An inspired experiment in first person gaming that will suprise and impress you.
Luckily following this, these aspects of the game are minimal, and with a couple of exceptions you can get through the entire game without using your fists or a gun. You spend much of the game fleeing the police jumping huge gaps and scrambling over ventilation ducts. The settings for each level are expansive and you're always only one mis-step away from falling to your death on the streets below.
One of the criticisms of the game in several reviews I read is that there is no third person. In contrast I found the restriction to a first person view refreshing and immersive. Your point of view is the same as the runners meaning there is no cheating, shifting the camera perspective to identify a route, while you see your arms scrabbling to grasp the top of a roof which you mis-jumped. Character movement feels more dynamic than any other game. When you star running you don't just start at full speed you ease into a pace as real runners do. Running in real life I love the feeling after a sprint of my lungs screaming for air and the exhilaration of the burning pain in my legs. Although this game doesn't replicate that, the immersion you feel comes close and stringing together jumps and slides into a quick route feels amazing.
The look of Mirror's edge is also interesting and I would say rivals several other games known for their interesting art direction such as Okami and Shadow of the Colossus. Some games get criticised for excessive bloom lighting, here the developers intentionally blind you with it. The starkness and sterility of the city contrast with your subversion of it's purpose by running and climbing across it. Your runners vision shows potential holds and jumps in a bright red that eases your journey across the rooftops, though often you will find your own, more effective shortcuts.
This being said the game is not perfect. The fluid nature of your running will suck you into the game, only for you to be brought to a jarring halt by having to wait in an elevator for a loading screen to finish. The storyline is fairly meaningless and most players will probably skip the cinematics. Sections where you have to shoot a gun also feel oddly out of place and do not fit into the game well, as rather than augmenting your abilities they prevent you from jumping and sliding around.
However Mirror's Edge is an interesting experiment and for me, a largely successful one. Many games have tried and failed to give the player the feeliing they occupy the body of a real person, but none so effectively as this, I can't wait for the sequel.