What a surprise...
The levels are really well thought-out and vibrantly colored. The whole city is colorful and sterile at the same time and it actually feels like a city. Planes go by overhead, people walk the streets, and the sounds give the game world a real lifelike quality that is difficult to get right.
But the meat of this game is the action and it's phenomenal. I actually cringe when Faith (your character) gets hit by a subway or falls to her death because I misjudged a jump (happens to me a lot). The hand-to-hand stuff isn't great nor are the shooting bits, but then this game isn't a shooter or a brawler. When you are faced with combat, it's over quickly and it's back to the running, which is what Mirror's Edge is all about. And I think this is where the PC version surpasses the consoles versions. The controls are tight and not at all console-esque. The mouse and kb are better suited for this type of game, and DICE got it right when they re-tooled the controls for the PC. So often ports don't account for the increased accuracy of a mouse and keyboard, but this game gets it just right. Couple that with the improved textures and the ability to play the game at high resolutions (with Physx!) and the PC version comes out the clear winner. Every other game developer should take notes (that's aimed at you bast*rds are Rockstar), this is how you port a game.
I haven't been this surprised with a game for a long time. It came in under the radar (on the PC) by missing the holiday season, nor was it highly publicized. DICE is just full of surprises and I hope that they continue to diversify themselves from the Battlefield series and develop some other IP's because they are clearly a talented lot. Also, I have to say well-done EA (man, I almost choke on that). For once, you got one right. Really right.