Mirror's Edge had a lot of potential, but it just didn't get it right.
Story- Probably the worst element of Mirror's Edge is the story.
Its bland and boring, nothing about is at all unique. There were no points in the game where I was surprised or astonished by it. It was a very predictable, had no twists, or remarkable plot elements that haven't been done before. - 5/10
Graphics- The Graphics are quite amazing. The textures are perfect and clean. Many times while playing the game I noticed many places where the environment looked almost photo realistic.The physics that are only available for PC add a very nice touch to the already perfect graphics. The ambient and bright colors really help to bring the game to life.
The cutscenes is where this game really lacks the graphics. With such a sleek and clean environment I would have at least expected there to be a little better cutscenes, some that would keep up with Mirror's Edge fast pace and clean city not the simple and boring animations that you would find in a modern day cartoon.
The game is also very efficient at making it feel like your really Faith. Seeing Faiths legs kick when she jumps from very high heights, or seeing her arms pump as she runs across rooftops really create the illusion that you are in her eyes.
All in all- The gameplay graphics are one of the reasons why Mirror's Edge is as good as it is. - 9/10
Gameplay-
Freerunning- Is very exhilarating if your able to find the right way and don't die by Faith's stupidity.
Running across rooftops at high speeds while sliding jumping and climbing to get over the environment is very fun, but a lot of times its hard to do so in one go. Your a freerunner, a freerunner should never have to stop to see where to go next, but Mirror's Edge will many times have you doing just this. Pressing alt will point you in the right diction which helps, but not much. The runners vision is also a nice little thing that helps you find your way as well. Combining both alt and the runners vision will generally help you get past most areas, but usually not as fast and as efficient as you like. Most of the time you will die at least once or twice before you finally get it right. But aside form that, Mirror's Edge creates a perfect feel of freerunning. Completing a run smoothly is the most satisfying feeling you can have in Mirror's
Edge. The game will have you running off walls, sliding under rails(or jumping over them if you so please) jumping off of box's and swinging off of rails, which is quite fun. There are very many alternate routes to take that are ether faster or slower, its your decision to deiced which one to take.
Combat-Is very week. Faith only has 4 moves she can make, jump kick, slide kick, wall kick and her punch combo. A lot of times when trying to preform a jump kick, the enemy will butt you with his gun and send you to the ground, and I really don't see how this is possibly. The best way to take out a cop is to combine sliding jumping and punching into when move which is usually one of the most efficient ways to take enemy's out.
Disarming you enemy's is the best way to take them out, however its quite hard to preform. To disarm a enemy you have to click the Right mouse button right when the cop is about to hit you. The the gun will turn red right when you need to click but its only for a split second so you have to think fast. They do however have something called Reaction Speed, which slows down time to help you disarm enemy's better, however you can't exit when you want so it stays slow even when you've already disarmed the cop, which is a slight annoyance.
All in all- Mirror's Edge gameplay presents slight annoyances but never enough to make you get up and walk away. - 8/10
Audio- The music really helps bring certain moments in the game to life. By providing up beat music in intense situations really helps you get into the mood.- 9/10
Environment- Mirror's Edge really makes the city feel alive, by adding cars driving on the street, people walking, and the constant sound of street noises. The city also has a very clean look to it, which makes it feel like its a very controlled government.- 10/10
Replay value- There is none if hardly any Replay value. You should finish the game in 7-8 hours, and after that all there is to do is look for runnersbags and do time trials.- 7/10
All in all- Mirror's Edge is a good game, although it has a bad story and some slight gameplay flaws it does not take away from the feeling of being a runner.- 7.5/10
Other thoughts-
My main reason for giving a lowish score is manly for the story, hopefully Mirror's Edge 2 will have a better story and fix those little annoyances.
Computer Specs-
CPU- Phemon II x3 720
GPU- Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT
RAM- 4 gigs
OS- Windows 7 64bit
I played the game on full specs physics on, and with anti aliasing set to 4 with an FPS around 40or higher.