Game Title: Mirror's Edge
Platform: Playstation 3 (reviewed), Xbox 360
Studio: DICE/EA
Rating: T for Teen
Score: 9/10
THE REVIEW:
Gameplay: A lot of games these days try to follow formulas set by earlier hits. For every "Halo" or "Mario" or "Grand Theft Auto" title, there are a dozen clones, striving (and usually failing) to replicate their success. That's why it's so refreshing to see someone take a chance on a unique concept like the one in "Mirror's Edge."
The game puts you in control of Faith, an urban dweller in a dystopian not-too-distant future. Faith is a runner — one of a group of outlaws that attempt to subvert the Big Brother-like government surveillance by hand-carrying information from rooftop to rooftop, using a series of acrobatic moves. Think of a futuristic version of the recent "Prince of Persia" games, or the free-running urban sport called parkour, and you'll have an idea of the movement involved. There are several paths across the city skyscrapers; the easiest paths are marked by bright red ramps, platforms and pipes, but the game encourages exploration and alternative solutions. Faith can leap huge distances, run up walls and vault over obstacles — she moves across the skyline at top speed with ease and fluidity.
Here's the twist: you control Faith through all of these motions in a first-person perspective. Your eyes are Faith's eyes. Aside from a few short video clips between levels, you never see Faith's face. You do see her arms swinging at her sides as she runs, or her legs preparing to absorb the shock of a long fall. The viewpoint, combined with the speed and agility of Faith's moves, make for an immersive experience. In fact, if not for a tiny cross-hair dot in the center of the screen to orient your senses, you could easily get motion sickness. It's that intense.
The game isn't all just running and jumping — you're a "Runner," and the oppressive city paramilitary officers don't approve of your kind. Combat involves kicks, punches and disarm moves at close quarters, or you can grab a gun from a fallen enemy and take potshots from a distance. But this is one of the game's few missteps: it's not a shooting game, but there are times when you're forced to shoot because there are just too many enemies. Early in the game, you're counseled to avoid conflict, which leads to some excellent chase sequences. But as the game goes on, more enemies appear that you have to fight through, and you simply can't survive if you don't use a gun. The problem is that when Faith holds anything larger than a pistol, her speed vanishes. At that point, "Mirror's Edge" becomes just another shooter clone, and a poor one at that. Faith isn't a very good shot, but her enemies are — if the bad guys can see you, you're basically dead. It's disappointing to come crashing to a halt when you have to do a spot of shooting after an exhilarating journey across the rooftops of the city. Fortunately, the shooting sections only comprise a small portion of the game and don't hamper an otherwise breathtaking experience.
Graphics: The metropolitan landscapes of "Mirror's Edge" are saturated with light; bright colors accent the super-clean environments and vacant buildings, which are otherwise blank and bright white. When running at top speed, the edges of the screen start to blur, and on the frequent occasions when you miss a jump and fall to your death, the effects are almost too intense — you'll find yourself cringing as the ground whips up to meet you before the screen snaps to black.
Audio: Music is sparse but provides the perfect aesthetic, especially during pulse-pounding chase segments. Faith's various grunts, yells and heavy breathing as she runs through the city lend an air of authenticity to her acrobatics.
THE WRAP-UP
Parent's take: Falling from great heights, which happens often, can be too much for some. Though the player can shoot, punch and kick enemies, no blood is depicted. The cinematic video sequences between levels do contain assorted profanity and a scene involving blood.
Final word: "Mirror's Edge" does something that no game has ever tried before, and succeeds in a big way. Its only failings are its shooting sequences and relatively scant length (only 6-8 hours). But those are minor quibbles. "Mirror's Edge" is proof that games don't just have to do the same old thing.