7. Mirror's Edge The Game Knows How Risky It Is
You remember Mirror's Edge, that noble misfire that was technically a pretty good game underneath some of the bugs? To be fair, it was nothing if not unique, offering you the intriguing scenario a first-person parkour simulator set in a dystopia where you operate as a message runner. Your protagonist was called Faith, which became an even more apt name when you saw what she was doing. Namely, she ran through hordes of armed goons, leaping between buildings and other death-defying drops. Obviously, it didn't take long for many people to jump (pardon the pun) onto the 'leap of faith' reference, because again, that's precisely what she's doing. Yet the other reason she's called 'Faith' is much more based in the real world. As you might remember from the heady days of 2008, Mirror's Edge was seen as a hell of a risk, even for a juggernaut like Electronic Arts. They'd poured a lot of money into this brand new intellectual property, and they really had no idea how it was going to be received. Unlike your FIFAs, Maddens and Battlefields, It had no brand security behind it they were literally going in blind. So really, the name of Faith is as much a reference to the studio as it is to the character. Much like the girl herself, EA were taking something of a leap of faith in trying to get this off the ground. Unfortunately, it didn't do as well as they'd hoped, but on the bright side a sequel was announced at E3 2013, so happy days.