TSA’s Top 100 of 2011 – #13 Mirror’s Edge 2

Bear with us. Remember way back in October when we announced our (insane) intention of chronicling 100 games up to the end of the year in descending order of how much we’re looking forward to them? Remember when we alluded to one title in particular we had some concern about leaving in? Enter Mirror’s Edge 2.

Let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way first. Mirror’s Edge 2 is in development. It may not be talked about one hundredth as much as some of the other titles in this compendium but, as something that is real in our current dimension, Mirror’s Edge 2 exists. The evidence is in the fact it’s already been confirmed, but also because it’s unlike EA to start something and then abandon it completely. Admitting that a small, core team are working hard on the sequel, we’re hoping EA DICE are re-reading every single review of the first game in an effort to weed out the many – sometimes crippling – issues the Mirror’s Edge 1 had.

Proving EA are not just in the business of churning out vapid sequel after sequel or insipid and possibly inappropriate spin-offs, 2008 saw the arrival of two new bold IPs from the mega-publisher: the sci-fi horror gore-fest Dead Space and the parkour-inspired FPR (first-person runner) Mirror’s Edge.

Sporting a stark, austere aesthetic of bold, clean colours and a strong female protagonist in Faith, EA were obviously taking a risk going in a direction quite literally none had gone before. Though their trailblazing is to commended, Faith slipped on more than a few occasions during her futuristic quest against a totalitarian regime, with reviews of the game scattered across the entire score spectrum.

Where EA will go with Mirror’s Edge 2 we have honestly no idea. We’re hoping they take the chains off Faith a little, allowing her to experience the full world they’ve just begun to unveil. Mirror’s Edge was criminally linear, with little sense of freedom on offer as Faith progressed from A to B almost on rails. Imagine an open city replete with almost endless different paths to an end goal. Tighten up the melée and, dare we say it, could multiplayer work in a Mirror’s Edge 2? We know EA have a strong mandate to insert online elements into all their games (it’s a real money-spinner in terms of the follow on digital distribution model) but could Mirror’s Edge 2 actually be a good candidate for collaborative and competitive multiplayer? Teams of two players helping each other to reach the zenith of an impregnable building, insurmountable to a lone-climber? Or a race with multiple couriers darting across a precarious city-scape. These are just our assumptions. Wherever EA go with Mirror’s Edge 2 we believe it will be a superior offering than its predecessor. Could we see Faith again in 2011? Stranger things have happened.

38 Comments

  1. I can’t wait…I hope this definitely happens and hope it’s good…I loved the first one!

  2. The first one was a refreshing change to a market filled with copy,paste FPS’ and adventure games. Had no idea there was a sequel in development but really glad there is! :D

    • Same, I had no idea either.

      I just hope fifteen million button combos are no longer necessary. Okay, maybe that was a slight over exaggeration.

  3. I adored the first too. It pains me that it didn’t sell better, and I’m hoping they get a great sequel out the door.

    Damn, might have to go and play it again now…

  4. I thought the first was distinctly average, but an original idea. This wouldn’t be so high up on my own list but definitely one to keep an eye on!

  5. I’d like to see Mirror’s edge 2 do much better than the original outing. Will be keeping an eye on it.

  6. I can’t remember this getting announced!?! This has just brightened up my day! :D

    • Haha it got announced literally after the first one released i believe they said a small amount of people were working on it! but i hope they improve it i loved the 1st bit too short though

  7. I hope they improve it. A lot

    • It had it’s flaws but it had the potental to be an awesome game. As Kovacs said they need to read every review and adress evry single fault that the game had whilst keeping the core element of the game and it’s sequel will be simply amazing.

  8. Well i’m very surprised marmite wasn’t mentioned in this article. I’m afraid i’m of the camp that hated the game and am frankly shocked it appears so highly in this list. The art style was about the only decent part of mirrors edge in my opinion, the game design was almost unplayable with zero signposting in a game that seriously needed signposting.

    • There was a whole ton of sign posting! Obviously, that was turned off as you chose harder difficulty levels, but for Easy and Normal, the main route you were to take was clearly highlighted by the dynamic appearance of red and other colours as you ran through the level.

      • I only played it to about half way through but the lack of signposting was the reason i knocked it on the head. Perhaps i was missing something. Sure the obstacles to get over and under were red, but there were multiple occasions i just didn’t know where i was meant to be going. I think you clicked r3 to show you the final destination, but often that was miles away and round a corner and 4 buildings away and i just didn’t know how to get there. I just couldn’t be arsed to suss it out i think.

  9. I absolutley loved the first game which i have still yet to finish. Probably may have a look this week whilst trying to finsh my backlog of games before i get new. ones at Xmas

    • Oh and seeing that you mentioned Dead Space in the article can anyone tell me whether or not it has appeared yet ???

  10. did anyone actually get the time trials and speed runs? those times were crazy!

    • Me & a mate platinumed it. Took a while, but I thoughly enjoyed it. Looking forward to this and I hope this one sells better as in my opinion it was a great change from the usual games.

      • The fact that it was so different to other games was probably the reason that i liked it so much. Hell even my brother liked it and he hates first person games.

Comments are now closed for this post.