Mirror's Edge Review

Written by: Darren Cartledge Posted: 29th January 2009

Share:

Digg It

Time to run!

Mirror's Edge Details:

	Adventure
	PC/PlayStation 3/Xbox 360
	DICE
	EA Games

16+

Out Now

There’s no shortage of first person shooter or action games, but with Mirrors Edge DICE decided to try something different. Instead of focusing the games action on shooting and taking out enemies, the game concentrates on running and avoiding trouble, but does it work?

In short the answer is yes, the game is set in a world where communication channels are highly monitored and the movement of information is closely watched. In this world runners are employed to deliver sensitive information that needs to be kept secret from the watching authorities. You take up the role of Faith a runner, whose sister is framed for murder! You will have to guide Faith on a journey to clear her sister’s name whilst trying to avoid the authorities.

As a runner Faith has a number of special skills that allow her to move quickly and covertly around the city, firstly runners see the world differently to normal citizens, being able to see routes and paths that allow them to move secretly across the city rooftops! This is reflected in the look of the game, pathways appear bright red against a backdrop of white buildings. Faith is also able to compose herself slowing down time to allow her to make perfectly timed moves and make difficult jumps.

The basic premise of Mirror’s Edge is to avoid trouble wherever possible, using Faiths skills to evade the authorities, however should the need arise Faith is a master of unarmed combat and she has a number of moves at her disposal to neutralise the chasing Police and is even able to grab the guns right out of their hands. Again Faith’s runner vision comes in useful here as cops guns will light up red when it’s the perfect time to strike enabling you to turn the tide against them. The games combat system is implemented well requiring precise timing which adds to the challenge! However, don’t expect to be able to take on groups of Police as they will soon dispose of you. To be effective you have to draw them in, forcing them to separate before taking them out one by one. It really adds a strategy element to the gameplay, adding a somewhat different challenge to the playing experience on offer in Mirrors Edge.

Despite the games excellent combat system most of your time will be spent running as the Police’s numbers are simply too great, although that’s not a bad thing. Running across the rooftops at pace is a good playing experience in its self, requiring you to pull off various jumps, slides and wall runs in order to navigate your way across the city’s maze like skyline. This may make the game sound some what simple, but it’s not, as you will more often then not be required to pull off a string of moves in very quick succession and this will push the reflexes of the most hardened gamer to the limit.

The games levels are large and well designed offering a lot of variation that sees you navigating through office block ventilation systems to sprinting across open rooftops. The game offers a decent challenge mainly due to how relentlessly the Police chase Faith, what’s more, there not interested in talking they’re just looking to take you out after being given the order to shoot on sight.

Apart from the games story mode, Mirrors Edge features a time trial mode that allows you to replay the games levels without any enemies and finish them in the fastest time possible, competing in online leaderboards, it’s fairly addictive and a nice addition, although can be a little frustrating as trying to rush through an area can often lead to Faith’s death.

Visually Mirrors Edge has a highly stylised look. The city skyline has been created with bright white buildings with brightly coloured walkways, drainpipes, and scaffolding pointing you to the way ahead. Cut-scenes have been created in a cell shaded anime style that looks excellent and is vastly different from anything I have seen in this genre before. The games sound design is also high quality, with voice acting performed reasonably well and music that adds to the tense feeling of the on screen action. Sound effects are pretty authentic and ambient sounds of the living city echoing from below help to portray a living world.

Mirrors Edge serves up a new style of playing experience offering both tense action and fresh ideas for the first person action genre. The games electric pace will challenge most gamers and keep you gripped to action for hours and unlike many who take a new approach DICE have managed to create a solid and thrilling game.