Mirrors Edge sees you controlling Faith, an acrobatic 24-year old woman. You play in a first-person view. The game mixes free running and combat together.
The free running in the game is fluent and fast. It involves jumping from high buildings, running up walls and leaping across ledges. When an object is red, it indicates that you can use it to progress. For example, if a ramp is red, you can jump off it to land on another building. The doors you can access are also red. This is known as 'runner vision'. Free running is probably the strongest gameplay element of the game. Despite this, there is a lot of trial and error involved. A lot of people will die a lot in certain sections of the game. It can be overlooked, though.
There are two types of combat in the game. Melee looks good and Faith has plenty of moves. She can slide and trip up an enemy, jumping from a zipline onto an enemy, or just basic punches and kicks. Shooting is quite a weak element. You can pick up a gun from the floor, or disarm an enemy to get one. Although the gun set isn't as comprehensive as Call of Duty or Battlefield, there is a variety to choose from.
Machine Guns - M249.
Rifles - FN Scar, H&K G36C.
Sniper Rifles - Barrett M95.
Shotguns - Benelli M3 Super 90, Neostead 2000.
Submachine Guns - B&T MP9, H&K MP5.
Pistols - Colt M1911, Beretta 92, Glock 18.
The guns have a very small amount of ammo in, so you can't really go through a level with the same weapon. Gunfighting can get repetitive, although fun at times.
By finding bags and completing time trials, you can unlock artwork and videos. Bags are scattered around the levels, three in each. Some are in obvious places but most must be searched for. In time trials, you run through a story level, attempting to beat the set time. Based on how fast you are, you achieve a star rating. Achieving a very high total of a star rating of 90, you get a gold trophy. One problem is that none of the levels offer you a time limit higher than ten minutes. I'm not saying that they don't give you enough time. If you think about it, you could complete the game in around an hour if you beat the limit for every time trial. Without going very fast, you can complete the game in just about five hours, which isn't very long at all, for a full priced game.
The Easter Eggs found in the game can be very weird. Most of these involve graffiti on the wall, with spelling mistakes. The writing looks very kid-like, so we presume the spelling mistakes are done on purpose. There are also many references to 'giant rats'. At one point, you have to shoot a van with a sniper rifle. If you shoot that, then a sign with nine circles on it, a giant rat runs across the road. Very strange!
You control Faith, a Runner. They are basically couriers, delivering packages around the city. Faith does it her own way, though. She runs across rooftops and sprints through buildings to get to her destination. She became a Runner after meeting Mercury. The game begins with Faith completing a delivery to Runner, Celeste. Merc then tells her that her sister, Kate, may be in trouble at Pope's office. Faith finds her sister, the body of Pope on the floor next to her. Kate says that she has been framed for murder and orders Faith to discover why. She sets off on a terrifying journey, meeting a former wrestler, Ropeburn and Jacknife, who is also a Runner.
The story is told through animated sequences between levels. They use a very different style to the game itself. Some won't like the style of the cutscenes, some will. The story is not that good though, in my opinion.
Faith, as I said, is a Runner. She has Eurasian ethnicity and has a black design around her right eye, which is used as the game's logo. Her mother was killed in the November Riots. Faith ran away from home at the age of 16 and met Mercury. She is against the way the city is run.
Mercury is a former Runner and speaks to Faith through a radio. He also provides jobs for other Runners. Faith and Celeste call him 'Merc' for short.
Kate Connors is Faith's sister. She is an officer in the city's police. She is arrested after being framed for Pope's murder.
Celeste is, like Faith, a runner. She helps train Faith in the opening level of the game.
Jacknife is another Runner, but doesn't seem to get on too well with Faith. She uses him to discover more about the Pope case.
Ropeburn's real name is Travis Burfield. He is Pope's head of security and owns the Z Burfield shipping industry. Brutal and muscular, he apparently had a bad history of wrestling.
Mirrors Edge is set in the city. The actual location of the city is unknown and the proper name of the city is unknown to players. It is made up of a lot of whites, red and blues. The buildings around the city are very shiny. The city was once full of smokers and obesity but this was stamped out when a Citizenship Program was launched. A person called Callaghan is the mayor of the city.
There are over 45 trophies in the game. Ten of them involve completing the levels. A lot involve completing time trials and others involve combat. They aren't easy and will certainly take a lot of time to complete.
The age rating is 16+ in Europe, while in America it is T for Teen. I would say it is suitable for ages 12 and up. The combat is not very violent and no blood is involved. It can be difficult for some, though.
I think that, overall, the game is very good. It is unique and features very funny easter eggs. The flaws may not be overlooked by some. It's not for everyone, but a lot of people will really like it.
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