The Count | Best Of 2008

Braid (XBLA)

Braid is incredible. It was, in my opinion, the best game of 2008, and one of two (maybe 3) "perfect 10s" I've ever played. From its ingenious time-manipulating gameplay to its emotionally powered story to its beautiful audio and visuals, I have trouble finding any way to fault this masterpiece. While most puzzle games wear out their welcome in a matter of days (or less), Braid's puzzle/platform action is still one of my go-to titles on a rainy day (or any day, for that matter), because it is so much more than your everyday gaming experience.

Penumbra: Black Plague (PC)

Penumbra is probably not something you'd expect to find on this sort of list, as it is a relatively obscure PC title from a tiny Swedish development studio, and was released very early in the year. Nevertheless, this combat-less first-person horror adventure did so many things so well that it is impossible to ignore. The Lovecraftian atmosphere delivered a genuinely frightful experience (something rare in gaming), the physics-based puzzles were clever and engaging, and the story and characters had depth and meaning uncommon to the medium at large. Black Plague was simply excellent.

Fallout 3 (PC)

Bethesda's done it again. If Fallout 3 was just "Oblivion with guns," that'd be enough, but it's much more than that. The game refines the mechanics of its predecessor while adding the entirely new aspects of gameplay necessary to do justice to the cherished Fallout license. It may have cut back on the lore of Oblivion, but for everything taken out, something equally as impressive was added.

Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3)

Oh Kojima. Although he could be called the Jackson Pollak of videogame designers, the end result of his throw-everything-at-'em approach to storytelling is truly epic. There has never been a game that could rival MGS4's meticulously directed cinematography, and the heavy themes found therein are also somewhat unprecedented. As a game (because it's true that much of it plays like a semi-interactive film), MGS4 mixes it up with a variety of gameplay, and always keeps things interesting. By the time this game is over, players feel like they've just taken part in something monumentally historic, and in a way, they have.

Mirror's Edge (360, PS3)

I'll admit that I am both a bit of a neophile and a whore for climbing and acrobatics, so when a game like Mirror's Edge comes out, it seems tailor-made for someone like me. This parkour-based first-person platformer doesn't dial down the excitement, because even during the moments Faith isn't being chased by squads of riot-ready guards, the free-flowing gameplay builds a sense of motion and momentum that keeps your hands glued to the controller and your eyes fixated on the action. The minimalist Orwellian plot set an intriguing stage for the action, as well, even if the main story arc wasn't exactly the most compelling narrative. In any case, this one was tough to put down.

LittleBigPlanet (PS3)

I named it "Best of E3 2008," and LittleBigPlanet remains one of the best games of the entire year. There is limitless fun to be had with this game, be it via offline solo play, online co-op, level-building, or even simply customizing and re-customizing your Sackboy as you scour each level for new items, stickers, and decorations. The best part, though, is the fact that the game never ends, as members of the community are constantly conjuring up new content that is arguably better than the core game itself. LittleBigPlanet is the closest thing to a virtual toy that I've seen in the videogame world, and never fails to put a smile on my face.

Honorable mentions: Too Human, Persona 4, God of War: Chains of Olympus, Left 4 Dead

Taking Risks: The Expansion Of An Artform

As the videogame industry marches eternally into the realm of increasingly sophisticated technology, creating videogames that push the envelope and take full advantage of the resources available to developers becomes ever more costly -- a fact of life that developers and publishers never hesitate to point out.

Claims that a game needs to sell at least X-hundred-thousand copies in order to simply break even are common, and complaints about unoriginal game content are often rebutted with evidence that consumers more often than not tend to play it safe and go with what they are familiar with when it comes time to cash out at the register. Whether the average game consumer is indeed the same man, woman, boy, or girl whose passion for the pursuit of gaming excellence drives them to complain about these seeing-eye sequels and copycat productions is up for debate, but in any case, the dissonance between critical and fiscal demand is quite evident. But that is for another discussion.

In 2008, we have seen a great many rehashes of old titles -- the numbers 2, 3, 4, and beyond adorned many retail packages this year -- but we have also seen games that represent great leaps of faith on the part of developers and publishers. I personally praised games like Penumbra: Black Plague, Patapon, Braid, Too Human, and Mirror's Edge for challenging traditional gaming archetypes and delivering truly innovative gameplay experiences, and sincerely hope that the positive response to these games far outweigh the negative, encouraging their creators to continue exploring ways to expand the definition of videogames. They may not please every gamer, but these games are essential to the industry's growth.

