Mirror's Edge

Rich reflects on the PC version

Mirror's Edge tries to be quirky, cool, artsy, and different, and in many ways it succeeds. But despite a smooth engine and inventive gameplay, there's just something about it which isn't quite as compulsive as one might have hoped. There's no doubt that a certain type of player will enjoy this game for its uniqueness if nothing else, but many more may be left wondering why they should carry on playing a game which escalates its 3D puzzles from the get-go in an ever more predictable manner.

The game begins by introducing the player to a dystopian world of the future in which runners, people who travel swiftly by foot over the sky-line of high-rise city towers, are the last major group of 'individuals' in a sterile society. They flow from roof-top to roof-top, the last expression of a sterile future supposedly free of crime and strife. The only superpower these runners have is the inexplicable ability to occasionally slow down time, an ability which is recharged by running time.

The the rooftops must therefore be negotiated using purely the mechanics and functions of the human body. This is fundamentally what Mirror's Edge tries to capture - the very feel of being that person. Looking down, you can see your own feet stepping and running, hanging from a ledge you can see your hands moving around and gripping the ledge realistically. This is not a common thing to see done well within first-person games but its expertly modelled in this game. Furthermore there are no obtrusive menu bars or health bars on-screen, instead as the player sustains damage the screen fades and shakes.

The player takes on the role of Faith, a woman who has lived to see the city change into the colourless environment it now is - even her own family willingly submitting to the pale, safe existence of the alleged utopia. The group of runners she belongs to overtime become a small node of freedom fighters as the true nature of the city is revealed. The group were initially frowned upon but tolerated in the past, but not long into the story they become a major threat to the current system - acting as carriers of information for those who want change. Of course, the fact that almost the entire game takes place over pasty white building tops devoid of interactive NPCs means that the majority of this story is presented in artistic cell-shaded cut-scenes. This can leave the player feeling detached from the game world DICE have created.

Gameplay is typically quite stop-start. Some sections of the game require the player to look around, pause, and work out how to manipulate the environment in order to get to the next rooftop or whatever objective. At other times play is fast-paced, leaping from roof to roof quickly using ramps and sliding along wires to escape the inevitable hail of bullet fire.

Looking over the mainly white/greyish cityscape occasionally you'll notice highlighted red objects drawing the eye. These are the objects which can be interacted with effectively in order to reach the next objective, for example wall pipes which need to be climbed or protruding fan-vents which can be vaulted. It's all about the principles of parkour - to move from A to B in the most efficient manner possible utilising only the abilities of the human body.

The core of the game involves working out how to use these human abilities available to you in order to navigate your environment, occasionally requiring you to flee from a group of cops or engage in some combat. In terms of uniqueness, a first-person puzzle platformer isn't a genre I've previously been familiar with, and in terms of how Mirror's Edge pulls it off it is fair to say the developers have done a pretty good job. The game feels very realistic, capturing well the true visuals of a person leaping from roof to roof. However, that doesn't mean it's a genre anyone should have bothered creating in the first place.

The game's combat is no strong point; often being a dull alternative to fleeing or evading. Largely it consists of repetitively performing the same moves, such as flying kicks and slides to knock opponents about and occasionally disarming an opponent and taking up arms. Then we're into a bog standard representation of old-school FPS territory - with a shotgun effect which would cause Doom to turn over in its grave. The enemy artificial intelligence is equally weak, frequently enemies display a lack of intelligence and the player often relies on randomness to overcome them.

Furthermore there is something inanely tedious about the whole experience of playing Mirror's Edge. The game lacks a real point, a real drive. The only real aim for the player is to collect and deliver a number of objects, and on top of that the game is strictly linear despite attempting to give the illusion of an open city. The story isn't immersive enough to provide sufficient motivation to make the game that compelling, and on top of that, the main game can be blitzed through in under five hours. Beyond that, there's little other than time-trials to keep the player's interest and no online multiplayer aside from a leaderboard of track times.

With regards to specific notes about the PC version of this game - compared to the console versions - I observed no noticeable different in the graphics or general stability. Furthermore there were no control problems I encountered, the controls taking the standard PC format of mouse-look combined with the keyboard.

Mirror's Edge is an impressive feat as a realistic first-person simulation of parkour across the towering roof-tops of a dystopian future. Unfortunately it's also fairly dull and frequently doesn't do enough to motivate the player to continue, this is not a game I was thinking about when I wasn't playing it. Sometimes it has its moments, when everything just seems to flow so well, and aesthetically Mirror's Edge can look and feel great. But aside from whatever competitiveness one might get from the time-trials, there really isn't anything compelling, or even that challenging, about the gameplay. DICE's opus, then, is far from being a great game - but somehow it deserves notoriety for its uniqueness and the sensations it captures so well.

69%

By Richard Nolan