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.
citizeninsane45
Didn’t they announce this was going to be a trilogy even before the first one was released? Or was that another IP?
BrendanCalls
I enjoyed the first one and would definitely recommend to to people, especially as you can pick it up for around £5, an absolute steal
homerjnick
Bought the game in 2008…didn’t like it…started it again last month and now 3 speedruns away from Platinum…great game…spoilt by poor collison detection and stupid bugs like the kick glitch…ME2 would be welcome if they improved it!!!
ico
Really enjoyed the first one (gun combat aside) and would love to see a sequel. The first was what I can only describe as exhilerating and don’t think I’ve used that word ever / very often before about a game. Also less of the dodgy cartoony cut scenes – keep it in engine thanks.
Jim H [Teabags]
Mirror’s Edge is one of those game I both love and hate at the same time. When the parkour works, it’s fun and fluid, but when it doesn’t it pretty much destroys the game entirely.
Some interesting ideas for multiplayer, Lee. I’m not sure about competitive play (apart from races) but having two teams COLLABORATE would be pretty epic. Also it would be fun if some players could assume the role of Trackers as well as Runners.
Origami Killer
Mirrors Edge was such a great game and “unique”, really loved playing it and i cant wait for a second
Shakugan
So… Mirror’s Edge 2 have been in development for 3 years now??
Charmed_Fanatic
wooo never knew this was getting a sequel, ME1 probably will never platinum
Jim H [Teabags]
I’m getting there. Just need to do Speed Runs and Time Trials (hello Youtube!)
Andrewww
I absolutely loved ME and consequently, platinumed it, but it was one of the hardest games I’ve ever played (talking about speedruns here, not the campaign). And I do think that this was one of the main reasons it got such mixed critical reaction. In my view it wasn’t about trial and error at all, it was just damn difficult.
So, although listening to critics normally is a good thing, I fear that ME2 might just be watered down to please mass market expectations for easy games.
I very much hope this will be as good as the first…! Very good choice to put this almost in the top ten…! :o)
rainydays458
Got the first one and was very disapointed, sure it was a good original idea, but it wasn’t well implemented. Very linier and the first person perspcetive made it difficult to see where everything was. The visuals were good though.