Controls

As stated above the controls in ME are incredibly simple to the extent that all you really have to do is press the coresponding upward movement or downmard movement button to keep you on the move. The entire control scheme has been narrowed to a few essential actions with no buttons on the control being wasted or leaving you feeling cluttered, because you can’t move your fingers fast enough to do everything you could possibly need them to do.

Sound

The sound track is incredible, for me to say anything else would be an injustice to the quality being showcased. Just know that the right music is there when it’s needed. Now having said that, the voice acting is pretty good but could still use a little work with characters coming across a little bland at times.

Visual quality/Design/Graphics

As an artist myself, the design in this game is unbelievable and the graphics themselves truly highlight this. Everything from the Flash animated cut scenes, to the obvious hints given to help you progress through the levels, down to the subtle uses of shadow to point you away from areas you should be trying to avoid enhances your overall experience. Visually I’ve never seen a game this polished, the characters themselves however fall to that saying by Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future 2, it still looks fake. I only say this because of the obvious attempt at photo realism which is still lacking with the character models. Don’t hold that against me though because they do look good.

Combat

Combat in this game is simple and sweet, everything you need in essence is accomplished really with 4 buttons, 2 of which are exclusive to combat. I can’t comment on the gunplay in the game because I went through the game without shotting a single enemy for the silver trophy it awards you for doing so. The melee aspect however comes across solid if not a little limiting on the possiblities. I do disagree with the previous reviwer however concerning the enemy AI. The computer is no slouch when it comes to putting you down, keep in mind though it may have been more difficult for me because I wasn’t trying to kill them.

Overall for a game I beat in about 6 hours -even making mistakes, it truly was a fun play, and since I only earned about 27% of the trophies and a fraction of the unlockables, I’ll be going back for more.

This is going to truly be a game that either you love it or you hate it, so play the demo or rent it and see where you stand.

Rating: 5 / 5

If you tried the demo and are looking for reviews to decide whether or not to buy it, I hope this review helps you out. The game itself feels different form anything you’ve played before, its fast, its fun and it runs smooth. It is definitely worth a try and I’m sure that most of you will enjoy the first hours of campaign gameplay. Controls are extremely simple, so its basically run and find the fastest path available from point A to B. You’ll encounter enemies down the road but most of the time you’ll just run away from them. The game actually rewards you if you don’t use a gun at all. Be prepared to be patient, for it takes a while to master the controls, with a lot of trial and error to it, probably too much for my taste. After a while though, you get the feel that you are playing recycled levels and it all becomes too repetitive. Indoor levels are not as fun as jumping from building to building, and you spend at least 50% on the game inside.

Granted, it has a weak plot and voice acting, but I think it doesn’t really matter, since you are just trying to find an excuse to jump from building to building as fast as possible.

Multiplayer is challenging, yo have several maps and you can either compete against your own ghost, or different player’s ghosts. Although, some of the record times accomplished by some top players are insane.

Why three stars? Even though I enjoyed playing the game, i believe it has a high price tag for what your getting. Its enjoyable, but is it really worth 60? Not to me.

The game however, brings an interesting concept that I would love to see applied to different FPS’s titles in the future. I went back to play Resistance after I played this one, and i tried to jump a staircase just as I did in Mirror’s edge accidentally. Of course nothing happened and I had to go down the stairs as in every other FPS game. Wouldn’t it be great if you could move through levels as freely as you do it in Mirror’s Edge? just a thought.
Rating: 3 / 5

The drawbacks are the lack of online/multiplayer options. Time trials arent really my idea of keeping me coming back to the game. If there was some arena to have multiple players reach a random objective, or chase down another player or character, that would be much better than chasing a ghost to get through a level faster.

All in all, this is a fun game, but I really wish I had just rented it instead of buying it. Its worth playing through and beating, but you can beat the game fairly quickly, and theres not much in the way of replay value. With that, I give this game a 3.5 out of 5.
Rating: 3 / 5

Story: In a totalitarian future, the world isn’t dark, grey and dingey Blade Runner-esque but rather it’s lifeless, sterile and looks almost boring. With the government controlling information flow and with its own degree of corruption, found along the city’s rooftops are “runners”, messengers/couriers with vital information and packages that they hand off to other runners. But when runner Faith finds her twin sister accused of a murder she didn’t commit and a clue is found at the scene, Faith has to get to the bottom of it all, and running like hell.

Graphics: Whatever your thoughts on the game, there’s no denying the game does have a sense of style. Largely in whites with the occasional bit of colour, it’s definately a feat to have bland look great. The entire game is from Faith’s point of view so unlike Gordon Freeman who seemed to float up ladders, Faith’s entire body will be seen such as when you drop kick, climb ladders, do rolls and whatnot. It really helps the immersion factor and makes the game stand out on its own visually. What might turn people off is the cutscenes which look like a cross between the cutscenes from “Killer 7″ and a more rounded version of “Samurai Jack”. While they look fine, the tone of realism and cartoony might seem a bit too disconnected.

