Mirror's Edge (ME hereafter) was released for all consoles in November of 2008, so this one is going back a while yet again. ME was produced by DICE studios in conjunction with EA, and the title is a bit of a departure from the usual fare released by DICE. By combining the first person perspective with a decidedly platformer like questing style, DICE created something that is special, but woefully misunderstood with it's stylistic title.
Story/Visuals
ME's story mode is played entirely in first person perspective and the platforming nature of the game makes for some interesting visual experiences. As the main character, Faith, you are a "runner" in a futuristic city where freedom of expression and good will have been decidedly outlawed to provide a measure of controlled peace to the populous. Runners are basically glorified messengers who carry information between the resistance and their "plants" in the oppressive government. As a result, they are constantly pursued and persecuted by law enforcement throughout the city. Faith is apparently one of the more seasoned runners in this story who uses free running or "parkour" to run across the rooftops.
The story line is delivered through in game dialogue and 2D cutscenes that look vaguely like the Esurance commercials of the past, but unfortunately the plot is fairly weak. The voice acting isn't bad, but the way that some of the characters become involved with the story felt very thrown together. Nonetheless, the vehicle for delivering a reason behind the game play was sufficient enough to make the action meaningful, so that was the most important thing.
As far as the visuals go, ME is quite impressive. The city landscape is cast in bland shades of white to signify the enforcement of conformity that the new government has imposed, and objects of color are meant to stick out for players to take notice. There were also some neat visual effects used during free running sequences to simulate the feeling of speed and danger as Faith leaps and slides around objects. It was also very cool to be able to look down and see Faith's lower body as you would in real life which is something that many first person titles ignore. The HUD in this game pretty much just consists of a simple dot in the middle of the screen which is used to aim your movements. Health is regenerative, so players only see feedback when Faith is injured. This added to the level of immersion felt when playing through the campaign.
Controls/Gameplay/Replay Value
The jump button is mapped to the R1 button (PS3 version) for convenience, and some FPS fans might be thrown for a bit with the change. However, the placement makes sense once the placement of the other commands is taken into account. No sprint button is required as holding the left stick down completely causes Faith to gain momentum. Other commands are mapped on the controller in ways that make handling the game precise without too much frustration. Most mistakes can be attributed to player error and miscalculation as opposed to poor button placement.
Faith is also capable of hand to hand combat and wielding weapons taken from opponent characters, but fisticuffs felt a little awkward at times given the first person perspective. At times it was just a matter of miscalculating depth when trying to strike opponents, but the mechanic was far from broken. As for gun play, the act is mostly discouraged in favor of evading or disarming enemies, so it is to be expected that accuracy is not something ME strives for with weapons. ME is an action game first, and a shooter second or maybe even third.
ME plays very well for a first person platformer, though there can be some head scratching moments especially when playing at higher difficulty levels. Some free running sequences can be difficult enough to induce some minor hair pulling, but a little determination will go a long way on this one. There are moments where a simple jump can be off by mere inches, but that small distance can mean the difference between success and death. However, checkpoints are pretty forgiving in this game.
Sadly, with all of the strengths ME builds upon, the stand alone campaign holds little replay value unless players wish to complete the story mode at higher difficulty levels for trophies or achievements. ME does have an online multiplayer race mode, but the experience can quickly become frustrating as there are no do-overs to be found here and missteps are common.
Final Impressions
DICE went somewhere very different with Mirror's Edge that other developers had never succeeded at. Not only did ME offer a level of excitement that other titles cannot match, but it also manages to do so without over the top violence or shock factor. While the story might be somewhat lacking, and the mechanics might be just a little too focused on precision for some gamers, this game is an excellent study in how first person titles could be approached. Moving Faith through the city scape felt fluid and natural in a way that first person shooters never have, and it was easy to forget that most human beings can't run as fast or as well as in this game. A chance to see this game evolve into a more polished sequel would be welcome as long as the mechanics aren't dumbed down to satisfy all the whiners out there. ME was a short, but memorable experience, and as always other developers have quite a bit to learn from companies like DICE.
Overall Score: 8 out of 10 (Very Good)
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