Mirror's Edge takes place in a not-so-distant future in which all crime is nearly non-existent, and life is comfortable. Unfortunately, the price for this "utopia" is a complete lack of privacy and freedom, as the government is ruled by a totalitarian regime which scrutinizes its populace using constant surveillance. In this locked-down world, there are some who resist. With the government controlling all avenues of communication, this resistance relies on "Runners" to deliver messages between groups. These runners utilize unorthodox methods of travel to avoid the surveillance grids and police patrols to successfully deliver their communications.
The main character in Mirror's Edge is Faith, an experienced Runner returning to duty after an injury temporarily took her out of the game. During a routine delivery, Faith learns that her sister may be in danger, as the gubernatorial candidate she was guarding was found dead in his office with her being the only person in the area. Faith rushes to the building and finds her sister only to learn that she was obviously framed. Faith then sets off on a quest to prove her sister's innocence which will pull her deep into the corruption of the totalitarian regime, and introduce her to some of the dirtiest characters in the city.
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| I bet this job has a huge turnover rate... |
The majority of the game is spent traversing the city using parkour-like moves, and making massive jumps across rooftops. Faith can slide under obstacles, run briefly across walls, flip over barbed wire, and much more in order to lose the cops on her deliveries. What makes these moves even more thrilling is the fact that the entire game is played in first-person.
Flying through the air and moving at high speeds through obstacles can be exhilarating. The game uses "Runner vision" to show what objects can be grabbed on to, or used to traverse the rooftops, by highlighting them in red. Unfortunately I had a lot of problems with the game's jumping and grabbing mechanics. Often times I would be clinging to a pipe or ledge, aim at the next red highlighted object, press the jump button, and just fall to my death instead of leaping to the other object. The climbing just seemed very inconsistent, and became very annoying.
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| Please work please work please work |
Combat in the game is interesting, as Runners focus much more on avoiding conflict than shooting their way through any resistance encountered. Faith is competent when it comes to hand-to-hand combat, but the majority of enemies faced throughout the game are armed. Luckily faith has an ability called "Reaction Time" which slows down time and makes disarming enemies much easier. This Reaction Time is refilled by running at high speeds, and as such, can usually only be used once per fight. After disarming combatants, Faith can choose to turn their own weapons against them, or to take off running in the opposite direction.
In-between the game's 10 missions, the story is progressed through animated cutscenes. These animated scenes resemble Japanese animation, but have a style all their own. Personally, I enjoyed these scenes, though others seem to dislike them.
Mirror's Edge's city looks amazing. The game uses stylized coloration which makes the city appear much sharper than it would otherwise. Most environments are white or gray with one or two color highlights to catch the eye. This color scheme not only gives a futuristic feel to the environments, but also makes the graphics appear to be better than they are. The game's music also adds to the futuristic feel, and is actually quite good.
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| Have a seat and the police will be with you in just a few seconds. |
The 10 story missions will last players only around 6 hours. Luckily there are two additional modes in the game to stretch out the game time just a bit more. Time Trial mode allows you to re-run the 10 levels attempting to beat the clock. Race mode presents a number of courses through which Faith runs through checkpoints as fast as possible. New courses are unlocked as scores are beaten in other race areas. In both Time Trial and Race modes, your best times can be posted online to leaderboards for your friends to attempt to beat.
Mirror's Edge is an extremely unique game. With the First-Person perspective, jumping and flying through the air is truly exhilarating, that is, when the game's mechanics actually work. Otherwise, the game can be a frustrating practice in trial and error. The sharp style of the game, unique gameplay, and the thrill of traversing huge towers in the city definitely make the game worth playing, even with the game's problems.
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