From the creators of the Battlefield series, Digital Illusions CE (DICE), comes Mirror’s Edge; a brilliant title that provides high thrills for the first-person shooter genre by mixing in platforming aspects worthy to die for. At first glance, gamers will come away impressed by its stunning visuals and involving gameplay. Though, after a few hours, Mirror’s Edge becomes insanely repetitive and will wear on your patience.
Rather than meeting your opposition in gunfire, Mirror’s Edge advises its players to avoid a gunfight and run away. Playing as Faith, a runner, players are tasked to help clear the name of her twin sister who has been framed by a corrupt government for murder. Disappointing in exposition, Mirror’s Edge fails to tell a captivating story that holds interest until the bitter end. Outside of Faith herself, the characters are dull and uninviting to the point they become clichéd and cartoon clowns only serving the purpose of filler.
Storyline aside, Mirror’s Edge is a well put together title that relies on it’s gameplay to save its hide from uncertainty. If it wasn’t for the fresh take on how a FPS should be played, I’d dare say Mirror’s Edge was a totally failure. Running on the top of skyscrapers, players will be exhilarated by the death-defying jumps and amazing feats of agility. From zip-lining to adjacent skyscrapers to spring-boarding up the side of a wall, Mirror’s Edge features breathtaking platforming.
Athleticism aside, Mirror’s Edge incorporates a weak combat element that is frustrating and excruciating at times. Through the Right Trigger, players can throw punches and kicks – nothing short of the usual affair. Players only encounter guns when disarming their enemy (police officers) which is accomplished by hitting the Y button at the exact time. What plagues Mirror’s Edge is difficulty to execute jump attacks (hitting the Right Bumper followed by the Right Trigger) or slide attacks (hitting the Left Trigger after gaining momentum and then the Right Trigger). Both the jump attacks and slide attacks miss more then often causing players to become alarmingly discouraged to continue on after being shot to death. In the end, the combat is a detriment to the gameplay and only dispirits players to avoid direct combat with their enemies.
The other portion of Mirror’s Edge that should attract a large crowd of followers is the graphics. The visuals that DICE are reminiscent of Rares’s Perfect Dark Zero with large open environments that are full of shiny walls and reflecting surfaces. The major difference here is that Mirror’s Edge has attractive artwork while PDZ was befuddled with ugly characters. Showcasing great animations and clever environments, players won’t ever have a reason call Mirror’s Edge a hideous game. Though, it can be said that the cutscenes aren’t up to par as they’re short animated films that aren’t exactly full of detail.
Even the audio deserves a nod for achieving the stellar work DICE accomplished. The soundtrack put together is their best achievement within the sound department as the main theme song, “Still Alive”, is an amazing track that kick starts off the entertaining experience players are about to endure. Also, the voice-acting is top notch and is never unnerving which often occurs in a lot of today’s video games.
Innovative, grossly original and lead by a high concept, Mirror’s Edge is the Jekyll and Hyde of video games. There’s a lot of promise inside the package that DICE created but it ultimately is a game that rests its laurels on its concept and nothing more. With no multiplayer aspect and a poor storyline that doesn’t last longer than seven or so hours, players won’t get a whole lot of bang out of their hard earned George Washington’s.
