Take a leap of faith in this brave attempt to breathe fresh air into the first-person shooter genre.
Unlike many first-person shooters, Mirror's Edge focuses on melee combat and movement. At first the controls feel a bit awkward but they become almost natural after only minutes of playing, so the learning curve of this game is close to none. This is simply so because the game is too forgiving, making it too easy as it almost requires no effort from the player. It is still quite an experience to leap between buildings and other various obstacles as you are dodging bullets and being chased. The first person view point really makes you feel the presence in this game. The game is heavy on showing you your own body, arms and legs interacting with the game world.
While the game isn't technically a shooter type game, it still features firearms that you can indeed pick up and use, but the game does remind you in different ways why combat should be avoided and thus making the weapons useless - most of time anyways.
Mirror's Edge is a game where running is the key, and doing so without stopping increases your momentum which allows you to overcome obstacles. While you can still most of the time take your time and plan your jumps it is still recommended that you keep a constant speed. The game helps you in your journey through what is known as Color Coding, meaning that various usable key objects will completely be colored red and that way aid the player. It gives you a clear indication on what you should do and where you should go. At first you may consider this ridiculous and a sort of lame "easy mode", but it's highly useful and you still need to use your reflexes to successfully make the jumps or whatever action you need to perform.
The main focus of the game is to allow the player to move as swiftly through the levels as possible and make it as realistic as possible. So naturally you have plenty of tricks and moves you can perform such as wall running but not only can you run on walls for a short period of time but you can also jump from a wall to a ledge and so on.
The secondary focus of this game is the combat system and it is not satisfying at all - but it does allow you to take down enemies in a matter of seconds if your timing is right. The combat allows you to not only punch and kick but also disarm enemies which instantly knocks them out. The regular attacks that Faith has are rather weak and overall not useful but that is how it was intended as the game encourages you to avoid combat all together.
So you are left with one option that is both useful and rather easy to use and that is to disarm your opponents. This can only be done when you are right in front of your target. As the enemy takes a swing at you their gun will turn red for a brief moment and when that happens you must quickly press a button leading to a fancy looking disarmament of the opponent. While it's incredibly hard to time it right you are given the ability to slow down the entire game making it a lot easier. This can be done at any point in the game but it only lasts for a couple of seconds. In order to be able to use this ability again you need to traverse a specified amount of distance but it's all done in the background, invisible to the player which is great as it doesn't steal away anything from the game.
As mentioned above the weapons in this game are rather useless but in rare occasions they can be extremely useful. It is important to remember that you only get one clip of ammo and you cannot find additional ammunition. Neither can you perform any acrobatic movements while carrying a gun but this only applies to the heavier weapons. The game features a decent amount of weapons such as handguns, submachine guns, assault rifles, shotguns and sniper rifles.
The game has an excellent Story Mode in which you discover the truth behind the matter and it is rather deep in its development. It is however short and only offers you a couple of hours of gameplay. It is short and sweet in other words. There are two other game modes for those who aren't satisfied with just the Story Mode, and these are the Time Trial Mode and Speed Run Mode. The Time Trial Mode lets you play against a ghost runner and allows you to set time records on 24 different short maps (once you have unlocked them all). Records can also be posted online so you can share your times and compete with other peoples best runs.
The Speed Run Mode allows you to choose any level from the game and you must then try to finish it as quickly as possible - nothing complex but extremely difficult and challenging.
Whilst playing you will stumble upon Runner Bags which are often very hidden. These will unlock extra features such as concept art, music and videos for those willing to go through the levels over and over again. Unfortunately this does make you wish that you could unlock something of more value like new levels to play.
The graphics are new and refreshing. It's very bright and the colors are vivid and vibrant. It makes the atmosphere very believable and it increases the feeling that "everything is all right" while underneath the shiny surface things are very corrupt and rotten. The visual style blends a sterile look with glaring colors. It is extremely well done and it makes the game stand out. The levels are full with neat little details, and it's just a treat to move around in the game world.
The game features cut scenes where rather than using the graphics from the game they decided to make something entirely different which is both bold and divergent – these cut scenes resemble a stylish cartoon, almost like an anime. It fits the game and story perfectly.
The soundtrack is also absolutely amazing. It goes incredibly well with the premise and setting of the game. It seems like the they made the perfect choice when it came to picking background music which is a intense mixture of electronic songs. The music really takes you into the game, and uplifts the atmosphere. The game does feature voice acting and a great deal of it actually but don't expect anything out of the ordinary. However, it is there and it does its job.
Despite the fact that the game is extremely short and easy it does have its values. It does undoubtedly contain some very exciting moments but sadly it's not long lasting. The game does get boring rather quickly because the Story Mode is the only reasonable thing to play here. The other game modes feel unnecessary and almost tucked on there as empty filling. Mirror's Edge is entertaining for the short time it lasts and it is one of those games that shows that creativity isn't dead just yet.