Mirror's Edge

Blog Post: A Leap Everyone Should Take Once

Haiiro89 — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 21:12:00 GMT

An 8 technically says "innovative, but perhaps not the right choice for everyone", but I feel no one would suffer from playing Mirror's Edge once, if only to see the kind of innovation EA DICE has put into the title. Mirror's Edge is essentially a platform game from a first person shooter perspective with a forgettable story, but superb gameplay and visuals. The parkour is fluid. The player, as mentioned in the editor review, never feels like an abstract figure thanks to the arms and legs clearly visible in use as opposed to invisible interactions. The game does not openly dissuade you from combat, but it does push the player to approach confrontations cautiously and utilize timing to your advantage. That being said, the combat was smooth. The game felt just as good my first time through when I did use guns as the second when I focused on evasion.

The blend of colors and lack of detail may seem like it would be off-putting, but the whitewashed city and the helpful red hints mixed in with a few primary colors along the way really gave the city a personality that one wouldn't expect with such minimalist design. With the exception of a very few portions, the game always creates a setting where Faith's parkour seems to meld with the environment without it feeling too designed for the gameplay. The rooftops can get a little repetitive, but the game does a good job of mixing up locations enough to keep the player engaged.

I cannot say much about the time challenges except that they were not for me. I tried them, and I can see the appeal in them, but they never really grab you like the main game. Still, it is fun (and sometimes frustrating) to modify the path to try to shave off those precious few seconds.

Concept: Create a first person game that is driven by parkour rather than combat.

Graphics: The city, though rather empty except for police, is stunning despite what seems like very minimal design.

Sound: The sound from Faith's exertions and interactions with the environment really influenced the feeling of reality that the inclusion of arms and legs created to begin with.

Playability: There will be occasional missteps and disarms can occasionally be troublesome, but overall the parkour is smooth. The feeling of momentum once you adjust to the controls and environment is something everyone should experience at least once.

Entertainment: In the (hopeful) future titles the combat could use some improvement and story could use a major overhaul, but most gamers probably won't be disappointed by the highly enjoyable gameplay.

Replay: Moderate

Blog Post: edge

mullins177 — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 13:03:00 GMT

i like this game because of the free running and stuff i love it its just like assassins creed

Blog Post: Fresh. Fast. Fun. Addicting.

kystra — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 10:43:00 GMT

I'm giving it a solid 9.0. I have never experienced anything quite like Mirror's Edge before in all my years of gaming, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Stunning visuals of a clean cityscape, fast-paced gameplay, and tight controls kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the relatively short campaign. And short isn't always bad. There are plenty of extra challenges and time trials that will keep you playing this game over and over.

"One more time!" is something I said a lot after completing most missions, because although the campaign is a linear one, there are many ways to get from point A to point B in each mission. It is a lot of fun to see what kind of combo moves you can come up with; whether it be running on a wall then jumping off to kick an enemy to the ground, then disarm and incapacitate them, or just running straight at an opponent, then sliding under their attack to double-foot-kick them to the ground. Or my favorite, getting behind an opponent and disarming them from behind with a quick kick sending their gun backwards over their shoulder into your hands. There are many, many unique ways to get around enemies and complete each mission, and that's where the fun is in Mirror's Edge. Heck, the tutorial at the beginning of the game is fun to play over.

And don't be intimidated by the fact that you don't get a weapon. It is a lot more fun and creative to not use the guns you come across, and there are actually Xbox Achievements for not using them. Mirror's Edge will challenge you to think in a different light, even with the simple mission premise of "Get from here to there without dying." All of the missions are similar, but the pacing and challenge level of the missions makes them each feel like a new experience. You will never be bored of running and jumping.

Overall, Mirror's Edge is a very satisfying game that is definitely worth a playthrough. You won't be disappointed. I wasn't.

Blog Post: Mirror's Edge

Joedy Payne — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 21:24:00 GMT

Jumping, diving, dodging, swinging, & running the fundamentals of the basic parkouring skills. In this game you will hone in on your speed, hand eye coordination, and execution. From the time I saw the first trailer I was hooked since I was already a beginner in the parkouring world, then I played the demo and became addicted.

This is Faith the main character, you will be getting to know her and her story along the way, her involvement with why she's trying to help her sister, and why she is running to begin with, but I'm not going to go into detail and spoil the story.

