Mirror's Edge is something to keep your tattooed eye on. The game is
not quite ready to be a masterpiece but it might eventually get there
if EA actually listens to critics. It's a slick journey through a vivid
world, but it is also encumbered with painfully frustrating hurdles and
precarious gameplay. Players beware: you will curse.
The main problem with Electronic Art's new baby is the pacing. We have
a game based around freestyling ("parkouring", for all you Euro-types),
which translates to large dozes of running and jumping over urban
trappings. And though the running part is decently executed the game
also gives players a healthy serving of "figure out what the designers
were thinking". I personally hate figuring out what designers were
thinking, because it usually ends with me being scraped off the
sidewalk and being forced to watch the same level reload a hundred
times. Mirror's Edge has a lot of "reloading", mainly because pressure
put on the player makes it hard to discern where you have to go and how
to get there. If you are expecting a fast-paced ballet of action, get
ready to put in more hours getting used to the levels than actually
enjoying the game. A single playthrough isn't enough, simply because
Mirror's Edge is best played once you know what to do.
REFLECTIONS OF A NOT-SO-DISTANT FUTURE
Electronic Arts does a great job staging a futuristic world where
dissident couriers called Runners are the last bastion of free speech
in a perfectly sterile society that controls all means of
communication. The world is clean and comfortable for those who abide
by its Orwellian rules. Those who reject it are cast out. We never see
the outcasts but we know they are a happy lot. Runners are their
lifeblood because unrepressed communication means their freedom.
Ironically, Runners live above both societies under the clean, blue
sky, dashing from building to building on the edge, leaving behind them
but a reflection on the mirrored windows of corporate sky rises. Hence
the name: Mirror's Edge.
The story revolves around a nimble Runner, Faith, embroiled in a
conspiracy that involves her sister, a cop, who was framed for murder.
As conspiracies go this one is your typical yarn with the expected
betrayals and twists -- in short, nothing extraordinary. But the plot
is told through exquisitely animated cutscenes worthy of a good anime.
Electronic Arts does a wonderful job with colors like few games before
it, accentuating the sterile nature of the city in contrasting shades
of white, blue and red.
Mirror's Edge offers an interesting feature called Runner Vision, which
shows us the world through the eyes of a Runner by painting objects of
interest in red, like doors, pipes, beam and ramps that can be used to
parkour through. It helps. What doesn't help is constant pressure put
on players and tenacious first-perspective.
BETWEEN THE GLOSS AND THE REALITY
Like its closest rival, Prince of Persia, Faith can climb, wall-run,
swing on poles and bounce off walls. But that's where the similarities
end. Faith can also slide, zip-line, jump over objects and bounce off
specific items. Players can roll into a ball while landing from high up
and spin around 180 at a whim. Levels are cleverly designed around the
game's running mechanics. You don't simply jump over objects, you
freestyle through them in sprint. We see Faith's arms, legs and body as
she flows through the levels.
All this running around in first-perspective without a HUD or life
meter can be a bit dizzying at times but it makes parkouring that much
more fun and realistic. The game could have really benefited from some
third-perspective action, though, especially while wall-running and
performing other precise maneuvering. It almost feels like Electronic
Arts refused to add a third-perspective feature out of fear that
Mirror's Edge would be labeled a Prince of Persia clone. Some advice:
don't play this game with your parents around. They'll be astonished at
how many swear words you can string together when you careen to your
death for the X'ed time because you didn't give Faith the right amount
of time to properly pivot before bouncing off a wall, or because you
didn't quite connect with a wall before wall-running or walking a
narrow ledge.
There were parts in Mirror's Edge were I stopped expecting to reach my
objective and started counting the new ways I would die. That's a not a
good thing for a game that prides itself for being fast-paced; dying
sort of puts a halt on things. It's one of those games that requires
you to die until you figure out how to approach certain parts, or
better, how not to approach them. This is clearly the biggest flaw.
Pressing a button focuses Faith's vision at an objective, but
that feature still needs work. Your Runner will often aim at the final
goal, ignoring the ones in between, giving players the wrong idea how
to tackle a level.
The environment is killer. One false step and the white settings below
get a new shade of red. But if falling to your death because of awkward
controls wasn't enough, EA added rabid cops trying to mow you down with
everything but heavy artillery (actually they have that too in the form
of military choppers). The result is Faith running for her life like a
gazelle just about anywhere she goes, crashing through doors to always
escape in the nick of time. Again, it's exciting… when you don't die.
And die you will.
