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 Mirror's
Edge (Playstation 3)
EA and DICE have taken a huge risk with the release of Mirror's Edge, an
unconventional title that takes gamers to incredible heights in a
high-tension game where speed, dexterity and danger follow your every
step. Playing as a runner named Faith, you need to jump, leap and climb
over the rooftops and chasms of a futuristic metropolis while avoiding the
ever-present police who are constantly on the lookout for you. Avoiding
helicopters, gunfire and snipers, you need to escape them through any
means whether that means climbing through vents, hanging from bars or
traversing dangerously narrow boards. An intuitive control scheme allows
you to plenty of dexterity and freedom to complete your missions, and the
game's structure offers a mix of linear and open-ended quests. Mirror's
Edge is a solidly entertaining game that offers challenge, depth and
sophisticated puzzles in a sleek package. |
Set on the rooftops and hidden fringes of a futuristic repressed city,
Mirror’s Edge casts the player as Faith, a subversive runner with
incredible skill. She has the ability to run over the rooftops, jump and
slide, run on the sides of walls and performs a variety of acrobatic
stunts. She does this in the service of a service which handles and
transports information in bags throughout the city. Her activities
haven’t gone un-noticed by the authorities, who are in constant pursuit
of her and will stop at nothing to end her service. This is all told in a
series of beautifully minimalist cinema sequences, which showcase the
game’s futuristic, techno design. It’s works together beautifully with
the city’s look and feel, with it’s high-tech glass and steel
skyscrapers, cluttered rooftops and massive jumps to create a sense of
height and scale that’s both impressive and intimidating. The game’s
visuals retain a consistency throughout that helps you to keep focused on
your mission. It’s environments are impressive in their sense of scale
with vast expanses, huge drops. Architecturally, there’s a real sense of
place and being in the center of a thriving city. The game’s animations
are excellent as well, giving you a smooth looking adventure that’s
thoroughly believable. There are bright, almost blinding lights
contrasting with the shadow of your character that appears at the fringe
from time to time. Overall, DICE has created a visually arresting title
that mixes cutting edge design with a streamlined interface. Mirror’s
Edge does an excellent job with its presentation. It feels quite
futuristic throughout, and every element from the characters’ tattoos
and clothing looks fantastic. Its interface, menus and visuals have a
consistent clean and minimalist feel that creates a cool atmosphere while
making your next step remarkably clear. A subtle techno soundtrack adds to
the atmosphere, which is simultaneously stylish and dangerous, giving the
game a unique feel that’s both alive and static. There are moments of
sheer adrenaline, where you run through the levels at a frenetic pace
along with times where you need to look around and plan your next step. It
creates a good sense of balance between action and puzzles that makes the
overall experience aesthetically impressive. As you can tell, It looks
very stylish but there’s enough substance below the glossy surface to
make for a worthwhile gaming experience underneath the stylish design.
 As
one of the city's elite runners, the lead character Faith has a remarkable
set of moves at her disposal, which allows her to jump and leap across the
rooftops and high-rises with surprising dexterity and style. It seems very
complicated at first but, Mirror's Edge has a surprisingly intuitive
control system that makes for an easy to learn approach. The game's clean
appearance makes a lot of this easier to understand, with the minimalist
approach allowing you to concentrate on movement instead of messing around
with the interface. You'll probably spend some time early on falling
frequently, but once you get the hang of things and get used to Mirror's
Edge's pacing, things get much easier. Mirror's Edge gives players some
sophisticated tasks to perform, and it isn't as simple as it first seems.
It's first person perspective feels a bit odd when it comes to jumping,
and you'll find yourself leaping to nowhere often, at least initially.
Fortunately, you have two aids at your disposal that help keep you on your
feet. The first thing is a small dot in the center of the screen that you
can use to see where Faith's viewpoint and center of gravity is, which
helps to make adjustments. The other aid comes with the fact that the next
target objective is usually painted bright red, which also helps to make
things easier. Finally, players can hold down the circle button and the
camera will automatically point to the direction and location of the next
objective. This is quite handy if you get a little disoriented and if the
next section is a little bit unclear. This makes for a much easier game
that allows you to go forward on instinct, giving you a sense of freedom
that is quite impressive throughout.