The movement is so fluid, and really makes the player feel, a bit of anxiety, when performing actions like the picture displayed here jumping to a kind of sketchy landing zone from a high altitude. It's these gut wrenching performances that kept me coming back.

There wasn't much of a combat system since you don't carry any weapons however you can disarm your opponents and then shoot them. And the different ways you can fight with your enemy's using kind of a martial arts style, and using your environment to launch off a wall and connect with the enemy with a high kick to the head does provide some fulfillment.

I hope that in the second installment if there is one I have heard that there will be one, as to when no one really knows. For the second game I would like to see more parkouring on the streets, and not so much on rooftops. Also I would like to see a free roam/free running mode and maybe even make that mode multiplayer so you and some of your friends can parkour in, on and around the city with no strings attached. No story, no purpose other than to just parkour free style.

I would also like to be able to create a custom character to parkour with, and an integration of some sort of money system. So that you could take that money to a shop and buy other gear such as better shoes that might increase your characters abilities, and other items like backpacks, and clothing ect...

All in all this is a must have game props to the EA team that created it.

Blog Post: Great Game, Graphics, and Sound

geekytechnerd — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 23:36:00 GMT

Mirror's Edge has brought a nearly new genre to gaming (a good mixture of free-running and FPS, but without all of the guns), and it is a great starter to that genre. To be honest, it wasn't the best first-person game in the world, but it was awesome to play! Having the ability to disarm enemies, jump from skyscraper to skyscraper, and move across tiny spaces is just over-the-top amazing! The graphics are very glossy and vivid, but lack some specific details. The sound is good, but some sound effects are not included in the game. Also, it felt a little repetitive at some points throughout the game. Overall, it's enjoyable, and even though it could need some additional touches here and there, it's still a very great game!

Blog Post: Mirror's Edge? More Like Playing God

Test Subject Alpha — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 02:51:00 GMT

Mirror's Edge...oh god...this game...JEEZE! It takes somebody truley retarded and mentally stupid to think this game is bad. This game has everything you need: A collective cast, a good storyline, perfected gameplay and graphics, and its all wrapped and fried into a huge cost worthy game made by the creaters of the best selling Battlefield series. EA has out done themselves once again, and I am eager for a sequal so that I can run into the story of Faith once again as she takes on more of the enemies that don't stand a chance against our magnificent god-like powers.

Blog Post: faith can run as fast as she can........... on rooftops

Gamecrow — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 23:40:00 GMT

This is a great looking game thats not of story topic. You play as faith yeah her name is faith the high jumper that kicks but. But the gameplay.... well it's not that fun and when you get of hold of a gun the whole game changes. The game is not that fluid and the third chapter sucks. well there are some fun stuff in the game but the rest of it is boring. You wont be getting any packs thats hiding but will at least try. This game will get old but you should get this game. Just rent it or something.

Blog Post: A fun rush when you know what your doing.

f00gers — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 04:49:00 GMT

Presentation:

I feel that the story was mediocre and sadly forgettable. None of the characters were unique or didn't care about, but what i did enjoy was a nice concept to parkour your way around the city. The menu design was simplistic and fluid as the cutscenes, which provided a nice feel.

Graphics:

The art style is unique with the bright vivid colors and simplicity. the only real drag is most of the environment is rehashed throughout the levels and not too detailed, luckily you will be blitzing past these things to notice, though.

Sound:

I will straight up say that the theme song is absolutely awesome. The sounds of the city and running across buildings are strong, but a lot of the voice acting is sub-par.

Gameplay:

the feel of running and jumping over one obstacle to another was a great thrill only when you know what to do next. I admit that i had a hard time trying to figure out that im supposed to do a wall jump, the turn around to jump on a ledge that you couldn't see above. Times like that are pretty frustrating even though they try to help you by turning objects red to let you know to jump on them, etc. Also frustrating times are not actually getting the exact depth of how far you need to jump till it is too late, therefore, making it a tedious error and trial. Grabbing your opponents gun was decent, in no way was it a solid fps this way, but was acceptable.

Lasting Appeal:

After the 10 chapters i felt that you pretty much saw everything this game had to offer. personally i don't care much about the speed runs, which pretty much the only thing you can do else.

Blog Post: mirrors edge

sharkdude30 — Wed, 26 May 2010 22:17:00 GMT

This game is definately amazing. the camera is amazingly done and the jumping and sliding are easily executed.

Blog Post: Great Concept...