Ubisoft's Prince of Persia producer Ben Mattes seems to agree, and even cited Mirror's Edge as a big risk-taker in 2008. In a recent interview, he expressed his disappointment at the lack of recognition his studio received for the "high level risks" involved in the acrobatic platformer's development.

"In terms of us taking a shot and missing, I guess I would have to go a little higher level here and speak about risks in general.

For years we've all been reading complaints about sequels and companies churning out carbon copies of proven formulas without focusing on innovation or taking risks. Fans, developers and critics alike seemed ravenous for new ideas -- new IPs; major innovations -- advances in this art-tertainment (I'm trying to coin a new term here ;)) form we all love.

We tried to really embrace this challenge on PoP. We set out to keep a few core fundamentals but to re-imagine everything else, discarding some very well entrenched ideas not only about the brand but also about videogames in general (and we weren't alone. EA took some major risks this year with new IP and innovations - Mirror's Edge and Dead Space, for example).

What surprises me is how little these high level risks seem to be noticed and appreciated as attempts to shake up the industry and push things forward. Perhaps I'm an idealist, but I think perhaps I was expecting a few more virtual pats-on-the-back for our attempts to do something new.

Whether this means we didn't totally succeed in our risk taking or whether our industry in fact has a stronger appetite for the familiar then it wants to admit remains to be seen. Honestly I hope it is the former."

Yes, studios should be recognized for their efforts to elevate the medium to new plateaus, but what exactly constitutes a thorough attempt to achieve this sort of groundbreaking development? What determines whether a specific design decision is merely a change from the established formula, or if it is indeed a "major risk" in the creative process? How do we define the term "risk" as it relates to videogame development?

Blurring the lines between genres, infusing topics typically reserved for purely academic discourse and analysis, introducing previously unimagined and untested gameplay mechanics, presenting a product whose meaning is entirely subject to audience interpretation; these are risks -- design elements that take gamers out of their comfort zone and reach into unexplored territory.

Did Prince of Persia ever really push the envelope in such a way? Eliminating consequences for gamers' mistakes was a bold move, but it never felt like a monumental change; the game did not represent a paradigm shift, and it certainly didn't fundamentally alter the way people think of videogames. I do applaud Ubisoft for their efforts with Prince of Persia, but Elika was not revolutionary.

If anything, she took the "risk" right out of the game. :-p

Fight Or Flight -- Mirror's Edge Review

EA DICE has proven that approaching existing gameplay concepts from new angles can result in products that are fresh, fun, and impressive gaming experiences. The Battlefield developer's first-person action/platformer Mirror's Edge has lived up to its potential, casting aside the doubt associated with such bold design choices.

To put it simply, Mirror's Edge is like Prince of Persia...in a modern metropolis...with guns...from a first-person perspective. The game's protagonist, Faith, is a "runner" in a dystopian, totalitarian regime not very different from the society depicted in George Orwell's Nineteen-Eighty-Four. She delivers messages between members of the outcast population who oppose the new government surveillance and control and remember the days before the city was sterilized and drained of life to make way for "protected," "comfortable," existence. This could be any city--yours or mine--and even includes replicas of real-world architecture in its skyline. Seattle's Space Needle and Chicago's Sears Tower are right there, if you look hard enough.

It is across this any-city skyline that Faith runs, jumps, slides, tumbles, climbs, swings, vaults, etc. A practitioner of parkour, her acrobatic talents allow her to travel across the rooftops quickly and efficiently, running along walls and leaping across the city streets, 200 feet in the air. Controlling this high-flying action is accomplished with only a few buttons: one for upward movements like jumping, one for downward movements like ducking, and one to quickly turn 180 degrees. The latter is especially useful for the ever-important wall jump.

It is surprising how well the control scheme works in Mirror's Edge; after just a few moments, it's easy to have gotten caught up in the action and covered a vast amount of ground--or roof, as it were--and to have enjoyed every second of it. The sense of speed and freedom one feels while controlling Faith is borderline intoxicating, and when the adrenaline of being chased by a half-dozen armed guards is added to the equation, that high becomes even more intense.

