- Title: Mirror’s Edge
- Publisher: EA
- Developer: DICE
- ESRB Rating: “T” for Teen
- Genre: First Person Action
- Pros: Great graphical style; addictive and satisfying gameplay; gets better the more you play it
- Cons: Combat; trial and error; definitely not for everyone
Mirror’s Edge is about a city where the people are safe and generally happy, but at the cost of certain freedoms. Sensitive information that the government has outlawed can’t be broadcast or mailed, and instead has to be delivered by skilled runners who leap across the rooftops, always staying a step ahead of the police. You play as a runner named Faith whose sister has been framed for murder, and your objective is to try and unravel the conspiracy surrounding her.
The story mode takes around 5-8 hours to play through, depending on how much you fail and have to retry trickier sections of the game. There are also time trials that break the levels up into smaller chunks as well as full speedruns through levels. These modes truly test your skills and really make the open nature and large number of paths through each level really stand out much more than the story missions do.
It has to be said, though, that Mirror’s Edge isn’t for everyone. If you are easily frustrated and the concept of trying a section of a level a dozen times to squeeze out a few more seconds in a time trial doesn’t sound appealing to you, you’ll likely hate it. But if you are patient, even tempered, and can appreciate that this is a first-person puzzle game as much as it is action, you’ll love it.
Gameplay
Exploration and finding faster paths through levels is extremely enjoyable. There are always multiple paths to take, even though they might not always be obvious, and finding them is part of the fun. Another huge part of what makes Mirror’s Edge enjoyable is when you do put together a perfect run and can string together a number of jumps and slides and vaults at top speed, it is just about the most satisfying experience ever.
My only complaint with it all is that these moments of pure joy are usually broken up by combat. Honestly, the combat sucks here and almost ruins the game. Hand to hand combat is unsatisfying at best, and while you can pick up guns that enemies drop, shooting people just seems to be the absolute opposite of the spirit of the game. I don’t wanna fight people, I just want to run!
Graphics and Sound
Graphically, Mirror’s Edge is a stunning game with a striking visual style. The city has a very clean sterile look with white rooftops and gleaming reflective skyscrapers. Color is used only sparingly to highlight rather than to decorate. The game is realistic looking without being gray and brown, and for that alone DICE deserves some credit. We aren’t quite as impressed by the story cutscenes that look like they were built in Flash. To go from an ultra-detailed gorgeous looking world to a flat and non-detailed cutscene is quite a shock.The sound is very good overall and features some of the best music in a game this year. Sound effects for footsteps or gunfire or Faith’s heavy breathing when you barely make a big jump are perfect. It is sort of cool to hear Faith take a big breath after a tricky section only to realize that you as the player have been holding your breath as well. The voice work is also solid throughout.
Bottom Line