Reliance on your own gut feelings is
important because not all of Faith's objectives are painted bright red and
you'll have to use your instincts in some situations to find the best
path. You have a great deal of freedom in certain sections, which means
you can choose a faster, but more dangerous path or take a slower, safer
approach. The game's controls are relatively simple but take some getting
used to. You run using the left analog stick, with the faster runs
creating momentum that allows you to leap over larger spaces. In order to
jump, you merely press the left shift key, which also doubles as a context
sensitive key that allows you to grab onto objects. Players can also use
this when they're hanging from a ledge to climb up. This is also useful
when swinging from bars and climbing as well, which are also relatively
easy to perform, though the techniques take some getting used to. Mirror's
Edge also lets you perform some pretty spectacular moves such as wall
running, which you can do by running towards the wall and pressing the
jump button, which allows you to sprint across a wide area very quickly.
Faith will also encounter sections where she has to kick in doors, which
can be done easily by pressing the right shift button, this also doubles
as an attack button when you come into contact with the numerous law
enforcement officers. One of the more interesting aspects of the game is
that while you're frequently find yourself running from gunfire, using
weapons isn't as easy or simple as it seems. They slow you down, take
longer to use and aren't as accurate as throwing an enemy, which instantly
disables them. It seems a little counter-intuitive at first, but Mirror's
Edge rewards skill more than brute force and it's this subtlety that makes
the game so appealing.
For example, there are areas where Faith
has to balance herself on narrow beams or boards, which requires you to
tilt her center of gravity a little bit here and there to avoid falling.
It's not as difficult as it seems thanks to the intuitive controls that
allow you to guide her over these sections. The context sensitive controls
also have a special ability that allows her to slow down time for a few
moments, which helps her further in tricky situations. In addition, she
can use the X button to interact with buttons and switches as well as take
guns from any guards unlucky enough to be in her path. Learning the game's
controls and techniques takes some practice, but once you get the hang of
it, you'll be running around effortlessly. The key to timing her jumps is
to anticipate the gap, build up some speed and aim her in the right
direction. You can miss by a little in some areas and still make it, but
other jumps require more accuracy which can be frustrating, but also
exhilarating once you complete them. The game's pacing and structure is
excellent in this regard, gradually increasing the level of difficulty
throughout each chapter until you find yourself performing multiple moves
in rapid succession effortlessly, which helps build your confidence when
you face the ever more elaborate sections later on.
 Each
level is designed to challenge the player's abilities, and Mirror's Edge
has a structure and style that gradually ups the difficulty without making
things seem overly difficult. While there are many areas that are quite
hard to get through, the game compensates for this with very frequent save
points, so you aren't penalized too severely for mistakes. It can take
several attempts until you're successful, but you can help yourself by
scanning the immediate area for objects and supports that can be useful.
You might see nothing but a few pipes in the distance but jumping onto
these and sliding down can lead you to another platform. Nothing in the
levels feels impossible, and you'll find answers if you look for them and
think for awhile. The game's puzzles and obstacles are quite elaborate,
and take some thought to pass through. It definitely requires a lot of
skill, but it's smartly designed to allow experimentation and risk-taking,
so you only need persistence to get through your missions. In this area,
the game shines, and instead of seeming a bit out of place, the jumping
and running aspects allow for a great sense of freedom when it comes to
exploring your options in each section.
In addition to its immersive solo story
mode, players can revisit previously played missions in Time Attack mode
and try and complete them as fast as they can. Running against the clock
adds to the challenge and makes your missions feel even more urgent. You
can't really pause in these sections to figure out where to go next, so
you need to know the layouts beforehand if you want to beat the stated
time and earn trophies. This adds to its replay value and makes for an
extremely polished game that delivers quite an exciting and refreshingly
different style of play. There's been a lot of misperceptions about what
Mirror's Edge is trying to accomplish, and while those looking at the
screen shots will probably expect a standard first-person shooter, this
would be wrong. Those assuming it's going to deliver something along those
lines are bound to be disappointed. What the game really offers is a slick
version of the puzzle platforming genre in the vein of Prince of Persia or
Tomb Raider. There are a lot of similarities in the way the game plays and
how the game is structured, and Mirror's Edge largely succeeds in its
goals. It's intuitive controls, challenging puzzles and excellent level
design present a consistently engaging title that brings a fresh look to
the genre. It's not always perfect in the control department, which can
lead to some frustrating plunges and frequent restarts, but once you get
the hang of things and build some skills, you'll discover an engaging and
fresh experience. Mirror's Edge is a very slickly-designed title as well,
with it's futuristic, almost disturbingly clean design. Running from the
ever-present police adds to the constant feelings of being watched adds a
level of danger and urgency to each mission that motivates you to run as
fast as you can. Between the complex jumping puzzles and intuitive
controls, Mirror's Edge delivers an exciting and occasionally breathtaking
gaming experience, making this one leap worth taking.
-
Michael Palisano
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