How do I put this? Mirror's Edge is a very fun game, when you do everything in the exact way you are supposed to...
Mirror's Edge is a fairly common genre of game that had a new twist on it. It's a platformer, that is entirely in first-person. This causes the game to be unique, but also includes some difficulties. In the game you play as Faith, a young girl with family problems whose job is to deliver secret messages to other "runners", who continue on the chain of delivery. That's no the game's plot, however. The plot is that Faith's sister, the only family she has left, is being framed for the murder of an up and coming politician.
Beyond that there's really nothing else to state, so let's get on into the review.
Graphics: The presentation is done in an interesting manner, not just because the game is first person. It takes place in a future urban jungle, but rather than present a detailed view of this city, it's shown in a way that is kind of what the in game runners see. Buildings are plain and white, with only details retaining dull colors. Important things like pipes, ramps and ledges are red. Objects you may need to scale are also full colored an odd color, such as blue or green. It creates a stylized and interesting perspective. The game isn't a technical wower, but it does get the job done and has some good facial animations. (7.5/10)
Gameplay: The core of the game, almost all actions are preformed by the triggers and bumpers. On standard controls, LB will be your primary button. That said, the game is often more fun to watch than to play. Some parts may seem obvious, but require multiple tries or guesses at what it is you need to do. Sometimes it's a ramp you missed, other times an object that is white is necessary to progress. When things like that happen, the game gets tedious. The combat system is also pretty lacking. Punching and kicking enemies isn't hard at first, but jumping from building to building with snipers watching your every move can get irritating. You can pick up weapons from those you have already downed, but the shooting mechanics of the game are the biggest problem in the game. All the guns you can pick up, with the exception of the sniper rifle, cannot be aimed down the sights. Also, once you pick up a gun, it only has a magazine, meaning you have to drop it and pick up a new one when you run out of ammo. That's why for the most part, it's best to try and run from enemies (even those highlighted in red). And that's really when the game controls best, when you can just simply run, and not solve a puzzle or shoot a police officer. (6.5/10)
Story: It's rather shallow, but interesting enough to keep you interested. it's not a key factor of the game, but it is a part of it. The game isn't that long, if you stay out of conflict, you could easily clear it in less than 8 hours. (8/10)
Soundtrack: The sounds of the game are actually pretty good. Car horns and the sounds of a bustling city do help you immerse yourself a little bit more into the game. The sounds are cheesy and the voice acting is done rather well, though I would recommend using subtitles. There is very little actually music that play throughout, which is good, since you'd get sick of hearing it fast. (8/10)
Thing I failed to mention... The game is divided into 9 chapters. Most of them consist of you running somewhere to either run back and get assaulted by police, something goes wrong and police start attacking or both. The game also has a time trials mode which is kind of fun, especially if you have a friend who played the game, since you can race against their ghost.