Mirror's Edge

EA Brings One of the Most Innovative and Unique Games I've Played in a Long Time

Back in November of '08, I had gone to a friends house and once I got there he seemed exhilarated by the fact that he got this crazy demo from Xbox Live (At the time I did not have Live). He called it "Mirror's Edge", which was something I was familiar with after hearing a lot of hype about it, but I was at a loss to what kind of game it was.

When he revealed the demo to me, I instantly noticed a dazzling array of colors across the vivid city in which the game took place. So here I am, sitting on the couch, looking in awe at the game, but still with much curiosity. My friend gave me a brief overview on the controls, to where then I realize it mostly revolves around the Left-Bumper on the Xbox controller. When I start playing, I'm fully immersed in this unique experience. You play as Faith, a woman who calls herself and a group of other people "Runners", who are daring people that try to pass on information in a corrupt city. You jump across buildings, slide down strings of rope, engage in brawls with the police, all of which is enthralling and amazing.

In almost every level, you'll gaze in wonder and awe at the beauty and color of the locations. After buying this game and playing through to the end, one of the greatest things about this is that "Mirror's Edge" delivers a cinematic and wonderful experience. For instance, when you're jumping through the air to latch on to a bar aligned on a building, you'll notice that you feel like you're actually , hence the "immersive-ness".

The whole game is a spectacular adventure, one that will leave you looking at it like some kind of masterpiece. Now for the story-it's nice and interesting. But it is told well? Not really. Some people will be puzzled throughout the game at where the plot is and what the story is telling. Some more cons on the game is the-at times-seemingly impossible levels in "Mirror's Edge". Frequently I found myself stuck in the game because I had absolutely no clue as to how to get past the level. There was a heaping amount of trying and trying to get through to the next stage of "Mirror's Edge", but I was thoroughly baffled by all of these impassable levels. I'm so thankful for walkthroughs.

Another thing to comment on is the free-play, which is practically non-existent. I would have adored the fact that I could go around the whole lustrous city, doing whatever I pleased as a Runner.

Apart from all of this though, I simply loved "Mirror's Edge". Jumping off of rooftops has never been so magnificent and fun. The voice-acting is definitely something to comment on, every character seems to have a memorable personality. The music is fantastic. "Still Alive" has surely become one of my favorite songs. The graphics are remarkable and vivid. And apart from the somewhat disappointing way of the story-telling, the plot is still pretty original and interesting. The whole experience of "Mirror's Edge" is one that I will never forget, and this game should be looked upon as a standard for adventure games, being that this is one of the best I've ever played in that genre. I think this game is one that gamers will be looking upon for years as one of those "really amazing games".

Falls just short of amazing...

Mirror's Edge did something that has been done before with verying degrees of success: putting a modern spin on a classic idea. At first, I didn't think it would be a good idea to create a platforming game in first person because it seemed to me that the fluidity with which the game flows would contrast with the first person viewpoint. However, I have to say that in the end it worked out very nicely. For most of the game you have this sense of flow that can't be found in most games. However, one thing that frustrated me was the fighting. Contrary to what I wanted in other first person games, I didn't want epic shootouts because they stifle the flow of the game. One other flaw that I found with the game was that the story left a lot to be desired. It's not that the story was bad, but that it felt, at times, quite generic. Other than these small issues, I would have to say that this game is without a doubt one that should be enjoyed by everybody. Don't rent, just go out and buy it.

Butter scraped over too much bread.

Mirror's edge can be fun. It's definately unlike anything I've ever tried before. Unfortunately, the game quickly loses steam. First person free-running is a great idea, but this game doesn't do enough with it to justify an entire game.

The graphics in Mirror's Edge are interesting, but hard on the eyes. The game uses colors in an entirely unique way, using only a few colors in the scheme. The colors you'll be seeing almost soley are red, white, blue, and green. This does look impressive at first, but quickly becomes unnerving. Every area begins to look like every other area, and you lose any feel for where you're going. It also hurts your eyes after prolonged exposure.

The music in the game doesn't fit the game at all. While you're running from building to building, daftly cheating death, there's a very soft and calming ambient sounding technoish music playing. It reminds me of what alot of old Dreamcast games used. It's good music, something that would be good to fall asleep to, but in the game, all it did was take me out of the experience.

The combat in this game is dreadful. You're can only run, jump, slide, kick, or punch your enemies, and while that might seem alot, after five minutes of combat you'll start to feel that you're somewhat limited for someone who can run straight up a wall and jump off a building onto a crane. The biggest problem with this is all your enemies have weapons that can kill you with about three direct shots. And the enemies are pretty accurate. You can pick up these weapons, but when this FPS actually embraces the Shooter aspect, it falls apart. The controlls are clunky, it's VERY difficult to aim, you only have enough shots to kill maybe three enemies, cannot pick up additional ammo for your gun, and can't see how many shots you have in the first place. The most annoying part is that, despite the fact that the characters remind you that it's better to run, and the loading screen tips do so as well, the game likes to put you in a situation where you have no choice other than to fight. The combat quite literally feels like it was tacked on as an after thought.

While we're on afterthoughts, I'll mention that there is a story, and it's as well developed as this paragraph.

This is the basic problem with this game. It doens't feel developed enough to justify an entire game. The game still isn't long; you could easily complete Mirror's Edge in a single night. There are about 9 half hour missions in the game, but despite this, it STILL feels long. I say, with all honesty, that just get the demo. You'll get more enjoyment out of wondering what the rest of the game is like than actually playing it.

The game consists of, basically, get from point A to point B. But there are only about 10 or so freerunning moves you can do, so the obstacles quickly begin to become almost identical and tedious. Combined with the interesting yet bland art the game does, quite literally, feel like you're doing the same level over and over again. Because the combat feels so shallow, I really feel like Mirror's Edge is a great idea that was undeveloped.

Overall, Mirror's Edge is a great idea, and it's real fun to play, but it gets old FAST. The biggest problem overall with this game is that there isn't enough content to justify an entire game. I can't help but think of Portal when playing it. Portal was a great, yet simple. Valve knew that they didn't have enough to justify an entire game, so they made a fun-size, two hour game out of it. If mirror's edge had done this, I'm sure that it would have inspired a cult following worthy of Tom Cruise. Unfortunately, the game stays well past it's welcome, and by the time you finish, you'll feel the sense of relief you do when your awkward relatives finally leave after christmas dinner.