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Mirror's edge is an excellent first person action game. But by that, I do not mean a first-person shooter; if you buy this game looking for that genre, you will be dissapointed. Mirror's edge revolves around a first person running and parkour mechanic, which allow players to run and swing from objects, climb over them, etc. Fighting mechanics are also good, but it's a shame that there is very little of that in the game. Most of the focus is in getting away as fast as possible with a continuous flow than taking out guards. Unfortunately, the few times you actually get a firearm, the game is let down by the fact that the character cannot aim down the weapon, or hit anyone with the actual butt of the weapon. Replay value for the later levels is somewhat low, because of some irritating scenes where you spend over ten minutes just trying to make a jump or wall run. When the game works well, it works really well, though, and is great fun. Perhaps this game is a better rent than buy, though, because you can finish it in a day, and not play it again for weeks. All in all, Digital Illusions CE (DICE) made a great game let down somewhat by the level design, but definitely worth checking out if you like games like Assassin's Creed, or the prince of persiaRead full review
Graphics: Primary yet Contemporary 8/10 Sound: Great – 8/10 Gameplay: Great – 8/10 Replay Value – Good (for a single player only game) 8/10 Overall – 8/10 Graphics: Primary yet Contemporary 8/10 The graphics go right along with the story – a future utopia that is perfect on the surface, and vibrant in life, is cracking from within. The use of whites and primary colors, along with the blur effects, really puts you in the shoes as a runner. The environments are basic, however, create the feel of what Mirror’s Edge is. Sound: Great – 8/10 The footsteps and the use of surfaces is minor, but without this detail to sound, it would be impossible to jump. It tells you subconsciously that you are the one running and sets off a timer in your head to better play this game. The music, techno in nature, is hypnotic and really sets the stage for what you are dealing with. Though it can be annoying (especially when trying a part MULTIPLE times), it heightens anxiety and gameplay. Gameplay: Great – 8/10 Smooth animations, huge world design, and a fresh and unique perspective on the first person shooter (FPS) genre. The story melds with this futuristic run, and was a game that I felt that I couldn’t put down (Portal style). Replay Value – Good (for a single player only game) 8/10 For a single player adventure, this games time runs, and speed runs, you get hooked on how can you shave seconds off your time. Overall – Fun new experience 8/10 This game is short, so be prepared, and the main story, set on normal, only took about 6-7 hours to complete without weapon use (heightened difficulty). That being said, the time trial modes and the set challenges will keep you playing this single player game. A heightened sensory game, and that can revolve on not using a gun, this game is a breath of fresh air, and makes excellent strides in its’ uniqueness, however, fails to reach the pinnacle it could be.Read full review
With the market glutted with first person shooters and superhero types it's really nice to have found a game developer taking a new direction. In Mirror's Edge you play as the protagonist, Faith, a parkour/freerunner expert. Parkour/freerunning is essentially the concept of moving one's person through the environment with the greatest effieciency while maintaining a steady momentum. Parkour has steadily worked its way into popular culture, namely by being showcased in recent popular films such as James Bond:Casino Royale and Paul Blart:Mall Cop. Anyone that's seen these films can attest to the grace these athletes display with acrobatic leaps, rolls, and slides. All this while seemingly never to slow down as they navigate intricate obstacles in the path of their objective. It's rather mesmerizing to watch in action. This concept is the entire core of Mirror's Edge. There's you and your parkour and little else. You can hijack adversaries of their guns either by knocking them with parkour style such as a sliding crotch kick or a leaping drop kick. Or, even more stylishly, you might time your opponents attack to unleash a devastating counter with the Y button that takes them out instantly and robs them of their weapon at the same time. It's obvious that the developers intended parkour to remain the focus. To help keep your mind off turning the game into a hackneyed FPS, the guns have little ammo and the larger guns slow you down significantly. Generally it is advisable to evade enemies, and at times the only fruitful option. Many levels begin with you using your tricks to navigate the city rooftops with pizazz and climaxing with a thrilling footchase by foes. These moments are very tense as you must keep up pace and take advantage of surroundings using parkour otherwise be overcome. Though Faith's health is regenerative it doesn't take much damage to put her down. An early level ends with you finally eluding your foes with a grand leap the landing struts of a news copter. The game camera pans to show Faith hanging by her arms staring at her reflection in skyscraper window panes. After being eased over to a nearby rooftop you relish the great escape as you see your pursuers looking forlornly down at you. There is no HUD, health display, or otherwise pesky distraction. You see the world just as Faith is seeing it. This really helps immersion into the game world. Also, through Faith's eyes you see the 'flow'. All that is really is you see bright red accents on any path or obstacle that is of practical use to Faith for navigating a path. This further allows you to maintain pace by reducing the need to constantly stop and survey surroundings for direction. Though it sounds like a cheap move that over simplifies gameplay I assure you it is not. In action it's merely a convenience that keeps things from becoming frustrating or stagnant. The world of Mirror's Edge possesses a very crisp and vibrant color palette. Replete with clean lines and stark contrast between colors. Likely a design choice as it makes things easier for the eyes to quickly sort out what's relevant to your progression and what isn't. It does, however, get a bit old as most of the architecture you see at the beginning is what you are still traversing by the end of the game. The story isn't riveting but interesting enough. It's greatly helped by rather excellent voice work. The game isn't perfect. Yet. But it's unique and still very fun. A must rent at least.Read full review
