Part of my job at Microsoft was to run the official Xbox blog “Gamerscoreblog.com”. As well as sharing information about the Xbox itself, we wanted to show the company’s human side. Part of this was achieved by sharing our own experiences with games available on Xbox. This is one of my posts about Mirror’s Edge.

Employer: Microsoft (Volt)
Responsibility: Writer, Blog Administration

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Original Post:

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This past weekend, I started catching up on all the titles that Fallout 3 had kept me away from. The one I didn’t get around to was Mirror’s Edge. I had heard everything from, “This is how Assassin’s Creed should have been made,” to, “It’s frustrating and made me sick.” Both Chris and Nelson were raving about it, though. This morning, I decided I had to stick it in (huh huh) and try it out.

After being greeted with a highly stylized animated intro, I took command of Faith in the tutorial. I learned how to jump, roll, tuck, duck, swing, fight and bust through doors. What? Where’s the shooting? Ohhhhh right – This is not another shooter. You can use guns later on but it’s almost more fun not using them. ::coughachievementcough:: We all love our shooters but this is so right for a change of scenery.

I haven’t gotten very far in the game but I am loving it. I’ll admit, sometimes it can be frustrating because you can’t tell where exactly you’re jumping from since you can’t see your feet. I’ve missed several long jumps due to premature button pressing. However, the overall feeling is just incredible. It’s very intuitive but don’t try and roadie run, it won’t get you very far. I know I’m not the only one who has inadvertently tried that in games other than Gears.

This game also has a really innovative goal finding system. Wondering how to get from one rooftop to the next? Just look for the red colored articles in your world. The city is a wash of whites with the odd primary color decorating billboards and objects so the red sticks out like a beacon. Objects you use range from pipes, to boxes, to wood boards, to pretty much anything. If you get completely lost, you can just press the “B” button to look in the direction of your next checkpoint. This isn’t a run in the park, though. You will be chased and will need to act quickly so mastering the control scheme is imperative.

For graphics nerds out there, they also used the “environmental” text that’s so trendy these days (Think Fringe, Quantum of Solace, etc.). Everything just feels so polished and clean. If you haven’t tried it, go check out the demo on Marketplace. I didn’t have a problem with motion sickness, although I can imagine why it might happen. Eh, just get some meds from your doc or something. (I’d like to hear that conversation!) It’s too interesting a game to pass up on.