due to her affiliation with a building-climbing underground group. Its a couple years old by now, but that just means it finally lives up to its value. When it first came out it was $60, but you can buy it now used for around $17. For that price, its a steal !

Story: 8/10 Its pretty good. This game is the first in what is supposed to be a trilogy. Its easy to follow, has some good murder suspense, and an evil corporation/ government. The characters don't really evolve that much in the story but they have to save something for the next two games.

Graphics: 9/10 Its not exactly Blu-Ray quality, but the whole feel of the game is dynamic. The environment is very simple but stylized. Even though its not complex, the color pallet and design are really captivating. The controls and movement through the world of Mirror's Edge is very smooth, fast, and visceral.

Sound: 7/10 The sound is pretty standard. When there is not much action going on in the game, the music is nice and almost fun. And of course during times of high action and chasing, the music gets really intense. There are times where the action last a long time which is fine, but the fast paced music gets old quick and makes it hard to concentrate and not panic.

Gameplay: 9/10 Its fun. The game itself is not that long. If you are a quick learner, you could easily crank this game out in a long Saturday. But there are also fun time trials to really help you perfect your Parkour skills. Its pretty easy to keep track of what is going on and there are lots of little challenges. You don't have to be amazing at video games to easily make it through to the end.

Overall: 8/10 This game it pretty good. Its not the best thing I've ever played, but there aren't a whole lot of other games out there like it. Its a very different experience from most video games and one worth having. The story is pretty short but the time trials give you something to play over and over.

Rent/Buy: Buy. I am doing this review on such an old game because it is so cheap. I got it at GameStop for around $17 plus I got the Edge Card discount which made it even cheaper. This game probably wasn't worth $60 but it is absolutely worth the new price. Plus it is the first in a trilogy. It is a game that you will probably revisit as the sequels come out. And with this on your shelf, friends will definitely want to borrow it off you.

Long story short is that many games arent worth their release price. I also have tendency for utilizing "retail therapy". So finding a game I passed up a couple years after its release can be really fun. It saves on the wallet and Im not bitter for dumping tons of money on a short game.

1 comment:

Linz said...

I thought this game sounded so intriguing when it first came out, and I remember Bret playing the demo over and over. We recently picked it up for a song on the PS3, and it does seem enjoyable. Definitely worth the price now.