“Mirror’s Edge” for the PC is difficult to simply assign to a single genre in computer entertainment. Its unique features make it stand out from any other game that involves first-person viewpoint, usually associated with gunplay and combat.
“Mirror’s Edge” takes place in a contemporary futuristic urban setting with a dystopian theme. The city is serene and sterile, and all of society is monitored. To communicate without the invasion of privacy, certain people employ Runners, who carry messages to other people by running through rooftops of buildings and skyscrapers. In the game, you play as Faith Connors, a Runner who took a bad fall, but is now fully rested and back to the Runner game. The game puts you in her shoes, and discovering that your sister is framed in a murder of a mayoral candidate you lift some evidence from the crime scene and run despite issues of criminality. You as Faith keep running from the police while simultaneously uncovering a conspiracy.
The gameplay of “Mirror’s Edge” is purely a platform game; an example of platformers similar to it would be “Mario Bros.” or “Sonic.” The twist to the gameplay is the whole game is played through a first-person view. Every run, jump, and wall-run you do affects your view in a realistic fashion, as if you were truly observing Faith’s actions through her eyes while you control her direction. The first-person camera shifts a lot while you run and jump so people with motion sickness should be aware when playing this game.
The developers of the game were inspired by parkour. Parkour is considered an “art of movement”; an activity focused in moving to a destination as quickly and efficiently as possible, employing athletic feats that are similar to gymnastics. In “Mirror’s Edge,” the game definitely keeps that spirit. The game allows you to vault over metal fences, climb roofs and run walls to traverse through gaps in order to avoid a pursuing police force. Paths are marked through the use of red color or “runner’s vision”. If you see a step or box marked red, you can catapult a jump through it. If you see a red pipe, you can climb it, etc. However, a few times some parts of levels you interact with doesn’t always register. You end up falling instead of making contact with a pipe or roof edge you were suppose to latch on to, but for some reason decided to ignore and fall to your own death instead.
There is combat in the game. The hand-to-hand combat is simple and effective through the use of two mouse buttons to incapacitate your enemy. You can also disarm your opponent through a well-timed right mouse-click. However, players who are used to first-person shooters would be disappointed at the fact that they cannot run and gun in this game. If you do steal the gun from the opponent, carrying the gun actually slows your movement, and the aiming system is clumsy. However, the point is that this game is all about platform running, so it is understandable that there is less of a focus on combat than running.
Almost all chapters of the game are like roller coaster rides. The excitement from running from the “five-oh” to another destination utilizing acrobatic feats you will never accomplish in your chair, is very exhilarating all the way to the end until you are left short, wondering if this is it. There are other features of the game; you have time trials and speed runs that test you to replay the levels as quickly as possible to beat time records. There is new downloadable content out that provides you with more levels to free-run and test out your parkour talent, however, it would’ve been much better for more content to start out within the original game.
The presentation of the game is incredible. The urban landscape is filled with shiny metal skyscrapers and concrete buildings. The setting maintains the appearance of a pristine and sterile utopia while the police pursuing Faith serve as a reminder of an object of dystopia. The simplistic use of colors of red and blue in the urban environment remind much of a Mondrian painting. The red gives you pathways to travel on, and the blues signifies trouble or an incoming event. These color signals are used well and executed efficiently.
“Mirror’s Edge” serves as a good example of a platformer played in a first-person viewpoint. It is a bit short and the content slightly lacking, but it is a fun ride all the way to the end.