Jose — Fri, 21 May 2010 17:30:00 GMT

Mirror's Edge is a great concept. The first person free running is something new to the world of video games that seems to work well. However, that being said, I felt the game to be difficult due the lack of wepons. Certain levels put you up against tons of armed men, and you are left to find a weapon that is fairly useless against the hordes coming at you.

I also felt the stroy was a bit weak. Had the story been developed a bit more, the game might have been a bit better to play through, but it got to a point where I did not even care about the story any longer and I just would skip through the cut scenes.

Blog Post: Short review! Yeah!

FiveMinutesTill — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 01:30:00 GMT

This game is freaking awesome. That's just about it. It has a great concept of first person platforming, but is sadly overshadowed by frustrating gameplay, mediocre online, and a very dissapointing story.

Blog Post: Free Running (followed by Free Falling)

Facetious T — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 14:27:00 GMT

In cleaning up my long laundry list of games I need to play, I came across Mirror's Edge. This was one of those titles that may have caught your eye via pre-release preview, but then faded to distant memory. Never to bo thought of, even played, ever again. EA DICE released Mirror's Edge in 2008. As it now lies in bargain bins ($10 on the net), more and more gamers might experience a unique game that deserves a playthrough.

The story revolves around a group of "Runners," who are messengers for various organizations, and their plight against the totalitarian government who is suddenly hunting them down. The story is not the best I've seen in a game, nor the worst. I would call it competent. Most of the plot twists you can see coming from a mile away, and the dialogue becomes cliche as the game progresses.

The world is, at times, beautiful. The rest of the time, you will worry about your eyes bleeding. I'm not sure if this is an intended effect to mimic being outside after a dark interior, but it's distracting and takes away from the amazing work in level design and modeling. The super-white sections pale in comparison to the travesty that is the Mirror's Edge cutscene. The two styles do not work together and will leave you calling Faith Erin Surance.

The free-running mechanic is novel to gaming, and it is catching on. Early previews of developer Splash Damage's Brink show a similar mechanic. Where that game is a Shooter first, Mirror's Edge is a creative runner, with shooting elements tacked on. During my playthrough, the only gun I used was the sniper rifle required for a story mission. The hand-to-hand combat, combined with the wallclimbing, was an experience enough for me. As I never really used it, the shooting aspect of this game is omitted from this review.

By all means, I would have been outraged if I had shelled out $60 for this title at release. One can blow through the game in less that 5 hours. After the story mode, there really isn't anything to keep you from letting it collect dust on your shelf (by now, the trade-in value isn't worth the gas to get you to the store). The time trials, though fitting to the style of the game, are unappealing and repetitive.

Of course, there is a Hard difficulty unlocked the first time the credits roll. However, I would not recommend playing this game on anything but Easy. The shining gem of this game is the parkour-style rooftop travel. Making enemies harder to kill (and you easier) takes away from the central experience of the game. The only thing that will result is senseless frustration.

Concept: Unravel consiracy as best a parkourist can.

Graphics: Quality textures hindered by super-white lighting and crap Flash-animation cutscenes.

Sound: Electro-Organic soundtrack, fitting of the world. However, you'll get tired of Faith's grunting after a while.

Playability: Easy to pick-up controls create a nice flow. Since you really only use the analog sticks and a few buttons, I would say nearly everyone can play this.

Entertainment: Reminiscent of other 1984-inspired worlds, the story is not the entertainment. Jumping and sliding around rooftops like a 5-year-old hopped up on Pop Rocks and Mountain Dew is where the fun is.

Replay Value: Moderately Low

Things I Liked:

Parkour!
Easy controls

Things I Hated (Spoilers):

Parkour, again. The flow is hindered by what you think you can do, what you think you should be able to do, and what you can do but don't think you should be able to. Confusing, I know.
Cutscenes. The in-game world is fleshed out in bright colors and great texturing. The cutscenes look like an E-surance commercial. The two styles DO NOT work together.
The story. It's boring and predictable. There are a few decent set pieces that kept me excited, but that's it.
The ending. (SPOILERS) After jumping from the helicopter back to the same roof you were just on with SWAT members, you just stand there looking at the city. Where did the heavily armed security team go? Did they just give up when they saw the heli go down? PLOT HOLE!

Blog Post: eh

Astroass34 — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:04:00 GMT

This game is far from flawless. It's pretty lame.

