Mirror's Edge: A Summary

I wouldn't usually describe myself as one of unusual taste when it comes to games. True, I'm one of those boring people who'd rather poke themselves in the eye with a stick than play Modern Warfare, but apart from that most of the games I really, really like are fairly popular. Fallout 3, Bad Company 2, Max Payne 1 and 2, Tomb Raider 2 - they didn't just go down a treat with me, they had great market success too. Mirror's Edge, it seems, is an exception. Just about everyone I know who has the game complains, usually about the brief story mode, but also about the small number of combat moves or the lack of lengthy free-running sessions. Believe it or not, I've spent longer on Mirror's Edge than I have Red Dead Redemption, GTA IV or Gears of War. 

Don't mistake this article for an endless list of praises of the game. It is as a tall Scottish acquaintance of mine would say, 'a flawed gem', and there are plenty of things I still grind my teeth about whenever I play it. The amount of vent-crawling and elevator travel, the mind-numbingly dull cartoon cutscenes, Merc always being needlessly impatient; the list goes on. I can't blame anyone for being let down by a story that lasts four hours either. However Mirror's Edge manages to connect with me in ways that most games don't, in an different kind of beauty. 

Personally, I think Mirror's Edge has the best art style ever made for a game. I don't mean 'it has pretty colours' - sure, the colour scheme is great, but I think for once the use of colour and light actually fits with the plot of the game itself. It's a police-ruled fascist society, and while this kind of dystopia is usually complemented with a palette of dark, dingy greys and browns (see: V for Vendetta, Schindler's List, Half-Life 2) Mirror's Edge is instead glistening and radiant. The city is a shining white metropolis beneath a warm blue sky, and while it appears to be a happy place to live, it's finding the deceit of this that hits the player so hard. It even goes deeper than that, think of what white represents - purity, but also monotony and the absence of free expression. In contrast, the striking red of the rebellious Runners. Red has often been the colour of defiance, often by left-wing rebels in Central American countries. It hits hard against its white background, without having the dead feel of black. You can say I'm reading too much into this, but after playing through the game plenty of times it's clear to see that Dice thought long and hard about using colour as a tool for storytelling. 

My second point might be more of a personal one, but it's not a technique that hasn't been used before. Players will probably notice that by the end of the game, they still know little or nothing about the context of the game. That might seem like a flaw on the surface, but think about other examples of gaming's artistic triumphs, for example Shadow of the Colossus and Limbo. Read any review and you'll undoubtedly hear how encapsulating the total ambiguity of the stories are. In one you're an unnamed warrior in an unknown kingdom, tasked with fighting mysterious giants to save your wife from death, in another you're an unnamed boy in an unknown forest, tasked with finding your sister and escaping from a horrifying situation you don't remember getting yourself into. The game doesn't need to tell you the whole story, because quite simply, the possibilities flying around in your head take you so much deeper. 

Less on the artistic side is Mirror's Edge mastery of the first-person view. Let's face it; this generation has flogged the FPS' proverbial horse to death, and by the time the next console turns up there will probably be nothing we haven't seen twice before. Here, Mirror's Edge stands totally out from the crowd. It's in first person, but you're not carrying a gun (unless you pick up an enemy's, but only to be dropped again promptly), there's no ever-present HUD reminding you that you're not really looking through the eyes of a human, and perhaps most impressively, you can actually see your body. This has been done a couple of time before, in games such as FEAR, Halo 2 + 3 and various military sims, but never with so much detail and with such brilliantly smooth animation. Everything from the biceps down is visible, and looking down to see your legs treading air whilst leaping across a 20-foot rooftop gap in slow-motion is truly stunning. 

Love this game as I might, of course I admit games are all down to opinion, and despite everything that strikes a chord with me, it's still not going to be everyone's cup of tea. As I said, amidst its peaks, it's not without its frustrations and for some they will be the game's undoing. Regardless, for what it's worth, I think that Mirror's Edge should truly be respected for doing something different, even if it perhaps didn't go as far as it should have. I might have triple-starred every time trial and mastered every speed run, but I know I'll be coming back to Mirror's Edge time and again these coming years. 

Demo-Down!

Well, the title certainly makes it sound more exciting than it really is. I won't lie, the lack of decent post flow on this blog is not due to laziness this time, it really is due to a lack of things to report. Sure, I could tell you I've been playing through Dead Space, Metro 2033 etc but nothing particularly spectacular happened. So out of boredom I, and out of wanting to buy a new game soon, I've tried a selection of demos. Quick report on each:

Blacklight: Tango Down: This is a very basic FPS, and does attempt to be anything more. Futuristic society, police vs rival factions, you've seen it all before and it skips straight to the chase. This sounds like a good plan for just a small, casual game, and for the most part the game delivers. It's easy to pick up and play, and considering the 1200msp price having a co-op enabled campaign as well as competitive multiplayer it's not bad, though I would say due to the lack of depth in the gameplay it's not exactly something I could play for hours on end.

