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 Jan 21 2010, 05:20 PM
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Mirror's Edge Review is complete, Finally right? Man I tell you what, with all the craziness around in my life lately, I feel like I have slain a monster 30 stories high! Well, I guess that's not too far from the truth...
Now I can tell you right off the bat, this isn't my best review to date. I know it and I am willing to admit it. But what I will say is, it still has an important role in my log of reviews, and is as truthful as any so far posted.
Mirror's Edge is a game I, myself, have been wanting to play for some time. It was a game that always seemed to come and go out of my line of sight in local ads and sale bins, but alas, it never ended up in my hands until this point. (Thank-you Steam for great sales, and the never ending, relentless stream of ads, you shove in my face daily!) Because of this, and me getting off my butt, I'm finally giving this game a full play through. Sadly, I feel like it has been a loss that I haven't sat down sooner to the clean grace of Mirror's Edge.
Story
The story of Mirror's Edge is a simple one. A theme that seems to be growing in popularity for storytelling in our day and age, the theme of an unknown evil getting more power over what we think is always ours. Until the line is crossed and we end up seeing how little freedom one has anymore. In this world, the powers that be have grown to the point of taking control of the world of electronics and open media. (Sounds like where we are heading right now.) Where one's e-mail, voice, cell phones and any other outlet of communication seems to be monitored to the point that no one has control of their own free will.
While this is being done behind most peoples backs, there is a Resistance that will stand and fight. One of those outlets is the Runners. A group of people who use the abstract purpose of ones legs, getting from Point A to Point B. No bikes or cars, only pure raw human power. These Runners take important info from person to person, with no interference from the man upstairs. In essence, you are an outlawed post man...or in this case...woman. (Sorry)
As you live your life in the New Age of steal and glass, one is on the run, not in the streets, but on the roof tops of major cities. Dodging the "Law" and anyone else in your way. Now instead of being a silly little back and forth message girl, you are quickly thrown into a world of lies, threats and the chance of death. This being nothing new for a Runner, it's not very shocking nor does it scare you from taking chances. But things do get personal when you find out that your sister gets in a world of mess from a murder set up. You, being one of the only people she can truly trust, along with you not willing to let anything happen to her, you are determined to find the truth behind it all.
While the story is engaging and wonderfully laid out, it does have a little bit of the Hollywood "rec-a-ma-roll" feel to it, that only leads to one being able to guess what happens next. There are some interesting plot twists along with great storytelling, it still has a bit of "been there, done that" kind of vibe.
Graphics
What can be said about Mirror's Edge Graphics...they're truly amazing. Not to say that they are the best, but they hold a perfection of detail and splendor that is something that one will enjoy through many hours of gameplay. While the world is built around the idea of a super clean and control freak mentality, it can get a little old seeing room after room of the same thing, it brings an element to show how at the same time it is a good world and still be a bad place to live. Making the story become part of the feeling with the graphics is something that I also enjoy and Mirror's Edge pulled this together beautifully!
Game play
In my mind this is the focal point of Mirror's Edge and what DICE wanted to connect with. With a whole game based around the smooth fluid energy of running and skill it took, to feel as if you have been used to doing it, the second you stepped into the shoes of Faith. I am here to say, that it was a treat to be able to sit down to a game that felt like I didn't even have to learn. While the game design and the idea of Mirror's Edge is very simple, it delivers the idea that one has their own style of how to get from point A to point B. Yes the game is very linear in the sense that there is only 1 true path to completing each level, but secrets and the ability to do it in ones own mind, due cross of deduction was for me satisfying. through process of elimination
While linear paths aren't always a bad thing, the game does build gameplay with the focus to let you, the runner, figure out where and how to go to the next level. It doesn't leave one hung out to dry or to fall off a hundred buildings before reaching the next doorway, the game is build with a few highlighting tips that will guide you through the apropriate course. This is done by Red coated suffices, letting you know where the next good place is to head for some death defying leaps.
At some points though, it can be rough going, I won't lie. Even though finding where to go to next isn't the main problem, getting the timing, or the angle right, might be. Death awaits and falling is a must, thankfully check points are everywhere and updated all the time. Let's just hope you don't get vertigo from gaming...I know I got the butterflies in my stomach a couple of times from some scary drops. I guess I enjoyed that somewhat, the first time I got that feeling from a game to be honest.
While 95% of the game is built around where to jump, land and grab next (making it feel alot like a high tech Prince of Persia) the other 5% is combat. While this is represented very well and easy for the gamer to grasp, it does feel a little clunky. While the idea in most cases is just to run, which is the best way to enjoy it since the game is made for it, sometimes you're faced with having to go through the enemies in your way, versus going around. This isn't a big problem, but I did find myself getting slapped in the face a couple times where I could have sworn that I had beaten them to the punch for the disarm. Maybe I am just getting slow in my old age, but it's not a friendly thing to be reminded of. Never the less, the combat was a very enjoyable element in the game that I would have liked to have seen more of, as well as tightened up a bit.
