DEVELOPER: EA Digital Illusions CE
PUBLISHER: Electronic Arts
FORMAT: Xbox 360 (reviewed), PS3, PC
PEGI RATING: 16+
GENRE: Platformer
WEB: www.mirrorsedge.com
AVAILABLE: Out Now! Buy it from Play
The Set-Up
You play Faith, a runner who transports important messages across a spartan but extraordinarily clean dystopian city and uncovers a conspiracy that threatens to put a stop to your parkour career for good.
Review
Whether Mirror’s Edge is a good game or not, it deserves attention for trying to do something original in a world increasingly steeped in sequels. Like Portal (2007) and ground breaking shmups like Rez before that (both classics of gaming), Mirror’s Edge tries very hard to do something different and unique, namely to be a fast-paced, first person platformer.
Thank God it manages to be a great game as well.
Like most other ‘original’ games for some reason, Mirror’s Edge is very short – around ten hours long – but the nine levels it spans are memorable, exciting and finely tuned. The rooftops of this futuristic metropolis are rendered in a dazzling stark white, with objects that will aid your run coloured a bright red to stand out from the scenery, and this coupled with the techno music give the game an atmosphere all of its own, perfectly suited to a bit of early morning free-running. I was doubtful of the first person perspective at first, but with the simple and intuitive controls it succeeds magnificently, giving a real sense of effort as you desperately haul yourself up a pipe or find yourself stopping to exclaim: “you have GOT to be kidding me” when an impossible chasm looms between you and the next rooftop. There are indoor levels as well, which don’t have the same sense of magic as the outdoor running, but the linearity of the path you have to take in these sections, allows the designers a bit more freedom to throw up some jumping puzzles of greater complexity, which would have cluttered a sometimes confusing rooftop landscape.
What holds Mirror’s Edge back from true greatness is actually the more traditional gameplay elements. Having to stop to press buttons and open doors halts what should be one continuous free flowing progression and the combat, although while its sometimes fun to disarm your opponents in slow motion, leaves a lot to be desired. There is nothing more frustrating than being shot down midway through a complex series of jumps you think you’ve timed to perfection.
The pressure of being constantly chased, while forcing your speed up to exhilarating levels can mean you miss out on potentially exciting or better paths through each area, but luckily there is a whole other aspect of the game where you unlock the story mode and just run against the clock. This allows for a lot of replay value as you discover new paths and your improved reflexes throw up valuable corners you can cut in your routes and as such, continues to provide excellent half hour bursts of entertainment after the main game is finished.
In fact, you can’t help wondering whether the developers could have ditched the story and the combat altogether and just spent their efforts on that aspect. What Mirror’s Edge does best is those areas in which the game really pushes the platforming to a unique level, and it seems a shame that the designers didn’t feel confident enough to just leave it as that. But either way, if you don’t try Mirror’s Edge then you’re definitely missing out on a stunning breath of fresh air amidst the ubiquitous grittiness of today’s gaming market.