Condemned: This, in short, was great. In the 20 minutes the game gives of gameplay, I could see that the game is incredibly innovative and delivers in many areas most horror games don't. It replaced Silent Hill/FEAR's supernatural and mysterious enemies with the gritty, psychopathic edge of SAW (without the hordes of dreadful sequels). Expect merciless, bone-crushing death on every corner.

Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days: They say that in the early stages of Mirror's Edge's development, playtesters got too motion-sick to play, hence the dot in the middle of the screen to keep the brain focused on one area. Unfortunately, this sort of good idea appears not to have occured to Io Entertainment, who have created the first game I have played to make me feel physically sick for the following hour. Apart from that nauseating shaky camera, I was also unconvinced by the seemingly invincible Lynch, and the overwhelming stupidity of the storyline ('RAAAGH IT'S MORRALY JUSTIFIED TO KILL ALL THESE POLICEMEN BECAUSE I HAVE A DAUGHTER'). The dirty feel of the city and the strained relationship of the two protagonists was impressive, though.

Limbo: Wow. This was a mindblower. Limbo is incredibly simple considering the vast bulk of modern games, but the atmosphere of the game, and the utter mystery surrounding your predicament raise it above the standard of hundreds of other titles. It's got the beautiful ambiguity of Shadow of the Colossus, the darkness of Fallout 1 and 2, and the genius of Portal in its platforming elements, even if it is in 2D. Will certainly buy when I have the funds.

Mafia II: Disappointment, in short. The shooting feels slick and the effects of bullets thudding into different materials was very nice, but I wasn't really wowed by the atmosphere, and the city didn't seem all that populated - we should be expecting a large-scaled achievement after all this time we've been waiting. If there's a big variety in missions and the city has much more exciting places than the ones I saw, then I'm probably sold. But as of now, I was definitely hoping for more.

Monday Night Combat: My man Azo is made the animations for this game (check his ninja skills out at www.youtube.com/azoazotube) and it certainly shows. There are plenty saying this is a copy of Team Fortress 2, and in a few ways it makes sense. The light-hearted feel of the combat, the cel-shaded graphics, the over-enthusiastic announcer and ridiculously proportioned characters make for a few similarities, as does the casualness of the game in general. However, it feels like a fun game to play a few matches of here and there, though probably nothing to get dedicated to.

That's all the demos I've been playing recently, as well as unhealthy quantities of Mirror's Edge (just tonight got that final, sweet 100g achievement to polish the game off) and, surprisingly, Call of Duty: World at War. My fondness of that game comes in phases, no doubt I'll go back to hating it soon.

As far as reviews go, I shall be writing Dead Space and Toy Story 3: The Video Fame (YEEAAHH) soon for ps3xboxreviews.com. Speaking of which, check the site within a few days from now and my Metro 2033 review should be up.

Thanks for reading folks.

Merch Purchasin'

Well I've decided that with a lack of games to buy (for now, until Halo: Reach that is) then I may as well buy some game-related cheap thrills. Risky business since I already owe money to EnglishCarBomb, three divisions of the Russian Mafia, and most dangerously my mum, but I'm kinda fed up of Ms McFarlane looking so alone on my wall. 

So I've decided that the wall above my monitor shall be filled with game posters. You may notice that there is a Mirror's Edge one there. This took a little effort as there haven't ever been official posters made for the game, except for the crappy 'Wanted' posters for Faith that were put up in American universities. So this one is actually a custom poster that I ordered off www.1clickprint.com and I'm actually really impressed with the quality of it. Just sent them that 1920x1080p image I found of Faith on Google and the rest is history. Would recommend seeing as it only cost me a tenner.

I've also ordered a huge Assassin's Creed poster off eBay. It's 36" by 24" and has a pretty nice, simplistic design. If you wanna see it it's here.

Aside from posters, I ordered a fairly cheap Fallout 3 t shirt from Hong Kong which has the old 'Prepare for the Future' flyer on it that you see around the game. I also attempted to buy the 'Outlaws to the End' t shirt that I saw the bassist of Atreyu wearing at Download, but shipping costs a bomb unless you use the shipping method only allowed for the US military, which I learnt you're not allowed to use the hard way... I'll get round to buying it when I have sufficient funds for the shipping.

Happy gaming gents, I have reviews for Red Dead and Bioshock 2 up on the reviews blog, and expect a Metro 2033 review on ps3xboxreviews.com soon. 

The beginning of something?

Afternoon readers, I come bearing news. Thanks to Sam Spencer who, at the mention of his name on my clearly world-famous blog, is without a doubt squirming and giggling in excitement, I managed to find a website that will take my reviews and rants on board. They're a small site just getting going called www.ps3xboxreviews.com. 

