Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 Hours or Less

The Bottom Line:

"Almost, but not quite"

Mirror's Edge is a first person action adventure game that focuses on momentum and platforming instead of the usual machine guns and grenades. Though it does exceptionally well in this department it fails to make leaps and bounds to get itself to the top.

You play as Faith, a lone free runner that specializes in the transportation of information in a heavily controlled and monitored city. Your main use for transportation is in your legs as you will be required to jump across rooftops, run along walls, and wait in elevators. Mirror's Edge does not feel like your usual FPS, in fact the use of guns is almost none existent as you will find it is much more effective to avoid weapons and keep your pace up.

It is an exhilarating experience but unfortunately one that dies off rather quickly. In the later level it begins to become more restricted and puzzle oriented, you will find yourself running less on roof tops and more in crampt areas. This in turn slows down the pace to a halt as you look for the next exit or ledge to jump to.

The part that I find most disappointing is in the missed opportunities. The city itself and themes provide so much potential for strong atmosphere and narrative however it all takes a back seat in favor for a conspiracy. This again has huge potential but falls short of the mark making for a forgettable story.

Lastly the graphics are beautiful and ugly at the same time. The use of color is extensive and provides itself in the unique look Mirror's Edge clean city, though I find there are some areas, namely the times where you are outside, where white seems to cover everything.
The textures are blurred and the cartoon style cut-scene fail to capture the scenes or provide distinction.

Mirror's Edge is one of the most deserving games for a sequel in this industry full of military shooters. Revolutionary ideas don't always achieve their goals the first time around, a sequel could easily iron out all the bumps in the first game and make something amazing.

I say take a leap with Faith and support this potential series before we loose it forever.