Beautiful artstyle with graphics that are very dated and look about as clunky as the game feels to play. The movement in this game feels sluggish and like you're pushing through stuff rather than building any kinda momentum, which is a mechanic in the game but is lost at the tiniest nudge of collision. There are forced combat sections with enemies that are very poorly designed. The worst ones are the swat officer and the runner cops. The runner cops you are supposively supposed to be able to take down, but i have tried time and time again to try and do that. It does not work. The swat officer is far worse, and the most common enemy in the game. You can't really punch them, and you can't really disarm them, so what you're left with is either shooting them or taking them down from above. They are also the most inconsistent enemy because even the developers knew they had made them way too punishing in certain sections. So they had to hardcode changes to their timings, hp, counterattacks etc to even make those sections remotely beatable. This results in a highly inconsistent, frustrating enemy which slows down the game constantly. The worst level thusly is one simply called "Boat". which is a level swarming with these guys, lacking in platforming at all, and has one of the worst bossfights in videogame history. You're basically dependent on disarming someone, and the timing is on a fraction of a section. you'd be hardpressed to know when to actually pull it off, because i couldn't. i think i just got lucky. Enjoy this game for the artwork and the beautiful and unique setting. and if you want a good game go play this games reboot: catalyst. the people who say this is better are purely working on nostalgia. but in no sense is the first mirrors edge better than catalyst. its clunky, dated, poorly executed, frustrating experience, with the only thing going for it being its style and music.
This is a puzzle game masking as an action game. it wants to be a movie, and its plotlines are a 10/10. The aesthetics and the general themes have influenced me so much, but the product jsut doesnt hold up as a good videogame. I can handle difficulty, but there is not really any payoff in the difficulty provided here. It is more of a relief to get through a difficult part, rather than a reward. it poses its levels as challenges one has to figure out like a puzzle, but it also throws in randomized elements into the mix, which leads to an rng-fest since you really have to plan everything before you go into the stage and start killing. I want a game where i feel i have control over the outcome of my actions when mastering the mechanics. but here, i do not feel that way. i feel utterly helpless and like the game forces me into a narrow box of choices, where as a good game lets you be creative and lets you express yourself in your own playstyle.