Blog Post: Redifining the art of running and jumping

Hulkster83 — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:59:00 GMT

For many gamers, a destroyed world is a familiar concept. Whether it’s a post-nuclear war in Fallout 3 or an alien struggle in games like Gears of War or Resistance, we’ve all seen and done everything that’s possible to save the world, with practically the same visuals – muddy browns and increasingly uglier shades of green.

In 2008’s Mirror’s Edge, instead of the destroyed landscapes we’re so accustomed to, DICE has created a world that borders more on ideal fantasy than reality. Using a color palette that consists of sky blues and neon greens, contrasting whites and the ever convenient red, Mirror’s Edge takes more of a Gattica approach as opposed to the familiar Road Warrior tool set. Whether you’re running street-level or bounding atop skyscrapers, everything from cars to trains to buildings look futuristic, shiny and new.

Of course, a world like this has to come with a price.

In the events leading to Mirror’s Edge, a totalitarian regime has created a world that is practically crime-free, but at the cost of every individual’s freedom and privacy. Where every bit of communication is monitored, from letters to emails to cell phones, news reports are more like ad campaigns, and the “truth” is what you’re supposed to hear, not what you need to hear.

As Faith, it is you’re responsibility as part of a society of runners to transfer sensitive data without being seen by the watchful eye of the government. Having witnessed the death of a mayoral hopeful with your sister, your time is limited in not only finding the killer, but also proving your sibling’s innocence. Utilizing rooftops, power cables, ventilation shafts and more, stealth is your greatest weapon and only ally against an enemy that will use any tactic to see you dead.

Using a movement style known as parkour, where you’re goal is to maintain as much momentum as possible, you’ll find Faith leaping off of buildings, jumping between walls, sliding down power cables and rolling underneath piping all in an attempt to stay alive. Pair this with her blazing speed, and the game is more about combining well-timed sequences of button presses as opposed to the run-and-gun action we’ve seen out of DICE before.

Being considered a first-person shooter, because weapons are available, Mirror’s Edge reconfigures many of the traditional FPS staples. First, there is no HUD, or heads-up-display. Where games like Halo or Resistance constantly show your character’s health, map, weapons and available ammo, Mirror’s Edge takes away everything that’s not necessary for moving from point A to point B.

Second, instead of only showing you the bobbing weave of your gun, you’ll actually see your character’s arms and legs pop into frame. If you’ve ever tried to jump over a fence, you know exactly what I’m talking about – pulling your legs up higher or tucking your arms closer to your body in case you fall. At first, this extra animation seemed awkward, but ultimately it made the severity of the jumps and climbing sequences more realistic. And think about it, when was the last time you actually saw your character’s feet in a first-person shooter?

Though Faith is equipped with all the necessary abilities to make it through the city unscathed, we, unfortunately, are not. When first looking at a set of puzzles (vault off the boxes, cling to the pipe, grasp the ledge, jump to the rooftop, tuck and roll, etc., etc.), the complexity of what you need to do may be overwhelming for most. To alleviate this problem, DICE has implemented a system of visual cues known as “Runner’s Vision” that highlights the next step you need to take to finish a level.

When first starting a mission, a set of boxes just looks like a regular set of boxes. But, getting closer to it will soon change its color from stark white and gray, to a more eye-catching shade of red. This color change is to signify its importance to your mission and also leads you to the suggested path the developers have created. By pressing the jump button, either Left Bumper for 360 or L1 for PS3, Faith will vault off the boxes, pull herself over any ledge and stand up in wait for your next command. Yes, this particular exchange required very little input from you, but wait until you have to run across a wall, jump to another wall, turn your upper body to face the opposite direction, then jump again and cling to an air conditioning shaft. And did I mention you’ll have to do it while being fired at by four armed guards?

Coming from DICE, Mirror’s Edge does implement the absolutely necessary shooting mechanics for this genre. Be cautious, though, because using firearms does come at a cost. Faith is not the last hope, guns blazing action hero most of us control when playing shooter games. In fact, Faith is not the most adept at controlling firearms at all. Though she is capable of using guns, this does severely cripple her movements to a near walking speed and prevents her from jumping and climbing to safety. And to play this game as intended, your goals, when faced with armed opponents, are to disarm them as quickly as possible and then get to a safe distance.

Just like leaping over or sliding under obstacles, disarming your opponents requires keen eyesight and critical timing. Similar to Runner’s Vision for boxes or pipes, when an enemy’s gun turns red, a quick button press will not only disarm them, but knock them unconscious as well. Though this timing will take some failed segments to master, the most entertaining moments of this game involve disarming one opponent, then vaulting over a car or stack of boxes to attack the other.

