A great speed based game that looses momentum in the middle act, then takes off running to the finish line.
In Mirror's Edge, you play from the first person perspective of Faith, a runner who is part of a network of underground counterculturalists who work to undermine the totalitarian government. In an early level, you get called to the office of a mayoral candidate who has anti-totalitarian leanings only to find him dead and your sister framed for the deed. After escaping, you run around the city to find the truth behind the murder and to find a way to free your sister.
The game opens with a tutorial that helps you get acclimated with the controls. The controls were off putting at first because both the jump and duck functions are controlled with the left bumper/trigger. It feels unnatural at first (I would have liked to see each action mapped the different triggers) but once you get used to it by the end of the first level, you don't even notice.
Gameplay when it sticks to its base is fun. It's when the game deviates from the formula that the main issue sets in. Your arsenal of jumps, ducks, wall runs, twirls, and slides works very well when you are on a sprinting across a rooftop and are trying to get to the next one. Right in the middle of the game, however, the game takes a turn away from that concept. There is a series of about 3 levels that became somewhat of an exercise in frustration for me. The worst level in the game was when the character heads into an ambush in a mall and you spend the entire level pretty much within the confines of the building. There are several points in that series of levels where the path implied by the momentum of the game is wrong; indeed the game creates a checkpoint halfway down the wrong path, meaning that not only are you looking in the wrong place for an alternate route but in order to find the correct one, you have to double back and try to outrun some quickly gaining gunmen.
The mall is the game's low point, however. Once you push through the level preceding it and the level after it, the game quickly recaptures its glory. There are a few points in the game before and after the mall level where the gameplay comes to a standstill as you have to figure out how to get past a half-dozen or so enemies. This wouldn't be so bad if the enemies weren't there (once they are cleared the route to the next room becomes apparent), but they when they keep killing you before you can figure out even where they are, it becomes a bother. The best way to put it is that when the game strays from its base of speed-based platforming, it loses its momentum. Once the game regains its view, it runs smoothly and enjoyably.
And what a view! I am a staunch believer in the idea that graphics can only augment a game, not be the chief point (hence the failure of the PS3) and in Mirror's Edge the graphical treatment the game gets do an incredible job of cementing you in the game's reality. The incredibly use of primary colors (generally in the warmer section of the palette) against the blanket of white and grey is a feast for the eyes. As you run past the buildings, you can't help but be amazed by the stark contrast between a white building with grey windows and the blue billboard sitting atop it. The game uses the color red to suggest your path, and the color stands out very well. The game also uses blur to an excellent effect…when you are running at top speed, your peripheral becomes blurred out as you focus on what's ahead rather than what's passing. The comic book-style cut scenes are also top-notch.
The music and sound in the game are pretty good (sound better than music). Music doesn't really play that central a role in this game, but the pulsing beats pounding when you are at max speed certainly help you feel more like a speed demon. The sound is incredible. Plenty of good voice acting and some great imagination on the part of the sound engineers as to what falling from the top of a 40 story building would sound like.
All in all, Mirror's Edge is a spectacular game. With the exception of a bit of physical drag towards the middle of the game, it is a well thought out game through and through and a game I would like to see a sequel for. If you like a game that is fast paced but doesn't sacrifice story or scenery, Mirror's Edge is the game for you.