What made you a Mirrors Edge fan in the first place?

Gunsmithcat

I haven't found a similar topic, and i just wanted to make one.

I just loved the first game already before it was released. EA had a Demo out and i played it over over and over and i bought the game right at release. Eventually i bought it on Steam, and again on Origin during sales because that was the only way to get the DLC working. It was just so different and magnificient at that time, with the freedom the player has, and the pristine looking graphics, the great soundtrack, and amazing controls. It was also one of the few games where you could see your body, arms and legs, and not just floating hands holding guns that aren't attached to anything. The only other game that had this feature at that time (at least that i know of) was the ego-horror-shooter F.E.A.R. You can also see your own shadow which supports Immersion greatly! The general design of this game is just wonderful, and there is clearly so much thought and love poured into it.

Th official artwork for this game still fascinate me. Ist art in the best sense, i don't detect any cynism or "This stuff will sell!" thinking. Its like the people who made this game, simply let out their inner artist, without worrying about what some CEO might think, or how will it affect sales and blablabla. Clearly, its a labour of love.

I also always liked Skyscrapers per se. They are an amazing testament to the willpower, craftsmanship and spirit of humanity. I still fantasize sometimes how beautiful it must be to live up there. Still in the city, but so far up, that all the noise, dirt, stress and annoying people are just small and far away. You literarily look down on all the annoyance live in a city brings.

Also i liked Faith from the beginning. Her motivation to save her sister was so pure and real, it was easy to relate to. No gung-ho acting, no "Lets save the world" , just saving her dear sister. The moment after you saved her at the end, and they just hug is so moving. Her design was also very smart. Instead to do another busty sorta-model (which i don't mind either!), they went for a more sporty and realistic look. I can look into my cupboard and find clothes that look just like Faith's without even trying, but i never bought them because i wanted to look like Faith, but because her clothes are very common. Not exactly those, but very close. Black tanktops, grey pants for training, and red sneakers aren't special.

To call the city just "City" was brilliant. It could be any city in the world, or a city that was just build because anything looks new. Its not a specific place and i love that AND it also looked like it could exist already somewhere because it wasn't futuristic.

And last but not least the cutscenes. They have a very artsy feel, and the voice work is great. As a matter of fact, i want to become a voice actor as well, but training is very expensive. I will see what i can do about this.

Altogether i'd say the first Mirror's Edge is an underappreciated milestone in gaming and one of the few games i dig out at least once or twice a year and just play them again.

tinypanmilk

I think I love the original Mirror's Edge game so much because it's so different to other games. At the time, the gameplay, design and artwork were so fresh, completely unlike any other game. Still today, the only games I can recall that are similar are obviously Catalyst and franchises like Assassin's Creed, which really don't provide the first-person view or motion and feeling that Mirror's Edge does. Plus, to have a character like Faith, an Asian female character who was designed to be realistic as opposed to sexually appealing, and is fairly unrepresented in the media, was something so pure and beautiful. The game just had so much soul that wasn't available anywhere else. I'm still playing it today, debatably more than Catalyst in all honesty, because it never seems to run out of things to offer.

filipomel

Whenever I play a game there are a few main things I tend to focus on that make the game enjoyable for me, story, gameplay, originality and soundtrack. Both Mirror's Edge's lack in the story department, but the gameplay is just so immersive and fun I couldn't get enough of it when I played the original back in 2009, the whole concept is just so original. I never was, and still am not really into first person shooters, games like Call of Duty and Battlefield just don't appeal to me because of their lack of creativity (at least in my opinion), yes there are guns, yes you can shoot people, yes you're in a war, yada yada yada, Mirror's Edge was such a breath of fresh air, it was something new and something different and it still is today especially with the gameplay, art style, soundtrack, and like tinypanmilk said, the character Faith, was intended to be a person.

tinypanmilk

filipomel wrote: »

Whenever I play a game there are a few main things I tend to focus on that make the game enjoyable for me, story, gameplay, originality and soundtrack. Both Mirror's Edge's lack in the story department, but the gameplay is just so immersive and fun I couldn't get enough of it when I played the original back in 2009, the whole concept is just so original. I never was, and still am not really into first person shooters, games like Call of Duty and Battlefield just don't appeal to me because of their lack of creativity (at least in my opinion), yes there are guns, yes you can shoot people, yes you're in a war, yada yada yada, Mirror's Edge was such a breath of fresh air, it was something new and something different and it still is today especially with the gameplay, art style, soundtrack, and like tinypanmilk said, the character Faith, was intended to be a person.

I forgot to mention the soundtrack! The soundtrack isn't something I typically focus on when I'm playing a game, but the first Mirror's Edge game had an absolutely unforgettable soundtrack and you really noticed it. I know the tracks almost off by heart still to this day, and I think the music is one aspect of the game that truly gives it that soul and energy that makes me love it so much.

MichaelT

I was searching for "still alive" from portal, and saw the song from mirror's edge. Decided to listen to it, and then searched for the game. Ended up downloading it from piratebay, just to see what it was. I remember how blown away I was by the graphics and the gameplay. It just felt amazing, but it kept crashing every 5 minutes, so I went into town, bought a prepaid card of sorts, came back home and bought it on steam. I loved it so much, and to this day, I still play it occasionally.

Bird_Of_Faith

Mirrors edge got introduced to me by a good friend a few years back, I thought it was cool, but then I didn't have a computer to play it on, then finally when i got one, mirrors edge was the first game i bought on steam... Something clicked for me and I played the game soooo many times. It was that game that was right for me. I love dystopian stories, i love female protagonists, they're always powerful and tough, the soundtrack was absolutely suepurb, Faith was one character that just felt cool to play as in a game. There were no games similar to mirrors edge, it was one of the most amazing parkour games, in fact, I don't think I've seen parkour like mirrors edge ever in another game. Dying light did it pretty good, but it wasn't as memorable as mirrors edge. So when catalyst was announced, my hype for those 3 years of waiting was sooo real!! I was ready to join the runners again, and i fell in love with the franchise...

tinypanmilk

I discovered the game when my cousin was playing the demo on his Xbox. He said it was pretty cool, but didn't particularly want to buy the full game. So I went out and bought it for myself. Thank God for free demos. I really hope there's a sequel to Catalyst, in any case, because this franchise still has so much potential.

ArchAngeL_777

It's just a very cool concept. The idea of a first person, free flowing parkour game was totally new. The colors and art direction were a big part of what caught my eye before I ever played it. Faith is one of the coolest looking video game characters I've ever seen. I got it when it released and was hooked on the running immediately. Not just how smooth it can be, but all the different places you can go and explore in the game. The use of music in the game was excellent as well.

So for me Catalyst expanded the IP perfectly. They kept the same colors and general art direction of the first game, but then gave us the massive open world with tons of places to explore and things to do. I spent hours and hours even after the story was over exploring the rest of the world, doing side quests, etc. I still haven't found all the collectibles either. To me they have perfectly captured the freedom of what it means to be a parkour runner literally going anywhere and doing whatever they want.