Ending thoughts
While most of my time spent with Mirror's Edge was a grateful and rewarding experience, I couldn't help but feel the story built around saving ones family member and going for the baddies, was a little out of place for the amazing world, and concept that DICE has made.
Amazing graphics and physics with great voice acting along with great sound and hair raising jumps. Something else I enjoyed, was that they took the focus of the first-person perspective gamer away from their familiar atmospheres and replaced them with multi-layered buildings to scale and hand-to-hand combat versus always having a gun to fall back on.
With just a few frustrations, such as missing a well placed jump or a missing a grappling maneuver, I felt that in the end Mirror's Edge is a must have for the fast pace, high height puzzle solver with the urge to punch some people in the face. I welcome you to play through and enjoy the fun!
Warning: Prepare for butterflies and some major vertigo...
Dyekenee-
Jan 14 2010, 06:32 PM
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 As I am sure you have seen, Part 1 was about my PC gifts I got for Christmas and my birthday, it took some doing getting it all together. But me being so into getting things up and running I totally forgot to give some updates on my end, silly I know.
The biggest and major resolution I had this year, isn't that great of one, since the Big Goal in my life has been writing and reviewing, it's kind of a tough one to top for me. But something happened on December 31st.......World Of Warcraft has grabbed a hold of me again. It wasn't too proud of a moment when I saw the clock stroke 12:00 marking the new year and I was playing a new toon............ I had rerolled once again. Seems just like yesterday I was saying to myself, "I will never play this game again!" But Alas, that statement once again hasn't held true and I am paying for my monthly fee for the great world of WOW.
 I caught some of the tail end of the fireworks at midnight...sigh.
And once again, I have Modcraft itself to blame. I have enjoyed the group here very much, over the last month or so, spending long hours on Ventrilo and playing a handful of games, I guess it was only natural for old WoW retirees to start talking about playing again. Tarob you bastard!
With the drowning feeling aside, I have to be fair and say WoW is still a truly enjoyable game for me, and I am having fun playing again.
Being the MMORPG junkie that I am, it is something I have been missing!
We have a good group started that has the WoW bug under their skin and the "fire" under their computer seats. Some are new to the game, others are vets. Starting new characters to brave the world once again, has been really great, and in my opinion, the best way to play any MMO, or online game for that matter. From the start you are fresh, new and working together on the goal of never ending growth.
As a side note, if you have been interested in playing again, or for the first time, please feel free to post comments, PMs or talk to me on Ventrilo. Not trying to add to Blizzard's already bulging pocketbook, but there may be some readers out there, that are itching to get back into one of the greatest MMORPG's out there. Hey-the more the merrier!
Most of us are just going month by month, no preconceptions on what lie ahead. Just enjoying the process. If you would like to play with us and become a part of the group, we can send you invites for EXP bonuses or free trials if that interests you. Most us started with the free trial to see if it was worth it, maybe that will be enough for you.
I have to state the obvious,............you must be a mature person. If you aren't going to be a mature player you won't last with us, in the sense that, you just won't connect with our group, and more than likely, won't enjoy yourself fully. The bonus if you're mature, you won't need rules to govern your actions...we don't like rules. Let's be mature enough not to need them, that's my motto.
Thankfully, World of Warcraft isn't the only thing I have been working on! I have finished a lot of my program updates and I am back to replying to readers comments and questions. I also have been working very hard on new ideas, Some of which are Video Blogs (or Vlogs), new review prep, and some preview attractions, along with doing some new lay-outs and so on.
Right now I am working on a review for Mirror's Edge, which hopefully will be done soon. I am setting aside Section 8 for the time being, and possibly Dawn of Discovery as well. Although, me being the kind of person not liking to set things aside, I might just do write up reviews, if I get the time.
Another thing I am going to work on is updating Streamcast, we are still making sure new updates go in as normal but I would like to see a little intro and maybe some clips. At that point I may even start uploading them to YouTube as well. But again, these are all projects that take time and I'll see how much gets done before January 26th.
I think that's pretty much all on my mind for now, I still have a couple other things I am working on the blog it self that will take more time to get into do to funds. I gotta start somewhere! Sheesh, not easy paying the bills and funding your dreams, but boy is it worth it!
Peace for now gang! Please comment more, I would love to hear what you think!
Peace be the journey!
