It was also misunderstood by some people, and one particular critic, who shall remain namless. One common critique of the game was that it wasn't a good shooter. Yes, I'll agree and say the gunplay wasn't all the great. Floaty aiming, lack of impact. It was throwaway, and that's exactly what I didw with it. I threw away the gunplay, because Mirror's Edge is not about guns. It's about the freerunning. It's about being in a panic while trapped in gunfire and finding a way out. The game was also brutal on people who didn't have the patience to learn how to tackle the game's levels. It was criticized for its trail and error, but that's what kept me coming back, looking for that one route that would let me slip by all the armed guards, that one platform that I could kick off of and reach that ledge. It was a game that my friend and I really adored and we always wanted a sequel for it.
Thus began the waiting process. Rumors of DICE making a sequel went on for quite some time, but instead of giving us our sequel, they made a new Battlefield game. It's where EA wanted them. Battlefield was popular, Mirror's Edge less so. But then, a year or two ago at E3, a teaser was unveiled for Mirror's Edge Catalyst. A new Mirror's Edge was happening! It was like waking up from a dream and having what you dreamt materialize right in front of you! WE WERE GETTING A SEQUEL!
When news of a Mirror's Edge Catalyst beta was announced, I quickly signed up for it, but I had to wonder... A beta? For a single player game? That's odd... I was one of the many chosen for the beta and was given a code plus another to give to a friend, so I gave it to my friend whose love of Mirror's Edge equals my own. We downloaded it! We played it! We ... walked away disappointed.
Something happened It looks like Mirror's Edge. It plays like Mirror's Edge... but it's not as fun as Mirror's Edge. It was changed. It was changed to fall in line with a certain set of design trends that have become standard fair with today's AAA industry. For starters, gone is the chapter structure of the game's campaign. It is instead an open world game. Now, being set in an open world isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn't really fit in this universe. Parkour in Mirror's Edge Catalyst is a lot of fun, but when you start running the same delivery missions again and again, it becomes somewhat of a chore.
What's most likely the biggest offender here is the skill tree system. "Well, what's wrong with a skill tree? I like skill trees," you might say. Let's begin with the fact that the first game didn't have a skill tree and basic moves in Mirror's Edge Catalyst such as quick turning and rolling are locked behind them. There's no point. Faith (the main character) is a freerunner and moves such as rolling is something that should already be learned. It's Parkour 101. Instead, the skill tree system serves as justification for the open world. You can't do certain things to access certain areas until you've unlocked certain moves. And in order to unlock them, you'll be running around the city looking for XP pick ups and running dull delivery missions. It felt less like Mirror's Edge and more like Assassin's Creed without the Assassining the more I played it.
There's also the static nature of the open world. Granted, the game does look stunning from a modern art point of the view, but the city just feels... sterile. There is barely any kind of buzzing going on. There are random people perched on rooftops that don't do anything. There's no one outside of mission givers to interact with. It feels like you're stuck inside a giant department store's mannequin display. It's filler. There's no other way to describe it. Useless padding. Why was this even considered? What is that saying about the current state of AAA games? It can't be worth our money, worth our time playing, unless we're putting in several hours of pointless wandering and running around? That may work in games like Assassin's Creed and Grand Theft Auto and Watch Dogs, but Mirror's Edge isn't any of those. Also, their open worlds actually had life to them. If you're going to do an open world game, you need to breathe some life in it.
I'd like to share a video my Mirror's Edge loving friend shared to me that pretty much sums up why Mirror's Edge Catalyst decided to be like other games.
It's a crying shame really, because Mirror's Edge Catalyst didn't need to be like other games. That's what made the first Mirror's Edge stand out. It did its own thing. The reviews have been coming in and while they're mostly positive, they tend to share the same sentiment. The game didn't need a skill tree, and the open world is nothing but distracting fluff.
I really would love to end this blog by saying, "No dice, DICE," but I'll still end up getting the game. The story related stuff I did play was classic Mirror's Edge, but I'm afraid too much of the game has been altered making it not worth full price for me. Quite frankly, if this game came out three or four years earlier, I might not have been that bothered, but this was one of the few original game I've been DYING to have a sequel and then this is what we get? Thanks a lot, DICE.
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