Mirror's Edge Developer: EA DICE Publisher: Electronic Arts Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC Reviewed on Xbox 360 In 2007, Ben Cousins from EA DICE said that the group of developers was looking to create something new, interesting, and fresh. Mirror's Edge is the result of that vision, and it couldn't be much better than how it turned out. Mirror's Edge, released in late 2008, is a first-person adventure game that follows a Runner named Faith Connors. What's a Runner, you ask? The Runners are an underground group of people who transport items to and for people. In a city under total control by the government, crime is at an all-time low thanks to security, but at the cost of the citizens' freedom; this opens a large market for the Runners, whose clients don't want their deliveries inspected. The police don't exactly like the Runners, of course, and attempt to exterminate them whenever possible. The story begins with Faith making a delivery to a fellow Runner, Celeste. After delivering a package to Cel, Faith's mentor, Merc (Short for Mercury), alerts Faith that gunshots had been reported in the offices of Robert Pope, a man campaigning to be mayor of the city. Faith's sister, Kate, was supposed to be meeting with Pope at around the same time, so she quickly makes her way over to check on her sister; what she discovers is that Pope is dead, and Kate has no idea how it happened. Faith must uncover who was responsible for Pope's death, why they did it, and clear Kate's name, as the police suspect that Kate is the murderer. Without giving away too many other details, the story is fairly interesting, with more than a couple of plot twists to keep you engaged. The gameplay is just as engaging, and is unique and fun; in the time since the game's release, I have yet to play a game that plays quite like ME. As Faith, you advance through levels by taking to the rooftops and navigating from one building to another. Occasionally, you'll trek through subways, malls, and sewers, but for the most part, you're only one step away from plummeting to your death. As you climb, crawl, zipline, and leap your way through the city, you'll occasionally run into the cops, who want to pump so many bullets into you that you'll look like swiss cheese after they're through with you. While you can steal their guns away, it's generally advised that you get away from them as soon as possible, as you're pretty susceptible to being hurt. Overall, the game is very fun to play, and I'll be surprised if there's anything quite like it available right now. Next up is the sound. The game's soundtrack, composed by Magnus Birgersson and performed by Solar Fields, is mostly comprised of ambient music; while this may be a turn-off initially, it never feels out of place, and actually complements the experience quite nicely. When you're simply traversing rooftops, the music is calm, but when you're escaping the Blues (Runner slang for "police"), it shifts to an upbeat, exhilarating song. The in-game sound effects are also well-done; gunshots are accurate, and the sound resulting from Faith falling to her death sounds just as nerve-wrecking as I imagine it would be. Voice acting is also well-done, for the most part. You wouldn't know that the game doesn't run on DICE's Frostbite engine unless someone told you it doesn't. It actually runs on Epic's Unreal Engine 3, with an added lighting system called Beast. UR3 and Beast combine to make the game look every bit as beautiful as the Frostbite engine that would go on to power DICE's later games; people look realistic, buildings shine, and the skyline simply looks stunning. Between levels, animated cartoon-like cutscenes present the ongoing story. While it may be jarring for some to go from playing in a realistic world to seeing that world in cartoon form, the cutscenes are usually presented decently, with an interesting art style. Not all is well in the game, however. As fun as the gameplay is, it can be too realistic at time, requring very precise timing in coordination with your jumps. It usually isn't a problem, but when it is, and you have little time to spare for mistakes, it can be frustrating. Also, as fun as the campaign is, it's a tad bit short, with only nine chapters to play through. While that may sound long, it isn't in reality: each chapter can only take around 30 minutes to complete. Thankfully, DICE included time trials an unlockables to keep players playing the game, but there's a chance that you'll wish that the story was longer. Hopefully, DICE will address these issues in the inevitable Mirror's Edge 2. All-in-all, there isn't a game quite like Mirror's Edge, and in a good way. The gameplay is fast and exhilarating, the sounds are spot-on, and the graphics are beautiful. While there are a few faults with the game here and there, nothing is game-breaking. Rest assured knowing that if you give the game a chance, you won't want to put your controller down. Now, the question is: where's Mirror's Edge 2, DICE? ---------- Graphics: 9/10 Sound: 9/10 Gameplay: 8/10 Pros: Fun, unique gameplay; Gorgeous graphics; Fitting music; Decent replayability in the form of time trials Cons: Short story; Not much actual freedom; Very precise, trial-and-error gameplay Overall: 9/10
This is really awesome. You're a great writer, Lukar. I'd concentrate a bit more on your impressions about the game and add some more of your own thoughts, but for a first review this is really outstanding.
