My next game I wanted to finish off was Mirrors Edge, which was a big release game last Christmas. When I played the demo I absolutely loved the idea of free running across buildings and for me the demo did deliver however what I was yet to realize is that this game gives me motion sickness which means I start to feel sick after 20-30 minutes of gameplay.

For those who don’t know Mirrors edge is a single player first person action game with a slight twist. Your characters name is Faith and she is a 24 year old Runner who provides a courier service around the city via foot, stealing items that others can’t and using the buildings for her getaway. Only for a small parts of this game (and if you choose to) feature any form of shooting enemies most of the time you will be free running over and in buildings climbing walls, using zip lines and running along walls. Graphically although quite basic to a few colors I thought this game looks stunning in places outside but is let down once you are inside buildings. As you run around it really does feel like you are in control of your character as your head will move around while running or shake when you make a difficult jump, you will see your hands come from the sides when running, when you look down you will see your feet etc etc When it comes to game play I have utter love for this game and then in one swoop it changes to disgust and hate. Never have I fell in love and hated a game so much at the same time. Some of the worst points being unable to perform jumps you have done time and time again. What you could do once before you may fail the next time and it’s not down to controls. When you are flowing freely, timing every jump well it looks and feels amazing but all of a sudden you will get to certain area and it’s normally when you are being chased that some jumps let you down. There is a button that shows you the direction you should be going in but there isn’t always a straight forward route.
Take this level for example, I opened a shutter door where there were guards with guns all around and boxes and staircases, I have no gun and I am expected to locate my way through this maze that also has dead ends and at the same time being shot in every direction. Sometimes you are forced to replay parts over and over again and it really spoils what sets out to be a fantastic game. Busting through doors brings a different feel then previous games and I also like the slowdown button but this does not last long and isn’t always helpful. You face armed guards from time to and you can choose to fight them and take their weapon or sometimes it’s just better to try and lose them. All in all this game is both brilliant and too frustrating. You will be flowing through the city one minute then constantly trying to pull off another jump the next.