"RUN FAITH RUN"
Electronic Arts has a good concept on their hands. The ultimate effect
resembles the cult movie "Run Lola Run", where a slim female character
always manages to hit the elevator button before the bad guys get to
her. At times your heart will pump as fast as Faith's. Things
unfortunately often go wrong when you have bullets whistling past your
ear. Jumping over structures like fences and pipes is a pleasure in
itself. Had the game omitted much the bullet action in favor of more
parkouring, things would have felt less tedious. Players will often
find themselves looking for a vent shaft or the next plank to jump on
while gunners are practicing their aim on you.
Combat is designed around Faith's physical ability, not her skill with
firearms. The latter doesn't even let her reload. When a gun is empty
she has to drop it and find another. Theoretically Faith has all the
skills needed to take on any adversary in hand-to-hand combat. In
practice, though, players will prefer blasting someone away -- much
easier. In theory, our Runner can grab and disarm an opponent at an
opportune moment (when the weapon turns red). In practice, your
opponent always has three or four mates watching his back. In theory
Faith can wall-run and kick her opponents into the ground. In practice,
your opponents rarely stand next to a wall long enough for you to
perform any acrobatics. A time slow-down feature helps players perform
the aforementioned moves, though results may vary depending on the
surroundings and opponents -- some enemies are harder to time your
grabs against.
EA should have changed the premise of most scenes. Most of the time
odds are stacked a bit too high against us. Having played through the
entire single player mode I never had a chance to unexpectedly disarm
an opponent, even though according to the tutorial it is possible.
Ultimately, Mirror's Edge starts too quickly, especially with so much
potential. How do Runners perform jobs? How do regular citizens react
to them? How do their employers live? How do cops behave under "normal"
circumstances? What does Faith do in her spare time? We don't know
because the game begins in "fugitive" mode. A few normal Runner
missions and street-level stages would have set the tone and deepened
the world our heroine lives in. Not always having a target on her back
would have also allowed Faith to fully use her skills.
But despite the shortcomings, Electronic Arts still does a great job
conveying this new playground. Complimenting the clean graphics is an
amazing futuristic ambient score. Voice acting is also superb, though
your guide, Merc, could have been more helpful and cops have a stupid
habit of shooting first then yelling "stop or we'll shoot!" Sound
effects are detailed and plentiful. Faith sometimes groans a bit too
much, even while doing the smallest of things, but her presence is well
established, both visually and audibly.
The game is rather short, clocking in between 5 and 10 hours, however a
second playthrough is recommended to fully enjoy the experience. Speed
Run mode is nothing more than rehashed solo missions with a timer. Time
Trial is where the fun is at. It allows players to run through
checkmarks without the cop presence. Too bad EA didn't expand on it,
like adding NPC Runners to square off against and creating open-ended
"freestlye" races. One has to wonder if the game would have been better
off focusing more on Time Trial missions similar to Need for Speed or
Midnight Club rather than plain old Story mode. The latter almost seems
inadequate. Multiplayer is reserved for the most fanatic of fans. I
wouldn't attempt any of the multiplayer modes before having mastered
all the levels; it's required to even have the slightest chance against
all the young Runners out there.
SUMMARY
Mirror's Edge delivers a solid performance for its first attempt but it
wobbles in some parts. The game can be infuriating at times due to
trial and error. Too much is asked of Faith. She's a Runner but the
game treats her like an 80's action hero. Levels are well designed,
unfortunately there is always someone trying to kill you, and they
usually have friends, which limits the player's choices and reaction
time. The concept would have been more interesting had it shown us more
of this futuristic world and less of the whole "conspiracy". It's
recommended to hardcore gamers.
GRAPHICS 85
Excellent levels with beautiful colors. The future never looked
cleaner. Lack of HUD and seeing parts of Faith's body adds to realism.
Not enough street missions.
GAMEPLAY 70
1st-perspective can be frustrating. Cop pressure limits player choices
resulting in needless trial and error. Good controls and speed
mechanics.
PRODUCTION 72
Great animated scenes. Future conveyed well but more could have been
done. Missed chances to elaborate the Runner lifestyle. Extra modes
lack creativity.
SOUND 80
Nice ambient music and plenty of cool sound effects, especially when
running. A few miscued voice effects and missed chances to improve
gameplay with Merc.
LASTING APPEAL 75
Solo lasts 5-10 hours but replaying the game can be fun, especially in
Time Trial. Lackluster extras. Online modes reserved for the best
players.
OVERALL 76