Speaking of failed segments, the words “Mirror’s Edge” are practically synonymous with “attempt, fail and retry.” When facing a new obstacle or set of enemies, don’t be surprised if you can’t master the terrain with your first attempt. Actually, don’t be surprised if you can’t master anything your first ten attempts. Mirror’s Edge is extremely punishing in the way that doing something once won’t work, but trying it four times down the road will. Even though you haven’t changed your methods, the game, for some reason, will refuse to let you through to the next section.

Constantly retrying arduous segments, just like in any other game, can be a deal-breaker for most gamers, and Mirror’s Edge is filled with scenes that will not only test your skills, but test your ability to not throw a controller across the room. If the feeling of accomplishment wasn’t so rewarding, I’d strongly suggest passing on this title. With the promise of a sequel, though, perhaps Mirror’s Edge 2 will smooth out the bumps and create a more focused experience that won’t require you to restart a chapter every thirty seconds.

Presentation: 5/5

Right from the main menu you’re greeted with a relaxing view of the city and ambient, musical tones. Though this side of the game’s world is misleading, it quickly prepares you for the expansive vistas, distant horizons and mixture of Tokyo, New York and L.A.-inspired architecture found throughout the game.

Graphics: 4/5

The actual game graphics utilize a very detailed style of cel-shaded art and pair it with oversaturated neon colors. These contrasting colors and styles visually lead you through the levels and provide subtle yet important cues to your next destination. The cut scenes, though, look more akin to an eSurance commercial and visually feel like they’re from another game completely.

Gameplay: 3/5

Though Mirror’s Edge has a fairly lengthy introductory period, eventually the jumps, rolls, grapples and disarms become second nature. The attempt, fail and retry nature of the game needs to be the first thing to receive an overhaul in the sequel, in my opinion.

Replayability: 3/5

The point of the game is to get your speed, timing and movements as efficient as possible. With the game taking me under 6 hours to complete, I was inclined to start the game over again to utilize all the techniques I had discovered throughout my initial playthrough.

Blog Post: awesomeness

zombiemc — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 01:27:00 GMT

This game is flawless you play as a flow who is a runner and is trying to clear her sisters name after she is acussed of killing robert pope

Blog Post: This is cool...

Jonathan — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 15:50:00 GMT

This game play is amazing! Well I might be exaggerating, but I am blown away by the game. It is a great game complete with plot and voice overs. This game is definately worth your time and it doesnt take much time. This is a good game and I hope they make a sequel.

Blog Post: Running Inbetween the Brink and the Gloss

sakabato24 — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 09:12:00 GMT

Running from rooftop to rooftop, every vault, every slide, every jump you make is felt. The adrenaline pulsing through your veins, the dangerous ledges, and every small mis-step could be your last. This is life for the runners in the game "Mirror's Edge".

This game blends in perfectly Platforming and FPS. You play as the main character Faith, who is trying to solve the mystery behind her sister's framing. Faith is also a runner (a.k.a tracer) in a world bind by law, and rooftop running is against the law and called as act of terrorism. To solve you sister's framed murdering, you have to wall-climb, vault, and jump to reach the objective within the game.

The gameplay is simple. Using the shoulder buttons to do simple jumps and slides feel so natural once you get the hang of the controls. As you play throughout the game, you also get to experience hand-to-hand combat. You can disarm your opponent and take their weapon to attack other people or discard the weapon. This game also feels more free-flowing, unlike Assassin's Creed, this makes you feel like you were the one climbing a wall to reach you destination, you can control what you do with a few simple button combinations.

The visual art is also stunning. Each building is painted a gloss of white, but "runner's vision" helps you see you next objective and highlights items in red. Other colored building are also painted a matte primary color, which all give a beautiful representation of the city.

The music score is nice, but also forgettable and sometimes doen't give you as much adrenaline pumped into you.

This game also has a short story mode, that takes about 2 to 3 sit-ins to beat the game. Also, it sometimes takes me to find where my destination should go. There are also a very little issue of texture pop-up within this game. The replay value for this game comes to time trials. These are basically levels that you can play on to try to beat the level within the shortest amount of time.

Even though this game has a short story, and some other faults within this game, I stil enjoyed it very much with it's fun and unique game style, and I can't wait and see if EA gives us a sequel to this game.