Although her debut is somewhat concurrent with the newest 007 film, Faith is no James Bond. She cannot dispatch an entire SWAT unit with nothing more than a pistol, and although she does show some skill with firearms, her first choice is usually to run. Mirror's Edge encourages players to avoid conflict, and makes sure the consequences of going all gung-ho with Faith's mere punches and kicks are dire, indeed. Bullets HURT in Mirror's Edge; Faith can only take a few before shutting her eyes for good. Incidentally, that's not very long at all, because after players fall 30 stories to the pavement below or suffer one too many blunt traumas to the skull, Faith quickly returns to the most recently passed spawn point to try again.

Forgetting the small and lonesome feelings players get from the cultural atmosphere in Mirror's Edge, Faith is far from helpless. As mentioned earlier, she can punch and kick foes, and even string these strikes together with acrobatic moves to create new, more effective attack techniques. Additionally, she is capable of increasing her own reaction time with a tap of the X button, effectively slowing down her opponents and making it easy to incapacitate them. Perhaps the most satisfying part of combat is disarming government agents with a well-timed press of the Y button and beating them with their own weapon. Of course having a gun to shoot the next guy you see is a relief, but really, guns are not the hottest commodity in Mirror's Edge. When she is holding a firearm, Faith is slow and not very nimble at all, so players will be discarding most of the weapons they pick up before ever expending a magazine. It's actually possible to complete the Story mode without shooting a single enemy.

The emphasis in Mirror's Edge is on "first-person," rather than "shooter." More so than most games played from this perspective, players are made very aware of Faith's physical presence. Her arms and legs are in the field of view most of the time as she grabs ledges and ladders and the like or hurdles over obstacles, and the camera itself bobs, rolls, and turns as if taped to her forehead. There is no information displayed on the screen other than what Faith can see in her surroundings. The visual effect is very engrossing.

Mirror's Edge has a unique and striking aesthetic style to go along with its original gameplay mechanics. The city is almost entirely devoid of color, making most of the buildings and other surfaces a pristine white canvass. Vibrant primary and secondary colors appear on this achromatic background, coloring certain structures (cranes, crates, signs, etc.) in stark contrast to the rest of the game world. Color serves a purpose, marking runners' paths through the city--paths to safety and success. Faith even possesses special "runner vision," which highlights key items bright red, indicating their usefulness for making forward progress. Ladders, pipes, beams, springboard objects, zip lines, and more are flagged with crimson on easy and normal difficulties. Hard mode requires a bit more exploration and examination, though, as these things remain as white as the rest of the city under that setting.

Completing chapters in Story mode unlocks new areas in Race mode, where players can attempt speed runs and navigate through a number of beacon-dotted Time Trial courses. Achieving better times earns star rankings, which are nothing more than bragging rights and something shiny to include in your virtual trophy case. If Xbox LIVE buddies have tested their wheels in Time Trial mode, they can download one another's ghost data to race against and possibly learn from; there are many ways to run through these courses and many shortcuts to discover.

Mirror's Edge is an excellent game. EA DICE has crafted a unique and enjoyable game that is both exhilarating and addicting, with sound gameplay mechanics, stylish visuals, and superb audio qualities. Other than long and frequent load times, the biggest complaint I could conjure up while playing Mirror's Edge was that there simply wasn't enough of it. This game is a must-buy, or at least a must-try.

Dangerous Comfort -- Mirror's Edge Review

Attempting to successfully deliver brand new gaming concepts in an industry filled with me-too copycats, sequels, and tired gameplay mechanics is always risky business for developers. Thankfully, EA Digital Illusions CE (DICE) has taken that leap of faith and crafted Mirror’s Edge, a unique and invigorating first-person platform/action/adventure/shooter.

As noted in my preview of the game, Mirror’s Edge takes place in a near-future dystopian metropolis; a sterile, geometric, and homogeneous cityscape whose government holds the reins tightly and authoritatively on its population in an effort to maintain an Orwellian society of surveillance, control, obedience, and ignorance.