The idea is, as expected, that I write reviews of relatively new games and I will deliver in every way I can. Which does mean that the only reviews I shall post on my review blog will be of old games that the site has no need for, as they cannot allow me to post the same things on both the blog and their site which is fair enough as they want original content. SO, for the slower ones out there:

- This blog will now mainly consist of retrospectives (such as the Halo 3 and Bad Company 2 'summaries' and update posts, or mildly funny anecdotes like the glitch report of Red Dead.

- My game review blog will have a Red Dead review soon (as ps3xboxreviews already has one) and from there on out will contain reviews of old games I'm catching up on, such as Dead Space.

- ps3xboxreviews will have reviews of new games and articles concerning contemporary games.

Thanks to anyone who ever read anything on either of my blogs, probably wouldn't have had any confidence in my work if I thought I was endlessly writing to nobody, and while ps3xboxreviews isn't exactly a job, it might be the beginning of something bigger for the future. 

New setup and the mighty gaming all-nighter

Gentlemen!It has been too long. Summer has just begun and so has the gaming, bolstered by not only a couple of games borrowed from EnglishCarBomb and a rental of The Force Unleashed, but also my new 24" monitor. Finally, a 1920x1080 screen in my house. Sparing you the cheesy pose this time, the setup looks like this.

The laptop is gonna have to stay on a nearby chair as getting any permanent means is simply impossible. You may notice the Red Dead poster also; it's the beginning of a gaming poster-clad wall that I will fill to the brim with Fallout 3, Mirror's Edge, Alan Wake and maybe Assassin's Creed prints. Gonna need money for that though, as always...

You might on the off-chance have noticed the time of writing of this post. I'm currently taking a break in the midst of an all-night gaming session, repeating a high point of last summer. Admittedly, it's without a titanic task to work against like last instance's Call of Duty 4: Mile High Club on Veteran difficulty, but I'm playing a variety of my games instead. Currently experiencing a bit of a headache but am confident that, like last time, I'll feel more awake when the sun comes up in about an hour. Woo?

Anyway, thanks for stopping by, I'll try to keep myself sustained...

Halo 3: A Summary

Halo 3 had a strange sort of fame, didn't it? If you're gamer and you were of conscious mind in 2007, you can't possibly have forgotten the hype surrounding the Halo trilogy's conclusion, and indeed the impact it had upon its release. News stations everywhere were astounded by the numbers of copies sold, and online matches being played at once, while games magazines and sites threw review scores of 9s and 10s, accompanies by the classic over-excited juvenile gamers shouting in comments, 'this is the best game everr!!!!!!!!!!'. It didn't take long before almost every Xbox 360 owner had a copy, and this is, arguably, the point which put console gaming on the map as one single project dominated the entire industry.

And while it would be foolish to say that Halo 3 is undoubtedly the best game ever to be created, it's also hard to say they're far from wrong in terms of what the game offers. Put aside arguments of the storyline not being finished, or the gameplay being 'slow', or the physics being 'dumb'. Bungie, in Halo 3, seek to give you two things. Firstly: everything. You've got a campaign which, while fairly brief, is brilliantly varied in its mission design and locations. It's available to play co-operatively with four people - online, split-screen, or both at the same time. This is presented with absolutely stunning graphics and an unmatched attention to detail, and an unforgettable soundtrack complementing every moment. After that, there's the multiplayer, featuring probably the most innovative ranking system ever, the perfect balance of competitiveness and silliness and, perhaps most importantly, admirable amounts of support from Bungie, with new playlists and updates on a regular basis.

Put together, this makes an incredible game. But then, you're given Bungie's second gift: more. Playing a few rounds with your friends in Custom Games is a blast due to the innumerable amounts of settings that can be tweaked. How about a game of Rockets with 50% gravity, or just Magnums with 25% health? Even doing this would just be scratching the surface of the possibilities. Playing these matches on normal maps is fine, but you're also given the option of creating your own. The community has shown the vast potential of this; a quick look at the Millennium Falcon map, or the flying Elephant troop transport on Sandtrap shows this well enough. Lastly, you're able to record your gameplay via the Theatre, capturing your funniest or most skilful moments from either campaign or multiplayer, and being such a well-built tool that it even kicked off the Machinima movement.

This surely sounds like pathetic Bungie worship from a fanboy, but think about it. This game came out at retail price, but gives you twice, perhaps threefold what your average shooter does. The first six months of my Xbox 360 ownership were spent on this, and I can scarcely remember a moment I wasn't enjoying it.

