Mirror's Edge

Mirror's Edge is one of the few parkour/free run focused games out there. Not only that, but it's an action-adventure game that is ethereal, vibrant and beautiful in almost every way.

The art direction is vibrant and it works well with the overall atmosphere of the game which is relaxing, intense and grimy.

The gameplay, once you get the hang of the control scheme, is flawed but intriguing. The mechanics require a bit of time to master, but once you do it's a fluent game - for the most part. But there are rougher and unpolished elements of the game that do make it a slightly frustrating experience - especially when certain missions force you to utilize these unpolished aspects.

The story here, while not the best or most fleshed out, contains an interesting premise and plot within an interesting world of characters and organizations. It's like an original comic book story come to life - appropriate, since Mirror's Edge comic issues were released alongside the game. The tone of the story is serious, but soulful. The characterization throughout the story is brief, but relevant and the overall storytelling is compelling and well-paced.

Mirror's Edge is a game that you need to get used to in terms of its presentation, but it is a beautiful game that provides an interactive experience like no other. It's got a dreamy atmosphere, flawed yet thrilling gameplay and an interesting but very streamlined story.

As for me the best parkour mechanic in this game is 70% parkour, 15% story (with cartoons) and 15% action shooter (flashy with bosses).

And I'll tell you, I liked how the plot (it was even epic at the end), so the atmosphere of dystopia (even I would say it's not the same anti, I'd rather like it in such a clean city), but even though it's like 2110 in the yard, but the people are still the same, and I would rather give it to 2030, but oh well.

The graphics still look good, nice and playable, with the exception of one annoying incident (in the game at 4k resolution, the text in the menu becomes pixelated)

The game is divided into 9 chapters, introduction and tutorial, the chapter was completed in 7 hours, but there are also challenges for those who have not played enough, such as passing through time levels, etc.

Shooter mechanics are secondary here, and generally not needed at all, in the xbox 360 there is even an achievement to pass without football, and yes you can, but it turns out a little longer, it's rather a pleasant start to the battle with the cops, and you need to beat them on the skull, but you need skill)

The parkour mechanics are at their best here, and so that the player does not get confused, since the developers faced the task of preventing the game from turning into a game where a person thinks 1 jumps 7 times, and the action, after a while, jumps on the roofs of buildings on the go.

In fact, it's difficult, except for the difficult one (which opens after beating the game, which is correct), the places that you can catch on are highlighted, and in combination, and it's well woven, it doesn't get out of style =), and there are a few bugs or unpleasant moments (sometimes I was stupid for a long time for 3 moments, where I did everything right, but the character didn't cling, and then it's recommended for 10, everything worked out) in general, there is a gap for a "space", the result skipped cutscenes and the dialogue slider does not skip the volume of cartoons.

And finally, the music at the end sunk into the soul, and just a great soundtrack in the game

At the end, they let you know that there is a reserve for the continuation, but there is no actual continuation (catalyst remake)

I've heard complaints about the vertigo from the heights and that the controls are too hard. Even with minor complaints like these I still think this game kicks ass.

This game has style to spare and a feeling of accomplishment when an area or certain jump is completed. I found the game a little hard at first and the game play a little trial and error in places but that still doesn't diminish my love for this awesome game.

The first person view is going to cause people to either feel exhilarated or upchuck. I was personally thrilled.

If you give the game a REAL chance I think most people will come away feeling satisfied.

Its such a good game for people who like parkour and/or free running. Original Story and has good mechanics. The only problem is for console users, the controls sometimes are choppy and unresponsive.

A good and highly original game nearly ruined by unforgiving controls and sparse checkpoints, resulting in frustrating trial and error gameplay.

Graphics are nice, and I liked their ultra clean urban vibe. Environments are well designed and look more realistic than in many other games. The music is minimalist and fits well. The story is fairly short, but well presented and I liked the stylised cutscenes. Most of the story has you running away from a police manhunt, and reminded me of some of the story in HalfLife2. Gun combat is basic, but not bad, and this game is not about combat anyway.

The first person view can make it difficult to keep your bearings, but is fairly well implemented and refreshing in a market saturated with 3rd person views. The controls are a good concept and quite nuanced, but difficult to master, and can feel very inconsistent. You are either someone who quickly "gets it" and then is free to enjoy the game, or like me, you are not quite able to master them. In my case this is also partly because the parkour is inconsistently realistic and arcade at the same time (only someone with a Crysis style Nano-Suit would be able to do those wall running jumps etc). I think many gamers with perfectly normal keyboard/controller talent will still struggle, like I did. I found some segments a bit too difficult and the scripted events were harsh, also resulting in many frustrating re-attempts. The checkpoint save system is a pain if you are struggling with a segment, and in that respect, it renders this game inferior to something like HalfLife2 which has an excellent manual save system. I had so much trouble at times, that I had to look up some youtube walkthroughs for help. It would have helped if there were more advanced training tutorials. Maybe the random loading screen tips could also have helped, but I have a fast SSD, so never got to read them. Parkour controls in Assassin's Creed may be a bit too simple and forgiving, but at least it is a lot less frustrating most of the time.

Annoyingly, there is no way to pause or reload cutscenes, as it is easy to accidentally skip them. This game is a fairly good port to PC, with no mouse accel or lag, and rebindable controls. Fortunately, no Origin account is needed with the steam version.

It is such a pity this game has serious flaws, as it is otherwise quite good and I would have really enjoyed it. I look forward to Mirror's Edge 2, hoping the devs will have ironed out the issues without dumbing the game down.

Conclusion: Whether you will enjoy this game depends entirely on how good you are with your keyboard/controller, and how much trial-and-error gameplay you can tolerate.