Sound/Music: The game’s anchored by “Still Alive” (no not Glados’ song from Portal) and that sets the tone for the rest of the music, a kind of electronical ambience. That is when there’s actual music since most of it is actually just the city itself from car horns to engine sounds, the sound and music work quite well. Ditto for the voice acting with roles that aren’t really standouts but the line readings aren’t cheesy or melodramatic and it’s nice to actually see a main character in an FPS do more than say a one-liner now and then (Master Chief, anyone?)

Gameplay: The game is a unique FP…um, there is shooting elements but it’s more of a first-person platformer with Faith jumping over fences and low obstacles or sliding under them baseball-style with the feet right in front of her, which is perfect for low kicks on enemies. Controls take some getting used to but essentially it’s up controls such as jumping or climbing up ledges (L1), down controls such as rolling from long falls or sliding under obstacles (L2), a quick turn-around uses for quick getaways or doing wall-runs to higher places (R1) and R2 which handles your kicking and punching. While it’s different than X being jump, square being attack etc, it’s remarkably intuitive.

But then comes the crux of the game’s problems: interacting with the world itself. I will say this: when the game’s on, it’s ON with Faith doing so much acrobatic manuevers, you’d be hard-pressed not to look back and what you did and go “holy crap, I actually pulled all that off?” However this also comes with more frequent moments of missed jumps, ledges that should’ve been grabbed but Faith’s hands just stay at their sides or trying to do one move only she doesn’t seem to want to actually do that move. Yes it’s fun when it gets going and I don’t mind challenges but most of this game seems like you’re trying to work around the game’s control flaws rather than you just being a “bad player”.

Enemy encounters will also be here and one way to deal with them is to, of course run, but on occasions you will have to fight some and pressing square triggers a Reaction time which is basically just bullet-time and helps with nailing the enemies with a drop kick or disarming them. However, sometimes the animation doesn’t even register your move even when the gun is ready to be disarmed and making an enemy stagger doesn’t allow a disarm either. So instead of getting rid of his gun when he’s all winded, I have to wait for him to try to hit me before I can access the “disarming” part? Boo. While there is some gunplay, it’s a lot more challenging to not fire a single bullet (and there’s even a trophy/achievement for it).

One thing I should mention is that yes the game is short, depending on how quick you can get through the levels without constantly hearing your bones break underneath you but it’s near 6-9 hours for the 9 chapters but with time trials and ghosts (characters entirely in red doing one route which you try to meet or best), there is a great replay value to shaving seconds off your time but as for the main story, it’s not super long but doesn’t really wear out its welcome either.

If it sounds like I’m being too negative then sorry but I know most people will automatically find this unhelpful and that my gripes are me just being a bad player or that I don’t appreciate the “uniqueness” of it all but sometimes, a game with flaws is a game with flaws and Mirror’s Edge has em, as much as I want to say it didn’t.
Rating: 4 / 5

The game is fast first person platformer. A fresh new adaptation of true and tried platforming. Rather than moving slowly and timing the jump from the edge. Speed is what counts here. You need to be moving at a constant speed to kick open doors, catch a drop wire etc. etc. Every thing is setup for constant nonstop movement. The level designs are so perfect; once you get hang of controls there is no need to stop. The game takes you through roof tops, A/C vents, malls, office walk ways and lots of other varied setups. At every stage there are multiple paths to move forward. There is a lot of freedom and it is tied well with risks. As with Battlefield risk reward balance is impeccable throughout the game.

The character is not a military marksmen. Neither are the enemies. They are just guards patrolling the building. So don’t expect a epic gun battles. She is a fast and cute runner, so just run run. Don’t waste time in gun battles. Your aim is to reach the check point not clearing the enemies. The game controls are very easy to pick up, yet very satisfying. I liked the time travel mode much more than the main game, mainly for the sense of accomplishment.

The game will take easily 10 hours to finish in the first run. I read reviews about 7 hrs, they must be super humans. Some of the latter levels do require you to try a few times. The real challenge comes in finishing the game without shooting any one. The main character can disarm, kick the guards un-conscious. If you really want to shoot them you can do it too. There is no penalties for shooting guards, you can’t carry weapons while moving fast.

Audio is spot on. The art direction depicts the totalitarian regime. Every thing is cut out from a single template like old communism. It is a nice breath of fresh air. If you are tired of post apocalyptic burnt and brown backgrounds, join the party. The character models and physics are very impressive. Every thing moves as you expect them to.

It may take some time to get a handle on the game. Once you pickup the controls and nail jumps it is very addictive.
Rating: 5 / 5