Dyekenee
Jan 4 2010, 12:21 AM
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Hey gang, another personal blog for you this week. I wanted to let you know a whole bunch of stuff that is going on these days. This is always a busy time of year for me for many reasons, first you have the Holidays and all the hoopla that goes along with them, then you add my birthday to the mix (double wish lists for me!) and not to mention all the games I want to review before the new releases hit the shelves! So much to do, in so little time!
First off I had a great Christmas with my girl! We opened alot of great gifts and watched some good movies. The 26th was my birthday as well, so I got double the gifts, which was very nice and thoughtful of my family. I had cake, took it easy and worked on the blog, as I always do, to continue to work on my journalist skills.
 Jzoop made the cake, yum!
Some of the gifts I got this year are really great, but the ones that changed things the most for me this week are my new PC Hard drives! I got 2x Valocaraptor Drives (300GB, 10,000RPM), a 1.5GB 7,200RPM drive, Windows 7 and some new Bose Speakers, I love them! ( I was thinking about doing some reviews on these items, but I'm not sure yet. If any of you are interested in having more info on them, let me know.)
Once I got all these great new toys, I spent the following week hunting down parts and articles for setting it all up. It took awhile, especially with all the running around after work to the local computer shop, but I managed to get everything together.
The goal was to put the two Raptor Drives in a RAID-0 striped configuration for insane speeds for video games and the operating system, that being Windows 7 which really puts my i7 processor to good use.
For the other drives, I wanted to do in a RAID-1 mirror configuration for back-up and recovery, since most high capacity drives have a high failure rate. But since I have a 1.5TB and 1.0TB, not being identicle drives, that will have to wait.
The problem with wanting to get this all done, is that I have been spending most of my time running to stores, reading on-line tips for the best set-ups, and I haven't had the chance to get much game review stuff together. Not to mention, reconfiguring all these drives will wipe all the saved video and pictures for reviews I have been doing.
So for the last week I have been doing pretty boring stuff: backing up files, shopping and reading mundane stuff. I want to play video games and write blogs, damn it!
I pushed through it and I am happy to say all my drives are now in, with Windows 7 installed! Woot!
 Before  Old Drive Removal  Old Drive Removal #2  Epic Loot!  All Done
It's only been about 2 days since everything has been in, most of the time spent with my set up now, has been installing programs and working on backing up. So I can't say much from a gaming point of view yet...but, I will say the windows proformance is NUTS! Windows from a cold start boots up in about 10-15 seconds and program operations is blazing fast. From the little time I have had with it, I am more than very happy! And not only do I have all of this new fun speed at my finger-tips, I also have over 2.5TBs of free game review space! In the end, this has set me back a little more when I was already set back from holidays, but it's a good kind of set back if you ask me! Now I can review much more content and have a place to store it. Hopefully I can also find time along the way to play games of my own and do more with my "Creative Projects" Series.
I am more than sure, I will be mentioning these drives quite a bit over the next few months and I hope it's nothing but more of the same!
On another side note, I want to talk about the speakers I got. Bose Companion II Series II, they are simply amazing! I own an old Bose Surround Sound System that is about 10 years old now, and I still use it to this day. I love the quality and their service is top notch. I will recommend Bose Systems to anyone who asks, what type of sound systems should they look at. Granted they're not very friendly to ones pocket book, but they are the kind of speakers you buy once and use for a very long time!
These may be one of the lower end models that Bose sells, in fact $100 for Bose anything is pretty much the lowest sticker price you can find, Bose Ear Buds cost more than these things. They're not surround, but there is no need for it. The sub-woffer is built into the back of each speaker, and is only big enough to stick a my pincky in, but my goodness, these things could blow my eardrums right out of my skull! Along with a rich, full sound that adds a soft quality for the perfect balance of listening enjoyment.
These are a must buy for sound lovers that need a really nice pair of computer speakers. These are compact weapons of mass seduction!
 These speakers own my face! Thanks for the read and please leave comments!
Peace,
Dyekenee
Dec 27 2009, 12:40 AM
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Review: TRINE-PC
System Requirements
OS: Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7
Processor: 2.0 GHz CPU (Dual-core recommended)
Memory: 512 MB (XP), 1 GB (Vista)
Graphics: Radeon X800 or GeForce 6800 or better
DirectX®: 9.0c
Hard Drive: 600 MB
Sound: DirectX compatible soundcard (not required)
Multiplayer: Gamepads required for co-op play
This has been a game on my list for some time now. I played the demo a while back and I truly enjoyed my first steps into the fantasy world of TRINE. At the time, however, I was a bit behind on other games and funds were kind of tight to get the full copy for a play through. But thanks to Christmas Specials and a little more money, I had my chance with the full version. Let's say I am very happy I didn't wait too long to give this a run through.
