It seems as though DICE has failed in bringing any new ideas to "Mirror's Edge." Everything that the first game set up is let down by the lackluster sequel. It's not all bad, though it is, unfortunately, mostly quite terrible.
General gameplay consists of the parkour players are used to, it feels smooth and, at first, it looks intimidating as soon as they start introducing the mechanics. Players catch on to how the game works pretty quickly, however. Progression is quite slim, with the majority of upgrades in the climbing tree already upgraded. Combat is a different story. There are plenty of upgrades within this tree, but the combat is so simple that it ends up being monotonous. The gear tree becomes almost completely useless. I haven't upgraded this tree once as the game hands out the mag rope upgrades like candy, and I have not used the disrupt ability on enemies at all, because, while Faith can fight, it’s still more advantageous to run away. (This, of course, is excluding the handful of times the game requires the player to fight.) These simple mechanics cause the game to become repetitive and boring as the game goes on.
Well, what else is there to do? There are time trials, in which the player tries to run to a given location in the shortest amount of time. Delivery is a game mode in which the player must run to a specific location under a set time. Grid nodes is yet another game mode in which the player climbs up a tower-like structure. This mode is similar to the parkour aspect of the "Assassin's Creed" games. Diversions is a game mode in which the player runs through groups of security. The game also includes some of the most unimaginative side missions to date. While these are boring, you can hack billboards. (Yes. Billboards.) There are also collectibles like Grid leaks, surveillance recordings, random documents and secret bags.
These are the ideas DICE has for a beloved IP like "Mirror's Edge"? It feels like they just pushed this out to cash in on the "Mirror's Edge" name alone.
The story is equally terrible. Faith is an empty husk with absolutely no depth to her character. I personally ended up hating Faith because, when she did talk, she was aggravating. That is merely my personal opinion, however. The dialogue is a fragmented schlock in which everyone sounds the same. There were only two characters: Dogen and Noah. Spoilers ahead: (not like it matters) Noah dies and the characters take it like a summer breeze. Didn’t Faith know this guy for a long time? Apparently that is irrelevant because she gets over her long-term friend dying pretty easily. It's as though the script itself is saying to Faith, "sorry, we’ve got a plot to continue developing." Plus, thank you DICE for Icarus, who is just here for Faith and this guy to complain and moan at each other for hours. My rating gets lower with every word I type. I find nothing good. There is a predictable plot twist. I won’t spoil it, but I want to dissuade all from buying and playing this game. End of spoilers.
Lastly, we'll consider the graphics. They are quite good. The city looks very smooth and characters look clean. I did have some graphical slip-ups from time to time and did have one instance in my play-through in which the frame rate dropped below 30 frames per second, and was only fixed through restarting the game completely. I didn’t experience any bugs or any kind of glitches for what is a huge, open-world game.
This is a beloved name that deserves better than the boring, repetitive and cliched ideas tossed out here, and it pains me to see what’s become of "Mirror's Edge." I enjoyed the first game, but I can’t look through the rose tinted glasses anymore. My score is a 4/10. It is really a below-average game, which I recommend renting or borrowing if you absolutely have to try it out. Don’t spend the $60 it costs on an experience that is so lacking in anything new .
"Mirrors Edge: Catalyst" score: 4/10
Pros
- Clean, beautiful graphics
Cons
- Uninteresting story
- Repetitive gameplay
- Broken progression
- Forgettable characters