The city itself appears to have had structures from real-world locations inserted into its skyline, from Seattle’s Space Needle to Chicago’s Sears Tower to any number of other contemporary edifices. The composition of this whitewashed urban jungle carries the message that Mirror’s Edge could potentially be set anywhere in the world. Absent, however, is anything old or impure. Each building stands as an impersonal and uninviting column of steel and glass; any predating the current regime -- any with character -- has been torn down and forgotten, just like the culture they aim to dissolve. There is nothing historic about this place. Gone, too, are the usual grays and browns of a worn, living city. Nearly every surface is white, from the roofs and walls right down to the sidewalk. Even the office plants and the trees in Centurion Plaza are devoid of color. It is reminiscent of a hospital, detention facility, or psychiatric ward.

Runners like Faith, the game’s heroine, oppose this way of life and work to deliver packages and correspondence between the pockets of citizens who hold onto the old ways. Because of this disobedience, government agents hunt them like rats, forcing them underground and onto the rooftops to deliver their assumed messages of revolution.

To the player, this means controlling Faith as she runs from point A to point B, avoiding armed officials and performing feats of acrobatics and urban running normally reserved for parkour traceurs. What separates Mirror’s Edge from other games of this nature is its perspective. This is a first-person game, but unlike most first-person shooters players are made very aware of Faith’s physical presence, from head to toe. The camera bobs, tilts, and tumbles as Faith traverses the rooftops, and her arms and legs often find their way into the field of view as she runs, jumps, and climbs over various objects. Players are meant to feel as though they’re literally looking through Faith’s eyes, and the lack of any on-screen health or ammo information serves to reinforce that feeling.

As Faith, players use a simple "up movement" and "down movement" control scheme to leap from building to building, vault over and slide under obstacles, run along walls, grab ledges, climb pipes and ladders, springboard off of small objects, and more. Momentum is very important, and can mean the difference between a cleared gap and a fatal fall to the streets below. This modern Princess of Persia is encouraged to move as quickly as possible not only to overcome obstacles, but also to avoid the pursuers who trail her nearly every step of the way. While she is more than capable of wielding firearms, Mirror’s Edge emphasizes the fact that one person is no match for a squad of trained law enforcement officers, and attempting to combat them is a fast track to the morgue. Instead, special "runner vision" highlights certain parts of the environment, indicating viable pathways to what the player can only hope will be a moment of respite. Color is the key to safety in Faith’s World. The environment is predominantly achromatic, but, certain aspects stand out like beacons in bright primary and secondary colors. Red, blue, yellow, and orange objects represent the way forward, away from danger, and even without runner vision players can spot these guiding lights from a great distance.

Of course, there are times when Faith is forced to fight. In these instances, pressing the X button will engage Reaction Time, a slow-motion effect that gives her the upper hand on her opponents, allowing her to step in and incapacitate them, unharmed. A well-timed tap of the Y button strips an attacker of his weapon and puts it in Faith’s hands, or for a more direct approach, she can simply punch and kick her enemies into unconsciousness. Stringing these strikes together with parkour techniques increases their effectiveness and creates new types of attacks. In fact, players needn’t kill a single person throughout the entire game. Holding onto weapons actually limits Faith’s mobility, so it’s really a matter of "fight or flight" at many points in the game.

If either option should fail, Faith is quickly resurrected at the most recent spawn point, which are plentiful throughout the game. There is only a short load time here, as opposed to the relatively long waits players are forced to endure prior to each chapter. Even mid-stream, there are a few jarring level loads that freeze the action in place (similar to those in Half-Life 2), as well as a few patience-trying elevator sequences that attempt to disguise the data-retrieval. The elevators do tie into the theme of government media regulation, however, with articles and news briefs almost always scrolling on the walls of these confined spaces. The propaganda is shoved down citizen’s throats right where they can’t escape from it.

Faith can escape the oppression of the game’s story via Time Trial mode. There, checkpoints strewn across the rooftops create individual courses that players must rush through as quickly as possible, earning higher rankings and unlocking new areas as their performance improves. Ghosts of prior trials, Xbox LIVE friends, and worldwide leaders can be set to run each course, acting as a sort of goal or guide. It can be very enlightening to see what tricks others have used to clear these rooftop playgrounds with record speed, and very addicting trying to better your own times. And if you can’t quite let go of the Story mode, but still have the need for speed, Mirror’s Edge also has a Speed Run section that keeps track of players’ best times through each of the game’s 9 chapters.

