Mirror's Edge (Xbox 360)

Reviewed by Oliver on June 16th, 2009

Remember Assassin's Creed? Remember Prince Of Persia? Remember Battlefield 2? What do all these games have in common? Well, I can tell you it has nothing to do with the Japanese Mafia. They do, however, have something to do with Mirrors Edge. DICE, the makers of the Battlefield games, decided that the concept of parkour used in Prince of Persia and Assassins Creed was an awesome idea, and it would be awesome to make a game that focused on just that. Now if you were to combine parkour with Battlefield, you'd get one amazing piece of game. Of course, all good ideas are always pushed to the side. But on a rare occasion, they are pushed aside and replaced by a just as good an idea. Mirrors Edge is a first person runner (PUUUUUUN!) in the future where the Government rules all forms of communication. Oh, and the rest of the large metropolis you play in. You get to play as Faith, a little Asian girl (She's about 21ish) with some awesome moves, as she runs along walls, up walls, around walls and over walls. And barriers. And pipes. And ledges. In fact, if you can see it and in reality you could jump over or onto or through, you can do so in the game.

Vaulting over small objects, power sliding under objects almost Jack Black style, run along walls to avoid drops and leap from rooftop to rooftop in single bounds. Faith is a runner, a personal courier who uses the rooftops of buildings to avoid detection of the totalitarian Government who don't want you to deliver what you have. The control this Government has is proven through the colours of the game, where everything is white, green or blue. Even the plants are somehow white. Of course, the one problem with the games universe is the lack of information. The only reason you know the Government is evil is because you are told so. And while the cops will open fire on you makes them feel slightly evil, it could be that you are carrying a bomb to someone that is going to blow up a children's hospital filled with ....children; the kind with cancer. More or less, you are never actually led to believe that the Government is bad, but more expected to believe the words of law-breakers. But while the story does seem to be somewhere in the grey, the voice acting isn't. While there aren't many memorable voice moments, the voice acting is good, and the heavy breathing from the actors is pretty realistic, like they had them running on a treadmill while in front of a microphone.

This also helps with the use of the Runner Vision, in which something will turn a bright red, indication that the object can be used in some way, be it a pipe to climb up/down, or a box to leap off from to get to a higher than usual ledge. Mirrors Edge is unique not because of the ability to run over, under and so forth, but because that is its entire focus. There are guns that you can pick up and shoot your way through, but it definitely feels like you are cheating when you take out a room of enemies with a shotgun rather than spend an extra couple of minutes sprinting down corridors dodging bullets and sliding behind cars in a garage. You will spend most of your time picking out routes to get from point A to B, and then trying to exact that route. A large portion of playing will be watching yourself fall to your painful doom, and then hearing your bones explode. While the game does good at making you feel like you yourself are sliding under something, or leaping forward to a building far away and down, making you feel the actual momentum, but the game has a detection problem, and when you would expect to grab onto the edge of a building and hoist yourself up, you will end up saying hello to your good friend GROUND!

Graphically, the game is amazing and crisp. When you are climbing a pole, and can't be bothered looking up, you can see everything on the pole, including little cracks, dings and rust spots. The cutscenes are a stylized, animated comic like look, but don't really give much to the story, which feels like the first part of a movie. When running, the camera bobs with the movement of Faiths head, you see her arms and legs, and on the occasion of massive jumps, even her torso, which make you really feel just how much momentum is behind the controller.

Now for the falling points of the game. There is no multiplayer. There isn't really much of a way you could do aside from starting different players at different points and a race to somewhere in the middle. There is also no open environment. You can play around in the training level, but after an hour or so, it just doesn't seem big enough. If you had the ability to manage to climb down to the streets, run across the city roads and then get back up to the rooftops a few miles down, then the game would be near on perfect. There is a series of time trials, all of which are sections of levels in the game. Some can be completed in just under a minute, but can take a long time to get a perfect score. While this does seem fun at first, it does get frustrating when you miss the high score by mere milliseconds. But it does feel satisfying when you find the right technique and beat your own personal record four times in a row.

Rating: 3/5 Red objects to jump over
Nothing more I can say about this game. It's an original idea that actually works, and hopefully will be perfected in the near future, if with a slightly better story.

(There was one thing I remember. You are never told what are in the packages, or why the Government is really, really bad. So for all you know, you could be playing a terrorist delivering poison gas, another downfall).

