Mirror’s Edge Review

From the Vault — originally published December 10, 2008. Some links, videos or prices may be out of date.

Mirrors Edge is a game that I almost bought when it dropped a few weeks ago. I had it pre-ordered and everything but made a last minute decision to not buy it based on hearing from a few reviews that the game was too short. After finally beating the game a few days ago I realized that the game is not “short” and that had I bought it I would not have been upset with the purchase. I enjoyed the game up until the very end. Its one of the most immersive games I have ever played.

Graphics

Mirrors Edge is not the best looking game but it does look pretty damn good and I love the vibrant, bright, sleek, futuristic art style. I think the artstyle works well in the game and separates it from all other games released this season. The game natively runs at 720p on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The cut scenes were not all that great and looked tacked on because they are animated in 2D but they accomplish their goal in relaying story points.

Gameplay

The game does not all take place on rooftops. You will traverse subways, streets, tunnels, shopping malls, office buildings in addition to rooftops.Once the controls make sense to you the game really opens up and you start to see that there are many ways to get out of the areas you are in. The jumps and momentum mechanics all work very well and you can feel the momentum in your jumps, wall runs, spins and such.

Some may get discouraged by the fact that some areas will have to be redone MANY times until you get that jump just right but to me I never hit that wall where I was like “fuck this, I quit”. I found the game challenging and rewarding and most importantly fun to play. When you pull off a jump or series of moves you feel like you earned it. Whether or not you have fun with Mirrors Edge depends on how you approach the game. The good thing is that there are various ways to play. You can opt to fight or simply run away and head for the exit points to progress. You also have an arsenal of melee moves though I found the enemy weapon disarm moves sluggish and damn near impossible to pull off. because of that I played the game like a shooter. I would knock one enemy out with punches and kicks, take his gun and proceed to take out other enemy’s one by one until the room was cleared and then move on. I found this to be the most fun way to play. You could instead opt to not use guns at all and instead take out the enemy’s with melee combat only, or you could always run away from them. I found it cool that you could make those decisions and were not forced to pick any in particular.

Sound

The sound design is great. The main theme song got a bit old by the time I got to the end but the ambient in game music is GREAT. Its there and it never annoys you and enhances the experience as it should. The sound effects are well integrated. Street traffic, falling to your death, gunshots all of it is very well integrated.

Verdict

Mirrors Edge is a great game that will provide many hours of enjoyment. I would describe it as a first person platformer puzzle game and Mirrors Edge is a refreshing departure from most games you will play. Give it a shot. I am very much looking forward to the sequel after completing this game. Not only that but there are time trials and speed runs that you can play. You can try to qualify and beat your friends scores on the online leader board.