Hey, you got Mirror's Edge in my Tomb Raider!

by David Hinkle { Feb 11th 2009 at 3:52PM }

Lara and Faith have a lot in common. Both are strong, female protagonists, and both find themselves relying heavily on their ability to effectively navigate the environment around them. Now, they have another thing in common: they've both been the subject of weird mods. Check out the video past the break, which shows what Lara's world would look like had it taken inspiration from Mirror's Edge.

[Thanks, M]

Tags: crystal-dynamics, dice, ea, mirrors-edge, mod, mods, tomb-raider, tomb-raider-underworld

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Strategy_Panda (Pot & Spoon 4 Life) @ Feb 11th 2009 4:06PM

I don't get it. Have the maps in this video been altered to match more like the red/ white theme of Mirror's Edge? Or is this footage from an unaltered version of the game?

David Hinkle @ Feb 11th 2009 4:13PM

You can see Lara's outfit has been switched with Faith's in several bits of the clip. Also, the environment stuff that you mentioned, such as the lime-green walls and red to indicate where Lara should go.

Ghen @ Feb 12th 2009 7:15AM

Oh, thats it? I was hoping for a physics/movement/ragdoll mod. or (probably easier) reskinning Faith and building a level from TR:U.

Still love that song, but as mods go this is a flop.

Deeznuts420 @ Feb 11th 2009 4:12PM

MOD?

Shabran @ Feb 11th 2009 4:22PM

Looks better in my opinion....

Its got a lot more colour and just looks more interesting

Eebahgum @ Feb 11th 2009 4:34PM

Just looks the same to me?

WiNG [XBL&Steam: WiNGSPANTT] from lifeinagame.com @ Feb 11th 2009 5:02PM

I didn't play this but after watching it, I'll assume there are some spoilers in this video based on, um, intuition.

TheBrainninja @ Feb 12th 2009 12:07AM

I've not played Underworld yet, but having played Legend, most of what I saw wasn't too surprising.

Maverick Saturn @ Feb 11th 2009 5:49PM

Looks a little better, but there are some bit that haven't changed :S

PN04 @ Feb 11th 2009 6:51PM

Unfortunately dipping it in Mirror's Edge dosent make TR:U suck any less.

greggo @ Feb 11th 2009 6:37PM

um... why isnt she nude patched? this obviously isnt tomb raider

Mal F4cti0n @ Feb 11th 2009 10:34PM

+1, sir

Levi @ Feb 11th 2009 10:06PM

I wonder if people would have liked Mirror's Edge more if it was third person. Most people that I've talked to that don't like it still thinks the engine is impressive... I hope if EA succumbs to the poor sales of the game and cans the idea of a sequel, they at least license the engine. Imagine a good FPS with that engine. It could be sooo good. I liked ME, but a FPS with its engine is just too good of an idea.

TheBrainninja @ Feb 11th 2009 10:57PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unreal_engine_3#Unreal_Engine_3

Most of the distinctive stye it had came from the proprietary lighting tech they developed. The overarching engine is the most widely used current-gen game engine =P
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror's_Edge#Development

Also, the game would've been very different in third-person; not different merely in the perspective, but they would've needed to change a lot of things about the game to make it work. The subtleties of jumping over/planting off of small objects would've been lost in third-person, as well as much of the intensity of various maneuvers.

The first-person perspective was not just a viewpoint, it was a core gameplay mechanic that the entire game was built around.

Levi @ Feb 11th 2009 11:51PM

Well, I knew it used Unreal 3 Engine, but I didn't think of the fact that you can't license an engine based off of another engine.

I'm personally glad it's a first person game. I agree that the perspective is really what gives the game it's charm and makes it so fun. At the same time, unfortunately, I believe the innovation in re game is what made it frustrating for some, and was a big reason for the low scores and sales. That's where the speculation of a third person version of the game comes in. I wouldn't have bought it if it was third person, but I wonder if it soul have been better received in the media.

TheBrainninja @ Feb 12th 2009 12:04AM

The bigger, more pleasant issue is that since the lighting tech, Beast, was developed in part by DICE, they can (theoretically) incorporate that into whatever games they want. Not sure if EA has a studio-wide license for UE3 (they probably do), but they can definitely use that look again.

I do agree it would've achieved better mainstream success if it had been built around a third-person perspective. I'm hoping EA will have the wisdom to stick with the franchise, and not give in too much to the mainstream pressure to change it up. EA did a lot of good things for this industry this year standing behind new IPs, and I hope that their recent losses don't scare them away from that.