Mirror's Edge™

The free running is pretty entertaining, but you're very limited in the area you can travel. You almost feel like you're simply running on a rail through most of the game. There are some shinning moments when you're moving across a rooftop and you have a couple of ways to go to get to your destination, but in the end, you're still very limited. The FPS aspect of the game is clunky, it doesn't feel smooth. Too often I find myself running straight at a "blue" while he shoots at me and even a few steps away I'm not taking damage. I can disarm/takedown or punch/kick the badguy down. I do enjoy the takedown/disarm actions, they are fun to initiate, plus it puts the bad guy's weapon in your hand immediately for use instead of needing to pick it up off the ground. Fighting also feels a bit forced and too simple. One or two bad guys around you, simply manuver out of their line of sight and wait for them to turn the corner and simply punch them a few times or run and slide kick or run and jump kick to initiate a simple staggering attack, then follow up with a few punches. The artwork and graphics are probably the most entertaining aspect of the game. The story was lacking and very easy to figure out who the bad guys are. There are few minor gaps in the story as well, these gaps don't make or break the game, but a little more build up of the story and characters would have been nice. A fairly short game that, to me, outside of maybe the entertainment of the free running, doesn't really offer a lot of replay value. 4-6 hours to clear the game, depending on how much time you take to work on takedowns and your free running skills. The game is enjoyable enough to warrant a purchase on a good sale.

This is an absolute delight as a parkour game. With only some minor teething problems, it delivers spatial problem solving as well as Portal and better than Prince of Persia, all in unbroken 1st person with only 2 main inputs ("up action" and "down action"). Unfortunately, this jewel is sharing a room with the worst parts of Far Cry: mandatory, awkward gunplay and melee combat & 1st person cutscenes in which everything important happens. Not everyone cares about plot but everyone DOES feel pacing. I think it's a shame that such a lovingly crafted vision of the future is paired with such juvenile writing. But the bigger issue is that, up until the final few (worst) levels, there's little to differentiate them at all. In every one, the police chase you almost immediately (to the point where it loses all impact and you notice the artificial danger) and you flee through the same office/rooftop environments while your earpiece directs you to the next cutscene trigger. This really feels like a collection of demo levels slapped together.

This game is all about doing parcour through the levels while someone is shooting at you. Not much else to it. Its interesting to play because of its original concept but becomes tedious as the game progresses. The controlls feel a little clunky. The combat moves are difficult to time and unfortunately there are a lot of combat situations. Visualy it has a destinct comic-like look where the primary colors and contrast are exaggerated which sometimes looks bland. It tells its story trough short animations, that felt detatched from the rest of the experience. Oh, and the protagonist is a terrorist.

PRESENTATION: - easily the game's strongest suit - graphically it holds up surprisingly well thanks to its clean visuals and colorful design - the music is atmospheric and moody, some tracks are quite beautiful - the cutscenes use hand drawn style animations instead of the usual prerendered or in-game cinematics. STORY: - the setting is not exactly original (a dystopian city), but it makes up for it through the visual design of the city. - the concept of the runners is interesting, but the execution doesn't make sense. You run around rooftops and through office buildings in broad daylight; that's hardly covert. - the story is serviceable at best and the plot twists are not in any way surprising. - characters are quite one dimensional. - the dialogue and varies from mediocre to juvenile. - it's surprising how seriously the game takes itself despite not having anything particularly profound to say. GAMEPLAY: - at least 90% of the game centers around parkour style movement. - I'm not very keen on first person platforming, but the game does a very good job of it. - don't expect fast flowing movement out of the gate as that takes repetition. First time out the flow will break frequently while you figure out where exactly you need to go or how to get there. - level design could've been more open, more of a sandbox. Instead it's very linear. Rooftops give you some movement options, but the many interiors are much more restrictive. - controls are good for the most part, but sometimes the character inexplicably fails to grab onto things that are within reach. - combat (gun/melee) is basic and is best avoided (this fits thematically). Too bad you're sometimes forced into it. - on occasion you may think stealth is advisable. You may even think it would fit the game. Don't try it, there's no stealth in this game. CONCLUSION: While innovative for its day, Mirror's Edge feels more like a proof of concept than a full game, a feeling that's accentuated by its short length.

This is a game I played on PS3 and absolutely hated because of the quality and presentation of the game on console,limited FOV,30 fps ETC, playing it on the PC I enjoyed it alot the controls are great,the gameplay is exhilarating it feels like playing a VR game but without the headset.The game has quite a immersive feel every grab every jump every roll every kick feels like your actually doing it! not many games even today dont have the same level of immersion.I highly recommend it for anyone who like parkour and platforming it is indeed a gem to play.