Yet given a month or two after its release, and the cynicism began. Damning remarks of 'boring campaign', or 'overrated kid's game' echoed across the internet, often from the ever-so-intelligent PC fanbase. Even fans of the Halo franchise expressed their disappointment in the ending of the story arc (no pun intended), and many gamers, wanting a faster shooting experience, turned to Call of Duty 4, giving no better reason than 'Halo 3 sucks'. So much so, that while it remained consistently played by millions every day, it was still commonplace to hear how the game was a waste of time, only to be played by kids.

I understand, to a degree, the kneejerk response of Halo 3 being 'overrated'. In fact, I think I agree it was. It's not the best game ever; it hasn't revolutionised the FPS, and isn't so much fun that I'm still able to play it for hours today. Half-Life 2's perfection of physics, graphics and characters still ring brilliantly true whenever I see it in play, but for me, Halo 3 says something different. It set a standard, a best possible benchmark for what we should be expecting of our games. Gaming is coming closer and closer to its place in mainstream media which, arguably, it deserves, and the development of games is a million-dollar industry, and yet we are accepting time and again games which offer a six-hour campaign and a tacked-on multiplayer. Halo 3, a whole three years ago, let me save a screenshot of me headshotting an enemy with a bullet that bounced off the floor, make a map that mimicked the Omaha Beach D-Day Landings, play hundreds of unique custom games and give me one of the most replayable campaigns and multiplayer experiences I've ever had. Like Halo or not, this is a package willing to be built and released by so few developers today.

I don't ask you to like Halo 3, but I believe it at least warrants a great deal of respect. I do ask that you look at what you're paying £40 for, and wonder if anything near the amount of time and effort has been put in in comparison, now that the Xbox 360's best-selling title has shown the potential. There are games I have enjoyed more, but there have been none that have been bigger.

People: Multiplayer's Ultimate Nemesis

Having played the absolute holy hell out of the single-player campaign of Red Dead Redemption, I recently decided I tried out the multiplayer. I was fairly reluctant of this, as I had previously thought it resembled GTA IV's too much; in which you'd be able to run around doing nothing or join matches which weren't fun. Fortunately, I was proven wrong and discovered that when I had tried out the free roam earlier, and found myself constantly jumping off cliffs and thinking 'is this it?' I had been in ignorance of the mountains of things to do, and how surprisingly enjoyable the competitive matches are. Not quite sure how I missed those minor details out.

I had expected, albeit with rather odd logic, that Red Dead's single player was so good and so detailed that there was no way it would be a game that can indeed hold its own on multiplayer alone. The maps are great, weapons are balanced and while the game types are fairly standard, they do require decent tactics and teamwork for the most part, and it's been a good ride so far. The problem I have come across time and again, however, is right beneath our noses and it is something that Rockstar can never stamp out with patches and updates. It's the players.

Using insantiy-inducing quantities of advertising for Red Dead has unfortunately given the game blockbuster status, and this has brought the wrong crowd: the Call of Duty crowd. Everywhere you go, it's 'Xx ViiZiiOnZzZ xX' this and 'Io Kr0NiiKzZz oI' that, and without fail one of them has to ruin my fun in some way or another. Doing a sharpshooter challenge in free roam which involved killing certain types of wild animals proved nigh impossible the other day, as I was consequently faced with some utter buffoon I found wandering in the forest (on his own, I would like to add) who would not stop killing me. Being the altruistic turn-the-other-cheek lovely man that I'm not, I didn't retaliate in the hope that he'd stop too. Unfortunately, he took my moving away from him not as a message of 'I'm not deathmatching with you' but as 'I am running away from you as I am scared of your huge skills, please don't kill me, you're great at this game and I am not'. I eventually got lost my temper at the fellow and I was so awfully cross that I sent him a message to the modernised jist of 'Crumbs, I wish you would have the common decency to differentiate between a free roaming exercise and a match of Queensbury Rules with firearms. You utter cad.' He didn't take too well to this and we ended up in a long message-off -  in which I discovered that people from South London do in fact use the double 'i's and alternating capitals as standard form, in such messages I received as 'oK iiM GoNNa KiiL Yu' -and him following me around for the next half hour, shooting me in the back whenever he wasn't hopelessly emptying rounds into the floor. He didn't prove much of a fighter in the end, as when I at last took the bait, turned around and killed him six times in a row he left the session. Probably went back to terrorising old women at the park.

The problem is, this wasn't a unique occasion. I get angry post-match messages, kids screaming complaints on team chat, and these dreadful bloody gamertags all over the place. Soon enough, CoD kids will have not only spread onto every multiplayer game, but will begin to spread their influence into real life. People will be screaming 'NOOB TUBE' at tubes of Smarties, quickscoping with the binoculars you get at the Opera, and shouting 'ENEMY AC-130 IN THE AIR' whenever a plane goes overhead by, at the latest, 2015. They'll call it: The Apocalypse.