Mirror’s Edge is a fantastic game, up in my top five favorite games, right up there with Beyond Good & Evil and Deus Ex. The story: Mirror’s Edge takes place in an unnamed city where a totalitarian regime monitors its citizens through invasive surveillance, tracking all forms of electronic communication. The main character, Faith, is a “Runner” a messenger who transports secret messages to the underground, by employing her free-running skills, to traverse the rooftops, building sites and other precarious locales. Faith soon becomes caught up in a conspiracy and is ruthlessly hunted by the authorities. When she can’t run past the police she’ll resort to hand-to-hand combat, or disarming an enemy and using their guns against them. The Game: The most unique and endearing feature of ME is the fluidity of movement and the feeling of momentum; it’s unmatched in any other game. It allows you to fluidly slide under, vault over it, or climb onto obstacles, shimmy across narrow ledges, Swing, slide, roll, wall-run and a ton of other things that I’ve never seen done in a first person game. The hand-to-hand combat works very good, it doesn’t work as good as it could but it still works very well, you have a wide range of attacks; low attacks, high attacks, rear attacks, front attacks, disarms, kicks, punches, wall run kicks, etc. The gunplay in ME works great. You can disarm opponents and then use their gun; you’re limited to the ammo that’s in the magazine, and there’s no ammo counter, so you need to count your shots and make your shots count. Faith is a Runner not a gun fighter, so wielding a weapon larger than a pistol slows you down and prevents you from doing all the acrobatic things you can normally do, so you must decide strategically when to abandon speed and agility for firepower. Another aspect of ME is the striking visual style. The contrast is cranked up and all the architecture is modern, clean lined, and a colorless white. The sterile whiteness is punctuated by splashes of vibrant colors (doors, stairs, billboards, cranes, etc) the most noticeable is the Technicolor blue sky. ME is a difficult game, I recommend that you play the first level over and practice disarming enemies without using slow-mo, it will be imperative later on. ........................... Download a trailer of Mirror’s Edge if the trailer looks good to you you'll like the game.Read full review
My review in four words: GROUNDBREAKING CONCEPT; FRUSTRATING GAMEPLAY. The magazine reviewers lied! They raved about this game being revolutionary and fun to play. Well, that’s only half true; Mirror’s Edge is revolutionary, but it is not fun to play. The #1 item I hate about Mirror’s Edge is that your character, Faith, has absolutely no self-preservation instincts. Faith will walk off buildings without hesitation; she’s falling to her death before you even know what you did wrong. The game is merciless that way. I mean, if DICE and EA programmed the character to attempt to grab something (a basic human reflex when facing certain death), I could get behind this life-at-100-feet-above-the-ground concept. However, they did not. They just gave us the village idiot in cool running shoes on a highrise. Faith’s inability to survive in her environment is truly “groundbreaking.” #2 Annoyance: Controller movements require too much precision. For example, unless the HUD dot is directly on the red bar you are jumping to, Faith will not grab it. Never mind that the red item is only 6 inches from her face; if the HUD dot is not exactly on the bar, pipe, or zip line, Faith chooses plummeting to her death over survival. After 20 times attempting to navigate the same tricky section, this aspect of gameplay becomes ridiculously tedious. EA and DICE killed the replay value of this game by requiring such precise placement. #3 Annoyance: Faith lacks a sense of direction when people hit or shoot at her. “Duh, where are the bullets coming from? All I see is red. “ The HUD is not helpful here. Again, when being shot or punched in the head, attempting to recognize where the blow is coming from is a basic human instinct. The direction of the attack should be displayed on the screen, but it is not. Strike three for EA and DICE. #4 Reason to Throw Mirror’s Edge Out the Window: The Useless “Hint” Helper. Ah, yes, the supposed “hint” helper button… When I have been stuck on a particularly puzzling section, the hint button shows me something I already know. For example, on Level 8, the crazy scaffolding room, I was stuck between the third and fourth floors. I pressed the hint key to see the link between floors three and four. What does Faith do? She looks at the exit on the fifth floor! Wow, thanks for nothing. This function served no purpose when I most needed it. Overall, the concept behind Mirror’s Edge is genuinely impressive, but the gameplay is aggravating to the point of frustration. After completing the game and collecting 30 bags, I am selling my copy of Mirror’s Edge here on eBay. This game isn’t worth breaking controllers over. If you are sure you want to play this game, the two sites below can help. Please do not report this as inappropriate content. Neither you nor I receive credits for their use; this is strictly gamer-to-gamer information. Thanks. http://www.mahalo.com/Mirrors_Edge_Walkthrough http://www.gamesradar.com/f/mirrors-edge-runners-bag-guide/a-2008111214161962005/p-3Read full review
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