Reviewed by Tyler on April 22nd, 2009

This game is simply amazing. The dynamic is like no other game I have played. It really is about the rush of escapism, the thrill of running and keeping up momentum. Forget shooting and cover (although guns can be snatched off enemies and used), run for your life instead. You feel invincible as you traverse the city, jumping from rooftops to cranes, down storm drains, up levels of offices and scaffholding. The motion of first person is very fluid and the controls are straightfoward enough. You have to time your jumps and roll into landings from greater heights, which you master over time.

I have not completed the game yet, but it is quite short according to reviews. That's just the nature of the game in that you are always on the move. However, there is massive replay potential in time trials, where you can complete individual speed runs and beat your times. It's about finding the route which will maintain speed.

The graphics are bright and vibrant in a neo futuristic world. Simple but effect design. Every building has a different colour or theme. Using the Unreal Engine 3 (which was used for Gears of War), there have added new lighting dynamics which enhance the style.

There's a storyline to follow (cutscenes are told in manga animation style and during the chapters). But this is all about the immersive, addictive gameplay. Expect shades of Half Life 2 (when being chased, you really feel that the enemies are'nt far behind) and Portal (with various innovative ways to find the way out). Perhaps even some Tomb Raider (swinging on poles and shimmying along ledges). But this game is still original and shines with brilliance. I won't look at First person games the same again. EA are planning a trilogy.

If you like the dynamic gameplay and the challenge of escaping intact, you'll love this.

Reviewed by Ben on March 13th, 2009

Before I played Mirror's Edge for myself I'd heard a lot about it--good and bad: "It's ruined by the shooting bits" "The feeling you get when you make a big jump is amazing" "The controls are too difficult and glitchy" "It has some great moments" "It's too bright!".

Despite the negative comments and reviews, Mirror's Edge was one of the reasons I finally bought an Xbox 360--mostly because it seemed new and different, and despite the alleged flaws I felt it seemed like my kind of game.

After playing it for myself I can say that, yes, it is flawed. There are sections where you're essentially trapped with a room full of heavily armed guards between you and where you have to go--you are all but given a gun in these sections but you don't WANT a gun, you want to run and leap and duck and roll and out-maneuver your enemies, not shoot them. Level 7, The Boat, in particular is bad at this, as well as putting you in a very confined space for most of the level which leads to some frustration. Mirror's Edge is at its best when it gives you an open field, a series of rooftops to navigate. And when it IS at its best, when everything is working, it's one of the best games I've ever played.

Once you get used to the controls--and it will take some time; they're good, but demand practice and effort from the player--and once you've cleared the story (which is fairly average but does have some great moments; the ending in particular is fantastic) and moved on to the Time Trials, then the game begins to really open up. Even getting one star (out of three) in the trials requires dedication, memorisation, skilled control and creativity. The "Pure" Time Trial courses downloadable from Xbox Live are well worth the purchase price also--set in something like Faith's dreams, they consist of platforms floating in space, making up a more (yes) pure platforming experiences.

All in all, Mirror's Edge is something of an experiment; a first-person shooter without the shooting, a first person platformer. The biggest mistake made with it was putting too much gunplay in, but really, those sections make up just a small part of the overall experience. If you can get past the flaws, it's a very rewarding and fun game.

If you've seen the videos and read the reviews and thought it seemed like your sort of game, it probably is.

Reviewed by Adam on January 22nd, 2009

This game is like no other. Mirrors Edge one the award for best original game. And that's exactly what it is. You play as a character called Faith who follows a new life style called running. With advancement in technology it is now possible to stamp out crime in an almost perfect world. Almost perfect. When your sisters gets tangled up in a murder you make it your personal mission to clear her name.

This game is a truly spectacular game. If you are looking for a fast paced game then this is the game for you. Although this game does have guns in it this is by no means the basis of it.

The only downside to this games is the cut scenes are cartoon styles :( and the game is very short. (about 5 hours max)

But if you are looking for a fast paced game that does have some replay value then this is it.

Scoring:

Gameplay: 9.5/10
Sound: 8/10
Graphics 6/10
Replay Value: 4/10

Overall Score: 7/10

Reviewed by Harley on January 3rd, 2009

I played the demo and thought that the controls are excellent and actually plausible. The free running in first person is..well the first I've seen and adds a brilliant aspect towards the combat system making feel like you are the one jumping off of rooftops and kicking off of walls. I really dont want to be a courier man in the future, lol.

Overall great game awesome interface, easy to play and not too easy for those gamers that love a nice challenge.

Reviewed by Rob on November 4th, 2008

Played the demo, looks to be a great game.

Controls are great, graphics are amazing (such brightness, definitely gives a futuristic controlled feel.

Being in first-person helps it greatly. The parkour style moves are brilliant, it flows very well and smoothly. Will be a nice break from serious FPS