[JemyM]

Mirror's Edge
A fresh new game, but maybe not for everyone.

Story: Do not give up your freedom for security
In a dystopian city controlled by a totalitarian regime obsessed with security, the Faith Connor end up in trouble after her sister Kate is blamed for murder. Faith is a "runner", messengers who know the city well enough to quickly get past all cameras and police patrols, skills that will prove useful when it comes to getting the clues required to free her sister. The game is deeply inspired by the french parkour, a street culture that uses acrobatics to quickly get through an urban area through jumps, rolls, running on walls and jumping from high positions. The story is told mostly through in-game animated cutscenes but those who keep their eyes open can also get more out of what's going on in the city by reading signs, computers, watching television etc in-game. The game delivers the classic message "do not give up your freedom for security" and Faith herself is uncommonly fleshed out, so the story is more than an excuse to build a game, even if it's not particulary great or unpredictable.

Engine, Graphics & Sound: One of the best looking games of this generation
If I say that Mirror's Edge is among the best looking games in this generation I wouldn't exaggerate. I actually believed that the game used an enhanced version of the Half-Life 2 engine but it actually use an enhanced version of the Unreal Engine with improved light. It's not so much the engine that makes it look great, but the art design that is really over the top. Most of the game takes places on sun-lit rooftops in a city that is extremely clean (even if it's dirty within), but it also uses other sharp distinctive colors like green, red, blue and yellow that shines against the white background. I do not remember a game that so beautifully crafted a modern city like Mirror's Edge. It's almost as if they had help with both architects and room designers to build the game. The design doesn't stop with the in-game visuals. The cut-scenes themselves are animated like cartoons, kinda like the short manga-scene in Kill Bill, again with it's distinctive artstyle.

The voiceacting and sound effects is what you would expect from a game like this one, but the aerial music is really good and fits well with the atmosphere. The lead team with Lisa Miskovsky also fits the game.

Gameplay: Parkeur
By the first glance, Mirror's Edge looks like a first-person shooter, but it's more like a first-person runner. You control the game just like a FPS and you can pick up guns and shoot them, but that would be missing the point. What you want to do is to run through the map as fast as possible and you have a great amount of moves that have never been seen before in a game like this one. Faith is a really acrobatic woman and when you get skilled at controlling her you will be running up walls, softening falls with a roll, sliding on the ground etc. When your escape fails you will be able to melee your opponents through jumpkicks, slidekicks and disarms.

Unfortunally, despite it's unique flavor, the gameplay have some problems, one of them is that the path through an area is very controlled and there are usually just one way to finish an area. That doesn't allow you to play around too much, but rather spend your time wondering how the developers wanted you to do it, like a puzzlegame. While running you will see objects in sharp-red which means that you should use it, so it assist you finding the right path, but I would have prefered a more open area where I could simply go loose my way. There were also areas in which you would be able to solve a problem by other means in reality but had to go with a more complex solution in-game since the game doesn't support the required move. It happened that I thought "hey, Lara Croft would have a better solution for this one than you Faith". Also, towards the end of the game the distinct sound of Faith falling down on the street below and getting crushed will be familiar to you. I know, I know, it's my fault not Faith, but it's still frustrating. The repeated trial-and-error kind of gameplay might get many too frustrated to go on.

Final thoughts
I would encourage people to at least try the game, for it's refreshing new gameplay and it's supreme and unique design, but beneath the surface might be a game that relies too much on frustrating trial-and-error to be enjoyable. I believe that if you tried the game, you would either love or hate it. I cincerly hope that there will be a Mirror's Edge 2 with all those issues ironed out, and if it that happens it will be a truly great game.