Reach Great Heights in Mirror’s Edge

In an interview conducted with gaming enthusiast, Dima Semenchenko, a recent high school graduate who is planning on attending college for 3D Animation Art and Design, we discover what was great and what was not so hot about Mirror’s Edge. 

What is your favourite game and what score would you give it?

My favourite game of all time has to be Mirror’s Edge, and in my books it’s a 9/10. 

What made you pick this game up and play it over all the others? (good advertising, attractive characters, theme, etc.)

I have always been interested in games and Mirror’s Edge pushed the boundaries of what was possible in a game. I have been doing parkour and free-running for a while now, so when a game like Mirror’s Edge was released, it was a dream come true because it allowed me and the parkour/free-run community to see what is possible.

Another reason why I picked up this game over all the others would have to be the company behind it. DICE is an amazing company and as a daily player of the Battlefield series––which is a fantastic game as well––when I found out DICE was behind Mirror’s Edge that made me all the more excited for the game.

Something else to keep in mind is the fact that games like these just aren’t made, so when Mirror’s Edge came around, the uniqueness of the game was mind-blowing. Also, the use of the world was great because you can find your own path to complete levels rather than using one linear route which would––even with all the other aspects of the game––make it boring.

The reasons why this game beats most others is endless, but to the last thing I want to address is the soundtrack. The trance/techno/D&B aspect made you feel more immersed in the game and brought that big intercut world of white and colours to life while you are leaping over buildings, smashing down doors and fighting your way through the world of Mirror’s Edge.  

What’s your favourite feature of the game?

My favourite feature of the game is the first-person view because of the type of game this is (parkour/free-run). Having that first-person view made it more realistic with each climb, punch, and roll that [the protagonist] Faith does.

If you could change one aspect of it, what would you change and why?

One aspect of the game that I would change would be to increase the fluidity of the character’s movements to allow you to seamlessly continue after a fight, or that annoying stop Faith does after each high jump onto the large red mat. The game, in my eyes, is all about fast, fluid momentum with the environment and freedom that the game gives you. When that momentum and fluidity stops, the game stops. And it just adds to the annoyance of having to start a run and get back into that momentum all over again, again and again. So if that would be changed for the next one, it would make the game much, much more enjoyable. 

So it’s rumoured that Mirror’s Edge 2 is in the works with the release date unknown, but how do you feel about what the press has revealed about it so far? Do you think it’ll be a hit or a flop?

I feel more excited than ever from what I saw live at E3 after the Battlefield 4 multiplayer trailer, when the announcer said something along the lines of: “Here’s something you’ve all been waiting a long time for.” When the first opening of the song came up, I almost lost it. After watching the trailer for Mirror’s Edge 2 more than ten times, I have a pretty good understanding of what to look forward to. But to add onto that, the fact that they decided to make Mirror’s Edge 2 an open-world game blew my mind to the possibilities that they created just by making it open-world. Also, from what I saw on the debut trailer, there are many improvements like the change in fighting moves from one to another to create a fluid knock-out combo. The graphics obviously look amazing, and for PC, which is my primary gaming system, I know will look beautiful as always. I love that they improved the fighting and made it more badass, like when Faith flips the guy through the air and smashes his helmet. You can really see that they improved the combat in the game.

Well, the first game, because it was unique to the market back when it was released in 2008 for consoles and 2009 for Microsoft Windows, didn’t make as much money as the company would hope but throughout the years I have seen the interest in Mirror’s Edge skyrocket and the excitement and interest is continuously growing. So I think that Mirror’s Edge 2 will be a massive hit and bring great new elements to the next gen games.

There you have it! Mirror’s Edge is a great game and deserves more credit than it got. Look out for Mirror’s Edge 2 and keep supporting the incredible people who create these fantastic games.