Mirror's Edge

Regretfully, Mirror's Edge is a rather forgettable game. There's a solid foundation there, but it's spoiled by lackluster storytelling, shoddy gameplay, excessive linearity, and sub-par combat.

When I got hold of the demo for Mirror's Edge, just like everyone else, I was very hyped about the game. And just like everyone else, I loved the demo. To pieces. Tight controls, a good story and a fresh setting all made it a golden idol that sat on my XMB until release day, whereupon I promptly deleted it to make space for the full game.

I swiftly regretted that action. Where the demo was fantastic, the finished product is well below average. Oh sure, it still controls well, and still looks pretty, but none of the promise that the demo held in abundance seems to have made it into the final game.

Let me explain. During the course of the games PR cycle, and even into the demo, the setting was laid. A dystopian future, where rights have been culled in favour of safety. With communication heavily monitored, those who wish to communicate secretly must hire special couriers called Runners, whose ranks contain Faith, the protagonist.

A powerful setting, no? It sends a strong message, what with all the much-debated 'threats to freedom' in the world today. How sad then, that none of that is in the final game. You deliver a bag - briefly - in the first level, but from there the game swiftly descends into a rather bland whodunit with a plot as hard to follow as a novel with all the punctuation removed.

This abrupt change in tack happens with an almost audible clunk, too. There's no set-up either, merely an 'oh hey, some dude got murdered' over your earpiece. From there it's a pretty swift train to Mediocrity Village as the plot struggles to move you from one half-baked scenario to the next. The levels all follow the same general layout - got to your target, then run from the cops that show up.

The gameplay isn't much better, though it's not all bad. Mirror's Edge is a refreshingly new concept in gaming, being essentially a first-person platformer. The controls are, blessedly, tight and intuitive enough to be useful throughout the whole game, but they don't do much when Faith simply won't do what she's told.

Often were the times when the engine simply couldn't figure out what I wanted to do. The simplest commands like 'run up these crates,' or 'grab hold of that ledge' wouldn't register. Instead, Faith would simply hop up and down, as if trying to grab something just out of reach, whilst I attempted to jimmy her into the 'magic spot' where the game would suddenly recognise what it was I was after. This would be something I could live with, except that it absolutely shatters the games flow.

After all, the flow is what it's all about. The idea is to keep moving, because, as the tagline says 'there's no looking back.' To assist in this you've got Runner Vision, which paints your next target in bright red, which stands out nicely against the stark white levels. Or it would, if half the levels weren't orange, incredibly dark, or a combination of the two.

Additionally, Runner's Vision is not perfect. You're told this right off the bat though, because it only points out the most obvious path, not necessarily the fastest one. You're told to keep an eye out for faster routes, but these are normally just a step shorter, or a jump less. Instead of encouraging exploration or lateral thinking, this instead constricts the experience and makes it a whole lot more linear.

Not that I'm saying that linearity is a bad thing. Indeed for some games it's perfect. It's just that the mechanics of Mirror's Edge feel as though they'd be more at home in an open-world, or at the very least free-roaming game, rather than being squandered here. However, I'm willing to forgive it somewhat for repairing the flow of the game.

Unfortunately, the combat takes that little fix and undoes it. No, wait, that's a rather large understatement. It grinds the flow into a fine powder and scatters it to the wind. It is truly appalling, and did most of the damage to my opinion Mirror's Edge.

To the games credit you're only ever implicitly required to fight one battle. But many are the times where you'll be placed in a room full of cops, armed to the teeth and ready for you. Behind them will be a door, that you have to get to, and through. You don't have to fight the cops, but if you don't, Faith's body will swiftly become the new home for many, many bullets.

This only becomes more pronounced as the game goes on, and by the end Mirror's Edge seems to forget that it's not Halo. You'll have to plow through entire squads of cops just to get to where you need to go next, and you will die. This is non-debatable. You will die a lot. Most of the time, you will die shortly after reloading. It is incredibly frustrating, and for me was the final nail in the coffin.

I honestly cannot recommend Mirror's Edge to anyone. Not a single group jumps to mind that wouldn't be better off playing the demo. Mirror's Edge sealed its own fate, and will probably be remembered more for its advancements to first-person gameplay. It's just a shame to see so much potential go to waste.

Story is B grade sorry.

Action good with a few chase and be chased levels to spice things up.

This game is very very short, I also have doubts about a sequel.

This game is an innovative true free running fps.

You get a time trial mode to do speed runs of sections from the different levels

No major bugs/glitchs or DRM in the PS3 version
Definately worth a try.

