*I wrote this back in December 2008. I was enjoying, yet having a hard time with this game. I actually stopped at the train jumping level of the game, because of the high difficultly. Since then, I have beaten the game, and I wanted to share with you my early thoughts as I was playing this extraordinary game.*
Mirror’s Cutting Edge Affect On Me…
I really don’t know where to begin with this game. The thought behind it, on many aspects, is brilliant. The storyline, ideas, and characters all alone design a world that many of us, in our subconscious, dream of being in. The characters are something we all wish we could be like, and many actually try to. The one thing that this game does, that no other game in any genre (even the games we highly favor), is that it does not leave you hungry for more. This game has a type of potential that even the Sims franchise, believe it or not, can’t match. Like the Sims and many other games, this game has its share of faults. One who really sees the brilliance in this game,and wants to strip away the faults, so that it doesn’t taint the game in any fashion.
My one concern, which soon disappeared, was when I first started playing this game. It was the number of controls, and button combinations that you had to learn in order to really function. This is why the game tests the nerve of the casual, and hardcore gamer. The game challenges your motor, logic, and creativity skills all at the same time. When this is done, it causes the utmost nerve wracking experience for the player. This game tests your patience to the limit. This helps define what type of gamers will be interested in this game, and those that it will not appeal to. I am in between. The reasons for my stance are logical, as this game has the effect on a person. They will either love it, or hate it. Either way, they are completely understandable. As I mentioned to you before that I am a trigger hungry, strategically thinking, classic indulging, casually hardcore gamer. The flaws in such a brilliant game, which I felt were flaws, are minimal. They are totally understandable and are as follows: 
The Many Cuts Received From This Game…
1: With most games, you will have your share of enemies that you must fight. Some have weapons that you have to find, keep them, buy them, or have an existing weapon that you just add on to that weapon to perfect it. The one thing in Mirror’s Edge that causes a bit of frustration with playing this game, is the fact that I didn’t have a weapon at all. This made the sense of battle very unrealistic. You know that you will be shot from every direction, yet the heroine of the game carries nothing to protect herself. No knife, slingshot, or a freaking spitball straw. She carries nothing. This forces the player to thrust themselves into the heat of the battle. All at the same time. The game makes you think before acting. If you go into a battle with many enemies, you will be shot to kingdom come. You have to choose whether you are going to run, or die trying to obtain one weapon. After a few shots with that weapon you can no longer use it. Aiming isn’t easy either. However, the battles can be won. If you know how to press a combination of 50 buttons in order to do one move. The frustration begins to build at this point.
2: Many of us are used to having some sort of guide, text, or a voice to help you when you are trying to work your way through levels. It helps move along the game and obtain new skills to handle harder levels. You don’t do that in this game. You have no guide. You have to spend at least 30 minutes figuring out what you need to do, where to go, and how to execute your plan. Many times you have to do this in the heat of the battle. There is no text or a voice telling you where to jump, flip, slide, or turn. You have to find this out on your own. The one objective in this game which stands out from any other game is that you have to by any means necessary, die. You have to die at least a 100 times in a level before you can figure the correct path to move on. Death is imperative when playing this. This is another nerve-testing factor about this game. This makes it a brilliant love or hate type of game. At this point in the game your patience is running low. 
3: Many missions in games have a time limit to get through levels. Luckily, when you are trying to figure out what you need to do, time is on your side when you are not battling enemies. You are even graced with the ability to slow down time during battles. This is something that I have failed to remember to do in most cases. The fault in dying numerous times was mine, not the character Faith’s. Finding your way through levels requires the pushing of buttons. Elevator buttons, buttons to work machines, and doors all need pushing. I would like someone to tell me why every button that needs pushing (except for the elevator buttons) is timed? What is the point of a working machine or door having a timed button, and not an off button? This is another test of your nerves as these minor, yet important factors that help decide whether you are going to continue with the game. Will you give into your anger and either commit suicide, or murder the system you are playing on? Will you break the game itself? It makes one wonder what the person who thought of timed buttons, was smoking at the time. Your nerves are at their breaking point.
My Stand On The Game…
This game has brought me to a point of total satisfaction in its game play, story line, and the characters that were presented. It’s a game that will go down on my favorites list. Despite the many swears, curses, kicks, and punches, this game has made me do within the last few days. I am still left with a hunger of what brilliant thinking went behind this. I have grown to favor Faith. I favor her for everything that she is not like in the female heroine stereotype that is presenting in most games today. She’s not a prissy, blond, brunette, red, black, or rainbow colored hair type of girl. She doesn’t talk much, nor does she come off as a sexy dream girl. She does not reapply her make up after every battle. Faith’s beauty comes from what she can do with her abilities as a runner. Her simple, uncomplicated design regards her as the type of heroine that stands in a league all her own. For me, only one other female stands with her. It’s Payne from Final Fantasy X-2. These women represent the opposite of what most male gamers desire, and what most females don’t really look up to. Many love Lara Croft for her ability to shoot, jump, swing, and yet stay beautiful at the same time. Many girls admire Yuna from FFX2 for her same ability as Lara Croft. Its the girls who don’t say much, do the most dirty work, and whose style is considered outcast, that seem to last. They last longer than most of the well known female game heroines we all know.
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