I was playing ‘Mirror’s Edge’ recently and I suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to plan the sequel and ways that it could improve. What’s messed up is that Pandemic Studios, whose publisher is EA, recently closed up shop. EA experimented with games like Mirror’s Edge, Dead Space, Mercenaries and the upcoming ‘The Saboteur’. It didn’t work out (the games didn’t sell that well). I’m sad to hear that EA is doing so poorly and plans to go back to making primarily sequels to ‘financially viable’ properties. I for one loved Mirror’s Edge despite its flaws and was looking forward to new IPs. With the way things are going, however… a Mirror’s Edge sequel seems unlikely.

That being said, here are ways that the next Mirror’s Edge could be improved. *Crosses fingers tightly*







CONTROLS

The Control system of the first game was awkward at best. After a few hours of playing it, I *still* was uncomfortable with the controls, which tells me that the control scheme (which was not customizable) was flawed. My improved system is stated simply in the pic below.






CUT SCENES






The Cut Scenes from the first game looked like rejected Esurance commercials. I would have full animation by Studio 4C (Animatrix, Batman: Gothom Knight). Once you beat a level you could play that cut-scene whenever you wanted to, and all of them (10 in all) could be played straight through for a 45-min animated short. That would be awesome! ^_^

FRUSTRATIONS






I died in Mirror’s Edge by just slipping off the edge of roofs more times than I care to remember. That’s’ wack. What needs to happen is if you walk towards an edge, an animation takes over and you turn around and hang on the edge. (You’re supposed to be a professional free runner after all). Then you can drop (by pressing ‘B’ ) or pull yourself up (by pressing ‘A’ ). That’s all. That alone would GREATLY improve the gameplay. This would only be along the edges of buildings, not every edge in the game.

Also, in the game you had to hit the crouch button EXACTLY when you touched the ground from a high jump to roll (if not, you’d be injured). No longer. As long as you’re holding down crouch as you hit the ground, you’ll roll and be alright. Niiiiiice.

The ‘hint’ button was also virtually useless in the game. What happens with the sequel is a glowing trail of where you need to go is illuminated for about 4 seconds. That would be MUCH more helpful in tricky areas.

Also, (and this is a big one) once you beat a level you are free to run around it everywhere (including ground level) as much as you want (to find collectibles, explore, etc.). I was shocked that this bonus was not included. Seems like a no-brainer. I hated the fact that I had to GLITCH the game to run around on street level in the first game. I mean, it’s called FREE Running, but the running was very contained. Kinda defeated the purpose…



GUNPLAY






Granted, it’s a First person RUNNING game, not a First person SHOOTING game, but come on…Mirror’s Edge didn’t even have iron sights. This is inexcusable. What needs to happen is that you have a weapon, but for the purpose of MAKING you run and not turning it into Modern Warfare 2 (which is awesome by the way, grab it if you haven’t already ) is your ammo is severely limited. That makes you use the little ammo that you have very selectively/strategically and makes you solve puzzles and obstacles sans a weapon… but it’s there when you need it. Although the gunning part would be much less than a traditional FPS, it still needs to be satisfying.

A MAP






(Cue CSI: Miami) Yeeeeeeeeeeaaaaahhhh! Would’ve liked to have one of those. It would mark places of interest, Black Market shops and collectibles. ‘Nuff said.

COLLECTIBLES






In the first game there are only bags to collect… and they serve no purpose. You don’t use them, you’re not neglected for not finding them and there’s no map to help you find the bags that you’ve missed. Rubbish. So, we’ve moved on. Yes, there are still bags, but there are also Document Wallets, Mail from high officials and other trinkets that can be sold on the Black Market for money, all in the name of The Resistance. The money you make in game would be used towards bigger ammo clips (the max you could carry is 25. Yep, 25 shots. Make them count), frag grenades/smoke bombs and bonus levels/playgrounds. The location of every collectible would be on your map, but GETTING to each one would be a test of skill.


MORE FUN, GRIPPING STORY






The first game was alright, but the story was forgettable. I say we kick it up a notch. Granted the game would only be about 6 hours (like the first one) but it would be a roller coaster of a game. Imagine this: the game starts with Faith taking a 10-min shower (too long? Alright…5 mins ^_^) after which she comes out and put on a towel. Before she has a chance to do anything else, a SWAT team smashes into her hideout and she has to take off running; down the hallway, up exterior stairs, over rooftops… all wearing nothing but a towel. That would be awesome! And it’s the over-the-top fun mixed with a gripping/serious story later on that would make for a truly awesome game. I mean, you’d be laughing at how ludicrous it is, but be thoroughly engrossed as to what would happen next. THAT’S the kind of game I want to play. (BTW, she’d only wear the towel for the first mission. Simply titled “Escape”.)


Well, that’s it for me. I’ve never done this before, but as I said, I just HAD to do it. I mean, the ways that the game could be improved were so clear to me I HAD to write them down. I love the franchise, and I hope they do something cool with it.

Much love, y’all. Hope y’all are doing well. Talk to you soon!

Mike Crichlow

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