Overall 8.75/10

Blog Post: Does It Stick The Landing?

Pipo — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:52:00 GMT

Mirror's Edge had me utterly stumped when I first thought about what score it truly deserved. The game does a lot right, against all odds. At the same time, it stumbles quite clumsily in other areas. At its best, Mirror’s Edge is an exhilarating roller coaster ride. At its worst, it contradicts its focus completely, offering up slow, frustrating sequences.

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AT A GLANCE:

WHAT IT IS: A stylish parkour-inspired platformer that plays out from the first person perspective

WHAT YOU'LL LIKE: Great sense of speed and momentum; visceral action despite the lack of guns; colorful, shiny world

WHAT YOU WON'T LIKE: The incredibly dull navigational puzzles; uninteresting plot and characters

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At first I absolutely loved this game. This goes even farther back than even playing it. The first time I even heard about this game, it just sounded like the kind of experience made for my tastes. I have always loved the platforming genre, yet in the past few years I had gotten very close to the FPS genre, with all of the innovations in games like Halo 3, the Modern Warfare games, and Bioshock. DICE proposed to blend the first person perspective with the running, climbing, and wall-jumping that defines the platforming genre. From the beginning, many people (including me) were pretty skeptical that such an experience could work. How would the quick movement of a platformer work when the player can only see directly in front of them? How easy would it be to judge jumps when your feet aren’t always visible below you?

GAMEPLAY:

But despite these questions, Mirror’s Edge pulls it off with a logical, elegant control scheme. Before I even bought the game, I played it in demo form on Xbox Live and was surprised by how elegant the controls were, and how they managed to make a game that feels not too much like either a platformer or a first-person shooter, but rather an experience unlike anything else. The controls may take some time to learn for some, but the layout makes a lot of sense. When a friend came over to see the game, they did not want to play because they said ‘it looks too complicated.’ The beautiful thing about Mirror’s Edge is that even though it may look hard to understand with all of the different moves you can pull off, it really isn’t that complex if you’ve played video games before. There were times where I could have sworn I should have been able to grab hold of something and I didn’t, but it never got to be a big issue in the scheme of things.

Another (literally) tiny detail also adds a lot to making sure the gameplay is as smooth for players as it looks. The little dot that is always positioned in the center of the screen during gameplay acts as a focal point. In other words, while many won't notice its effect, it helps fend of unwanted disorientation and motion sickness, something that could have been a very unwelcome obstacle otherwise.

Guns are in the game, as long as you steal them away from a foe, but you are encouraged to not use them often. They are effective for sure, and surprisingly satisfying to use, but they slow down your character, so they are best used for a quick shot or two before throwing it aside with a button press. The elegant gameplay that controls all of your acrobatics allow you to make some crazy stunts by stringing together moves. Run along a wall, jump off of it, and kick a guy while still in the air and then tell me you don’t agree.

The game also has no shortage of amazing jumps and stunts like walking on narrow poles hundreds of feet above the ground. The best moments in the game happen when you have a long stretch of obstacles that you speed up, under, over, or around while avoiding enemies shooting at you. When the game encourages you to use a ‘don’t look back, just keep running’ mentality, the game becomes a thrilling rollercoaster ride. It becomes as visceral as the best action games, especially since the relatively easy controls don’t hold players back. This is especially true at the few times where you face enemies who take a hands-on approach to defeating you, chasing you around the level while you try running to your goal. At these moments you can hear their footsteps as they get closer, but you just keep on running anyway. The beautiful visuals, solid framerate, and masterful audio (which allows you to hear the ‘woosh’ of the air as you pick up speed), and blur effect while sprinting, all add up to a realistic running experience that are an all-out joy to experience, when dodging either fists or bullets…or both.

