Running for your life has never been this much fun.

Author's Rating:

Pros: Innovative Gameplay
Small Learning Curve
Intense Action

Cons: No Multiplayer

The Bottom Line: 
Mirror's Edge brings an excitingly unique approach to first person games. I recommend this title.

Author's Review
I remember playing Tomb Raider and playing with the camera while thinking, "it'd be radical to play this game from a first person perspective like Duke 3D." Granted, my lingo has changed, but my feelings didn't. I've always looked forward to a first person title that has players running, jumping, and performing some of the daring acts that Lara Croft did. Mirror's Edge brings this experience.

The game starts with introducing you to a city where personal freedoms have been limited by government surveillance. The average person doesn't care, but the ones that speak out are arrested. This is where the runners come in. They deliver packages for the resistance. While the police generally leave runners alone, a delivery has them hard after Faith. When Faith learns that a candidate for mayor was killed and her sister blamed for it, she embarks on a quest to uncover the conspiracy.

Well, it's your standard government versus free thinker conspiracy. I really don't care much about the story. I appreciate the use of cell shaded cinematic sequences to push the story. It gives parts of the game a more stylized look. The change in appearance also helps emphasize when important story times are being shown versus the standard in game play.

The visuals to Mirror's Edge are decent. I suspect the camera is slightly in front of Faith, as when looking down you only see her feet. Despite this, the perception of body is well done. Faith's arms move in and out of vision while running as they would in real life. Also when falling on your butt, you see her feet out in front of you. This attention to detail helps the realism of the game.

The Unreal 3.0 engine enhances the mechanics of Mirror's Edge. First, recognize that Mirror's Edge is a first person platformer (not first person shooter). Faith has one attack button and many buttons for movement. The layout uses the left shoulder buttons for jumping and ducking while the right shoulder buttons are attack and 180 turn. The world is a playground as Faith can jump, climb, and wall run on most surfaces. While she can disarm enemies (using Triangle), players are encouraged to dash through levels by jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Being 30+ stories in the air makes every fall deadly.

To push players, most scenes have you running to either chase someone or escape. It forces players to be alert and creates an adrenaline rush when playing. During the first couple levels, you must crawl through an air duct. If you're slow about it, you get shot. If not, you can turn around and see enemies shooting through the duct to tag you. The sometimes claustrophobic environments press players to feel trapped like a caged animal and seek a means of escape. The rush is intense and the levels are well designed to keep players moving.

Mirror's Edge supports both Trophies and Downloadable Content (DLC). For DLC, EA offers some race tracks for $10. While not particularly interesting, serious fans of the game may purchase them to extend the game's shelf life. While multiplayer would be interesting, Mirror's Edge is a single player title.

Mirror's Edge offers an innovative game play that I hope to see more of. The game blends first person action with platforming very well to create an experience like nothing else. I recommend Mirror's Edge. I would've paid $30 for this title, but it currently retails for $20. If you haven't played Mirror's Edge, download the demo. I'm sure you'll like it.