TRINE is based on the well known fantasy recipe that the western world has provided for some time: Monsters, Undead and the ever growing Evil that takes over the land. Which, to say the least, has been done to death in a hundred different ways. Thankfully TRINE has added it's own twists to the original formula! Instead of the story being told in a totally dull or boring manner, it is told very refreshingly by a storyteller as if reading a book. The wonderful voice acting gives a great feel of how this world came to be, as well as, where it is headed. Along with starting the frame of mind of where you are, the storyteller introduces the main characters of the game. Instead of following the lead of 1 main character that you would normally be known to play, or have to pick, you are faced with the three different paths that ultimately have a common goal. Warrior, Thief and Wizard, all of which find there way to the same place where the TRINE is held. All being drawn there unknowingly, they come in contact with one another and before they know what has happened, they're are combined into 1 part of the TRINE itself. Making them unable to separate, which in turn creates the game ahead of us.
The focus of your group is not to save this medieval land from the darkness that has fallen upon it, but rather just to get free yourself from the binds of one another. Three walks of life that don't enjoy spending time with one another, you can imagine they want nothing more but to be free of this curse. Which in turn can create some funny moments. The wizard, being the most knowledgable of the group, seems to think they need to find the rest of the missing TRINE that are located in 2 other locations.........Your adventure begins!
The play will control each of the three characters at any given time. Each of which bring unique skills to the table and have a lot to offer. Example, The Thief can use her light feet to move faster and has a grappling hook to swing from wood surfaces. While The Wizard can use his magic abilities to be able to make climbing platforms with boxes and planks. While the warrior being a dumb Oaf that he his, just likes to swing his shield and sword for glory and honor! The interesting bit isn't as much as what the the three can do, but rather how the level design and puzzle managing in the game has been built. Most games have a definitive way to complete a puzzle or task, but TRINE is made with the whole idea that there is no one right way to solve a puzzle or to reach a platform for new treasure! There are multiple ways to complete the task and it's up to the gamer to use their tools and imagination to achieve the end result of moving forward.
This to me, is the biggest focus of the game and where it truly shines. Each character design is handled so well with so many strong possibilities, you're never finding yourself picking one character over the other, and as your skill increases you will find yourself switching from one character to another rapidly to do fast combo attacks along with fast dodges and swings that takes you out of harms way.
Not only are the abilities done well, but one will find themselves, through the course of the story, hunting for new items, upgrades and experience vials that will help them level-up and increase there mana, heath and skills that they rely on to survive. This gives growth and expandability to the game that is very much welcomed.
In old/new 3D fashion, TRINE takes after the days of old, of Pit Fall or Prince of Persia. Where the main goal is not mainly to fight, but rather maneuver through traps, spikes, pits, and falling rocks that could rapidly end one's happily ever after. With Frozenbytes new take on this genre, they haven't only taken great care to make sure that fans of old would still feel at home but have made advances to improve on the element that has captured our hearts for so long. This also being a Indie style game (meaning gravity effects game play greatly) it makes the player become more wise about moving objects, as well as the long list of boobie-traps. Along with the wizards abilty to move almost everything, it creates a world of a ton of hazzards and many possibilities!
The graphics of TRINE are amazingly picturesque, along with a wonderful art design. Very colorful and mood filled levels, one will really not only be challenged with making it through them, but will enjoy soaking in the imagery. Complementing this very satisfying world, is a superb soundtrack with a great cast of voice actors! To see this come to life in the old style of gaming is a very enjoyable breath of fresh air, in a market that seems only to focus on the latest and greatest techniques.
The one downfall for TRINE's PC version, is The Co-op. I truly enjoyed the play through and would have liked to have shared the experience with a friend. TRINE gives this option but it falls short not because of the game but rather the PC itself. You will need a 2nd game pad or controller to allow another player to enter in the game, you can use another keyboard and mouse but most peoples PC set ups aren't very friendly for a Co-op style, like most console lay-outs are. Like I said, I can't blame this on TRINE since it's more of the PC's problem, although an online option may have been nice.
There are multiple difficulties in TRINE so replay value is pretty good, and hunting for all those hidden items is something one can go after. Sadly though, there isn't much after that in the ways of new options and more to unlock, I think this game could have benifited from Downloadable Content or more mods.
End thoughts-
To say the least, I had an amazing first play through with TRINE and I don't feel like I have wasted a penny when it comes to this good choice. TRINE was made for the old school 2D Pit Fall fan in all of us and it truly delivers. I wouldn't feel good in my heart unless I gave this an A Rating. Let's hope we see TRINE 2 in the works!
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