The fact that the mechanics can be such a blast to play when it’s all about the speed makes it all the more baffling why the game constantly asks you to stop or slow down. Probably to add challenge and make the game last longer, you are confronted with plenty of navigational puzzles, mostly in the later parts of the game. In these sections, which are far too numerous, the fun is drained almost completely. The gameplay hook in Mirror’s Edge has always been that it focuses on speed and momentum. Yet DICE seemed to lose track of the goals they strove for originally, instead making you stop and smell the roses far too often. A little ways through the story, Mirror’s Edge becomes more of a puzzle game than an action game. Sometimes I would enter a building and it would take me five minutes just to figure out what exactly I’m supposed to wall-jump off of to get to a higher level. And then when I finally would get higher up, I had to figure out what to do next. At the beginning of the game DICE paints certain objects red to let you know the direction. But later on, the red paint becomes much less frequent, making figuring out where to go unnecessarily frustrating. It may break up the straight-up platforming and running action, but the entire point of Mirror’s Edge is to keep running and to gain more speed and momentum. There is even a speed run mode, for goodness’ sake. So why make the player stop having fun with the exhilaratingly fast, acrobatic gameplay to stop and look around for where to go next on such a constant basis. A few times would have been fine. But towards the tail end, it just becomes too much.

PRESENTATION AND GRAPHICS:

Another great aspect of the game is the look of the world. The game takes place exclusively in one city, which you’ll explore over the course of 9 levels. The bright near-futuristic world glistens with style. Whether on the rooftops or inside different buildings, the game always looks sterile, yet there are primary colors laced over much of the environments, giving the game a distinct look. If I were to see a screenshot of the game, I’d be able to tell right away that it’s from Mirror’s Edge. The first complaint I’d like to bring up is aesthetic. When many of the outdoor environments like the long irrigation tract and the numerous colorful office buildings look so great, it makes it all the more confusing why the game also throws in a number of boring, dank, brown interiors. Instead of using these incredibly familiar locales as fluff between the more beautiful areas, why couldn’t they have gotten more creative and introduced more types of outdoor environments like parks or boardwalks? And moreover, while the different office buildings may be coated in bright red or yellow or orange to differentiate itself from the others, it isn’t very creative to keep throwing you back into them.

The game’s narrative is sometimes dished out in-game, but most of the main details are thrown at you by way of 2D animated cut scenes. Cartoonish, if you will. I found both the animation and voice acting to be a little below expectations, and the cutscenes just aren’t too detailed and eye-catching. There’s a skip button for those who don’t care about the story, and unfortunately it’s pretty easy not to. The characters simply aren’t endearing and memorable at all.

The plot itself is also nothing special. You play Faith, a ‘runner’. Runners cross the city via rooftops, delivering information to others in a totalitarian city, where information isn’t too easy to come by. Of course, you don’t play the common delivery girl for very long, as you get embroiled in a murder case, where Faith must find out who dunnit. But surprise, surprise: The whole thing turns out to be bigger than it would first seem. The familiar tale is plenty coherent, but sometimes confusing with the amount of characters introduced. I also guessed one of the major plot surprises, which goes to show how predictable it is at times. Luckily, the story is more of an excuse to have the player zip around the entire city, into places where normal citizens would never even want to go (which is a good thing here).

REPLAY VALUE:

Mirror's edges story mode contains nine chapters. Now, nine levels may seem like a decent number, but some are shorter than others, and most aren’t very long anyways, except when you can't figure out to go next for the 100th time. Mirror’s Edge simply isn’t a very long game, and the aforementioned repetitive interior layouts (albeit usually with different colors) don’t help much. Meanwhile, replay value leans almost entirely on speed runs. A ticker appears on the side of the screen in this separate mode to show you how long you’ve been at it. I’m sure a small set of gamers will enjoy this challenge, and will want to get high on the rankings, as well as download the surreal time trial courses (pictured at right) that have appeared since release on Xbox Live's Marketplace. Most gamers probably won’t spend their time with time trials. There are secret bags hidden around each level as well, but all they equate to is achievements, and we've seen these hidden item 'bonuses' way too many times before. I think gaming should have left random collectibles behind in the N64 generation, personally.

Speaking of achievements, those who do love their Gamerscores will find some cool ones awarded for pulling off some awesome acrobatic combos, which helps showcase how a few button presses can lead to some stunning movement chains. You can also earn some big points for getting through the game without shooting a gun. Let me emphasize that the story mode is repetitive enough the first time through to not be a fully intriguing proposition to go for it again, though I may do just that sooner or later, in order to experience some of the better speed-focused moments again. As I have said, the running portions do deserve to be experienced by as many people as possible, so its too bad you have to take the bad with the good.

