∞: the voice of

I love me some good videogames, and in my absolutely not humble opinion Mirror’s Edge is an awesome videogame. It creates a visceral connection between its protagonist — badly Italian dubbed badass Asian traceuse Faith — and you in a way that compels and imbues the game with a feeling of freedom and danger rarely provided anywhere else. What other game (what other medium) has you on the edge of your seat literally every time something happens, even something as uneventful as a jump? The huffing, the hand gestures, the flailing when landing on an edge to prevent falling, or desperately grabbing and clinging and turning a depressing fall into a victory,  freeing her, and us with her, from the prisons of gravity and convention…

You might have gleaned the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m using the PC version and I’m “millenomi” on EA’s network, if you want to see my clumsy attempts at record-breaking.

That said, the plot was not one of its strong points (sorry, Rhianna). It wasn’t bad, only, well… already-seen. Not plagiarized, but abusing of the tropes of the action game genre.

Wanna see how much? Let’s try a little thought experiment! Let’s try this:

The protagonist (Faith) has a significant acquaintance (her sister Kate) kidnapped by her sworn enemy (the all-oppressive government). In a world that wants her dead, with only her exceptional competence (parkour and martial arts) and few close allies (her fellow runners), she infiltrates one of the enemy’s strongholds (The Shard, personal residence of the Mayor) and, in the process of trying to free her acquaintance, destroys a critical piece of infrastructure which was considered to be both a symbol and a tool of oppression (the citywide surveillance network). This act sparks revolt among not only her allies, but also those who were forced to silence and compliance by the enemy (the citizens).

Now, let’s try it like this:

The protagonist (Gordon Freeman) has a significant acquaintance (Eli Vance) kidnapped by his sworn enemy (the Combine). In a world that wants him dead, with only his exceptional competence (marksmanship and luck) and few close allies (the insurgents), he infiltrates one of the enemy’s strongholds (Nova Prospekt) and, in the process of trying to free his acquaintance, destroys a critical piece of infrastructure which was considered to be both a symbol and a tool of oppression (Nova Prospekt itself). This act sparks revolt among not only his allies, but also those who were forced to silence and compliance by the enemy (the civilians).

Mmmm. The similarities are striking.

Fortunately, Mirror’s Edge has also taken another page out of Half-Life’s playbook — an extreme care for detail. You’ll be surprised, pleasantly so, at how believable the environment is, and every time you notice that — a rat passing by, a pigeon startled by your acrobatics, a note on a desk, an airplane lazily passing above a city that shines like a mirror —, the game becomes even more compelling.

Which is to say, I DEMAND A SEQUEL RIGHT NOW. Seriously.

(the adrenaline high is still high three hours after I tore myself from it.)