EA DICE is to be commended for their work on Mirror’s Edge. They have taken an existing gameplay concept and applied it in a brand new way, creating a thrilling game whose biggest flaw is that there simply isn’t enough of it. Load times bog down the game’s flow at times, and the gunplay isn’t tweaked to perfection, but the overall experience is interesting, exciting, and stylish from beginning to end.

Between The Gloss And The Reality -- Mirror's Edge Preview

Electronic Arts’ Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment (EA DICE) have proven to be a talented group of developers time and time again with a number of successes in their critically acclaimed Battlefield series. Their newest project, Mirror’s Edge, aims to take the free-running and complex 3D platforming style found in games such as Prince of Persia and Assassin’s Creed, and apply it in the first-person perspective. Many have questioned the viability of such a concept, but after playing through the demo, all of those doubts can be laid to rest.

Mirror’s Edge takes place in a fictional metropolis where the governing entities keep a firm hold on the populace, enacting a strict policy of surveillance and regulation. Some citizens have herded like good little sheep, while others have chosen to rebel, thus being been cast out of the "normal" society. The game’s backstory (or what little was presented in the demo) appears to borrow themes from George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, another tale of dystopian totalitarianism...until the gameplay kicks in.

This is not your typical first-person shooter. In fact, the game’s protagonist, Faith, is encouraged to avoid conflict with government agents whenever possible. She is but a runner--a physical transmitter of messages between members of the outcast society--and cannot even hope to combat the heavy hand of the government. This feeling of helplessness and the adrenaline-pumping chases that result from enemy encounters help form a bond between players and the woman who they embody in the game.

Another difference between Mirror’s Edge and the average FPS is that players are always very aware of the physical space that Faith occupies. Her arms and legs are often visible in the HUD-less field of view as she grabs ledges, climbs structures, vaults over obstacles, and leaps from building to building. The camera, too, moves as if stuck inside of Faith’s head. As she runs, the camera bobs up and down, and all of the tumbles, slides, and swings whip the camera in whichever direction her eyes would realistically be looking at any given moment. Even so, navigating and observing the environment feels smooth and natural.

The parkour controls in Mirror’s Edge consist of the normal dual-analog movement that players have come to expect in first-person games, combined with a simple up-action and down-action setup. "Up" moves are things like jumping, climbing, vaulting, and wall-running, and "down" moves are used for crouching, sliding, releasing Faith’s grip, etc. A 360-degree turn button is included for quick direction changes and Mario-esque wall jumps, and at times when balance is a necessity, the left analog stick keeps Faith from falling to her untimely demise.

Momentum and "flow" are important in Mirror’s Edge, and as players guide Faith along the rooftop conduits of the city, they build up the capacity to slow time and increase reaction speed by hitting the X button when faced with a hostile opponent. Because she lacks the firepower to neutralize these enemies, Faith relies on her ability to disarm or temporarily disable them and keep moving. She is capable of delivering a few key strikes, including a jump kick, slide kick, and punches, but can also string these blows together with acrobatic maneuvers like wall runs and jumps. More importantly, she can quickly turn the tables on an assailant with a tap of the Y button, which will cause her to counter-attack and seize his weapon.

It’s not all about running away in Mirror’s Edge, as I was able to quickly disempower a couple of lightly-armored agents and embed multiple pieces of lead in them to clear a path during the demo. Other weapons in the game include heavier rifles and shotguns, but the bulkier the gun, the slower and less agile Faith becomes. Players must choose between mobility and firepower, though it will be possible to complete the entire story without ever firing a shot.

The demo leaves me with few concerns about the game’s polish, as I was impressed with everything from the responsive and innovative gameplay to the stylish and artistic visual representation of what is meant to be a stark and unfriendly concrete jungle, to the character voices, sound effects, and score. I do wonder, however, if a game with such potential to be an expansive open-world playground will end up feeling entirely too linear as it directs players along specific paths through the city. Then again, if those paths are carefully crafted to optimize the gaming experience, then should it even matter?

Mirror’s Edge hits the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on November 11th. Urban flight is one week away.