IN CONCLUSION:

I was originally very excited about Mirror’s Edge. The fact that it manages to be so fun at points, yet so sloppy and frustrating at others makes it all the more sad it didn’t fully live up to its potential. When you’re running, it’s a blast. But when the game forces you to slow down, stop, and look around, it just takes away from the experience. Leaving the city behind could lead to some great level variety if a sequel ever arrives (though I’ve heard this one hasn’t sold as well as expected, so perhaps it’s just wishful thinking). The mechanics in the game are fantastically visceral, and the visuals are crisp and stylish. If only had DICE focused exclusively on speedy acrobatics and kept players moving longer and more often, Mirror’s Edge would have landed its jump feet first.

Title: Mirror's Edge

Developer: Dice

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Genre: Platfomer

Players: 1

Release: November 12th, 2008

Blog Post: First Person... Running?

L0n3gun — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:29:00 GMT

Developed by EA Digital Illusions CE (DICE) best known for the Battlefield game series, Mirror's Edge takes the first person shooter (FPS) genre into an interesting new direction. Mirror's Edge puts you in the shoes of Faith who is a courier in a city and time where the government is in complete control of digital information and surveillance. The couriers known as runners utilize a style of running known as free-running or parkour to get from one location to another while avoiding the authorities.

Watch some Youtube videos of free-running stunts and you will see people doing all kinds of back-flips and jumps. In Mirror's Edge you won't be performing any extreme acrobatics. For most of the game you will be running, jumping, sliding and grabbing ledges or drain pipes. Occasionally there will be the need to utilize special type of jump or run to get to the objective of each level. For instance you will have to perform a wall run to maneuver over gaps or a wall jump to get some altitude. Mirror's Edge is not all about running, you are able to attack and disarm the enemy and use their guns against them. The stunts and attacks that you are able to perform in game are helped by entering bullet-time to help savor a particularly cool jump or attack.

Mirror's Edge is highly immersive due to details such as seeing both hands and feet when free-running. The environment also helps to place you in a working city. Jets fly overhead, pedestrians and cars are seen below, and there are also birds that will react to your presence. Although immersive the game is by no means realistic. Buildings, cars and other objects are not textured for realism, instead you will find basic colors such as white, blue, green and red throughout the city. This does not detract from the gameplay, instead it helps you focus for the color red which indicates a path to the objective.

There are only a couple of things that I thought could use some improvement. First of all the cut-scenes that help to move the story along are two-dimensional and look only slightly better than early episodes of South Park. Maybe I am too spoiled by Final Fantasy cut-scenes, but if a game is not going to use rendered movies then stick to a comic-book style of storytelling such as Infamous. Secondly some of the levels are very linear and easy to figure out.

Mirror's Edge is a must have game for bringing something entirely new to the FPS genre. At around $20 there is no reason you should not have this game in your collection.

Graphics: Good - Everything is rendered sharp and clean. Cut-scenes are two-dimensional.

Sound: Good - City sounds alive. Music does not distract from the action.

Controls: Good - Very easy to get used to, even when switching between consoles.

Language/Violence: Mild - The S word is used. Guns are usable against enemies, but there is not any splattered blood or gore.

Replay Value: High - Story mode is quick, but the addition of time trials adds more time that you will spend running each level faster.

Blog Post: A New Type of First Person Game

Luke — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:57:00 GMT

Mirror’s Edge is a fresh new take on the First person genre. It takes an action platforming game such as Assassin’s Creed and it puts you in a first person view. It is really cool. Everything you do, rolls, spins and crazy acrobatic feats, is done in first person.

In the single player campaign you play as Faith, a runner. She jumps across rooftops to bring information to people fighting an oppressive government. Trust me, the story isn’t as good as it sounds and we will leave it at that. Doing things in a first person view is very exhilarating. I love running through bullets and sliding along a building. I don’t exactly love crawling through air ducts. Sometimes the game slows down like that.

The combat isn’t the focus of the game but when I have to do it, it is a love/hate feeling. Performing cool disarms on my enemies and quickly running and gunning then tossing aside my gun is fun. But, the combat happens to often and can be very frustrating.

I now think about how much untapped potential this game has. Instead of having single levels it would have been great to have an open world to explore, like Assassin’s Creed. But maybe like the spider-man games it will evolve to have an open world in the next game.

Once you beat the game you can play through the levels and try to finish them as fast as you can. Then there are time trials to be completed. This is where the longevity and greatest challenge of the game is. Your lowest times are submitted to the leaderboards for your level speed runs and your time trials. Also, there are hard achievements to be earned.

Mirror’s Edge could be so much more. It could be longer. But as it is it’s a great new experience that’s fun. Rent or buy it. It’s pretty cheap now.