One of the best games I have played in a long time. A few downfalls like the indoor levels but the outdoor levels and all round gameplay make up for that. If you are buying this game be carefull. It is not really a game you can replay unless you want to do speed runs or timed levels. If you are a free runner. This game is definitly for you. All and all I give it a 9/10, missing one point becuase of the indoor levels. You have to buy it!

This is fun. Navigate roof tops, sewers and inside buildings as you evade cops who are shooting at you. After being framed for murder you are trying to find the real killer. This is a fast paced, action filled game where skill, reflex and quick thinking are needed rather than accurate shots. Highly recommended!

I've been interested in the game since the first time I saw the trailer and have been wanting to play it for a while, but because of mixed reviews and other games its taken me a while, but now that I have it I feel kind of guilty as it one of the most enjoyable and unique gaming experiences I've had in a long time (even after playing the likes of Uncharted 2 and Modern Warfare 2 this year).

Like the review's here suggest you are either going to love this game, or hate it - and probably over the same things; what one person loves another will hate.
For me, while not perfect, I have been really enjoying Mirrors Edge, here's why;

The art direction was brilliant; the use of color and lighting gave the world a realistic yet at the same time and surreal look, some of the best visuals and lighting in a PS3 game that I've seen. The audio is amazing as well; each level has between 3-6 unique music score which fits perfectly with the setting. The sound effects are solid to, from Faith panting, to the sounds of the city, to when you are being chased you can hear foot steps just behind, everything just works and adds to the setting.

The game takes place all from a first person view point and you spend most of the time navigating the city by running along, jumping over, sliding under, and swinging to different objects, walls and buildings. Your not always outside either, your often be in indoor environments as well.

It's easy to navigate as you have a feature called runners vision which means objects you can grab or jump off turn red when you get close, you can turn this on or off (when playing on Hard it will be turned off), also with a quick press of the O button you can look in the direction of the next objective, and if your still stuck, select brings up a list of objectives, so its hard to get lost or not no whats going on. There are generally several different ways to get around a level; and if you download someone else speed run of a level you will be amazed at some of the routes other players have found!

Each level also has 3 hidden bags to collect, while they don't add to the story, finding all of them adds a bit more exploration to the game (and you get a trophy as well) a 'puzzle' area which you must navigate, these are generally tricky but still can provide a challenge, but always feel doable. A push of the square button gives you around 10 seconds of slow motion time which is useful when you have to sting different jumps and wall runs together.

The combat is a mixture of hand to hand and gun combat, but at its core hand to hand is the way to go and this is what the game focuses on. You can punch, fly kick, slide kick, wall kick and disarm enemies. Disarming is done by pushing the triangle button at the correct time and is not to hard, slow mo can help with this. Disarming an opponent will not only knock them out but will also give you their gun which range from pistols to shotguns. This game is NOT a shooter, so don't expect to run around shooting everyone. Once your gun is out of ammo you will chuck it away, there is no reloading or carrying extra ammo. That said you can do some cool things with them; nothings cooler than running, sliding along the ground picking up a gun, and while still sliding emptying clip into the next enemy, or doing a slow-mo jump, then mid jump spin around and fire at the enemy's chasing you.

It is possible to get thought the whole game which out using a gun.

The controls take a bit to get used to but there not to tricky, however the only negative point I have to this game is that some time you don't jump or grab and object when you have pushed the right button, and instead just fall to the ground bellow, or to your death. While it can annoying, especially if your going for a top time, most of the time you will die or fall if you have misjudged a jump, but there will be times when you will be going "why didn't you grab it!". Luckily the checkpoints are generally well placed so you wont need to do much repetition when you do die.

Story is decent, its easy enough to follow and while it isn't a Metal Gear Solid type story, it is interesting enough to make you want to know what is happening and see it though. The story is mostly told by animated cut scenes which do the job, but don't seem as flashy as the rest of the game. The voice acting is solid as well. It took me around 7 hours (maybe) to finish the first time round (longer than Modern Warefare 2's 5 hour campaign!), and have played though again on Hard which was a good challenge.

There is an online mode where you can compete for a top time with online rankings on a variety of different level. Oh and the DLC for the game (extra levels) is now free :)

Ultimately I enjoyed this game because of its excellent art and sound direction, and unique gameplay that didn't focus on shooting everything in site. While it does have its frustrations, they don't happen frequently enough to kill the experience.

It is a tough game at times, but never feels unbeatably tough. If you have been sitting on the fence and enjoyed the demo or have just been curious about this game (as I had been) then you should defiantly pick it up, especially now that its cheap (under $50!) as its one of the most enjoyable and unique gaming experiences I have had in a long time :) 4.5 Stars