Mirrors Edge

Faith, after completing a delivery to fellow Runner Celeste, learns from Merc that her sister Kate may be in trouble at Pope's office. When she arrives, she finds Kate standing over the body of Pope, insisting she has been framed for murder and requesting Faith to discover the cause. Faith finds a piece of paper with the name "Icarus" on it in Pope's hand. Kate remains at Pope's office to provide distraction for Faith's escape. From a former Runner, Jacknife, Faith learns that Pope's head of security, a former wrestler named Travis Burfield (under the ring name Ropeburn), may be connected to Pope's murder. Faith meets Lt. Miller, at Kate's behest, narrowly avoiding arrest. At Ropeburn's office, she overhears him setting up a meeting at a new place downtown. At the meeting, Ropeburn discovers Faith's presence and attacks her, but Faith gains the upper hand and throws him off the roof. As he is hanging above a long drop, she tries to interrogate Ropeburn, but before he can reveal anything he is killed by an unknown assassin.

Lacking other leads, Faith investigates the security firm that has begun aiding the police force in their crackdown of Runners. She finds they are behind "Project Icarus", a program designed to train their forces in parkour to chase and fight the Runners. Evidence also leads Faith to the trail of Ropeburn's killer to a boat in port; after chasing the unknown entity, Faith discovers the assassin is actually Celeste, who is now a part of Icarus under collusion to keep herself safe, and warns Faith to consider the same. The arrival of the police allows Celeste to escape.

With Kate convicted for Pope's murder, Merc has arranged the police convoy transporting her into an ambush spot for Faith, and Faith is able to help Kate run free. When Faith returns to her hideout, she finds it has been attacked, Merc on the edge of death and Kate recaptured. In his dying words, Merc tells Faith that Kate is now at the Shard, Mayor Callaghan's office and where the main servers that run the city's monitoring systems are located. With Miller's help, Faith is able to enter the Mayor's private offices, destroying many of the servers to gain access to the roof. On the roof she finds Kate held at gunpoint by Jacknife. Jacknife reveals he too is part of Icarus, and has been part of the plan all along to lure the Runners out of hiding. When Jacknife tries to take Kate onto a waiting helicopter, Faith is able to jump on, knocking Jacknife out of the helicopter to fall to his death but also damaging the helicopter in the process. Faith helps Kate to escape safely from the falling helicopter.

During the end credits, media reports that Faith's actions have only served to intensify Project Icarus, and Faith and Kate are still wanted for Pope's murder. However, with the servers damaged, the population is cautioned to avoid using electronic means of communications until the servers are restored.

Overview
Mirror’s Edge is quite an innovation and a rare glimpse of originality in a market of mindless sequels and shooters. This is essentially a first-person platformer which encourages the player to run instead of fight, a concept that may be alien to some gamers. The story revolves around a girl by the name of Faith, who lives in a world where information is strictly guarded in a totalitarian metropolis and must be transported from place to place by athletic folk called ‘runners.’ Sounds interesting right? Let's see if it's any good though...
Gameplay
Mirror's Edge is a very unqiue game from the word go. The first-person perspective is quite confusing at first but you soon find yourself doing crazy jumps across the rooftops. The controls are very responsive and crisp and the game flows well as you make your way through the levels. You will confront armed enemies throughout the game and there is a counter and attack system in place, which more often than not works perfectly when in a tight spot. This is a game that rewards practice and patience and if you put the time into the game, you will notice yourself stringing together some ridiculously fluid moves. Runner vision is how you navigate the world, this basically means that objects are coloured red which indicates where you need to go. It works well and keeps the screen uncluttered.

Despite taking place in the first-person, Mirror's Edge takes the emphasis off gun wielding and focuses more on movement and momentum. As Faith runs she continually picks up speed. This speed allows her to pull of some of the more difficult acrobatic maneuvers, as well as perform the simpler ones without losing much momentum. Finding ways to retain that momentum is one the main challenges of the game.

Everything is performed from a first-person perspective.

On the consoles, the game is controlled by a combination of three buttons and the left stick, making the controls rather simple, although there are layers of complexity. Jumping and climbing over objects is done with the left bumper (L1 on PS3), while ducking and sliding under objects is done with the left trigger. The right bumper (R1 on PS3) allows you to perform a 180 degree spin, for quick turnaround. Those three buttons in combination with the left thumbstick can control most of the gameplay, with other buttons related to combat and Reaction Time (bullet-time).

The game's producer, Nick Channon, said in an interview with Gametrailers.com that each level of the game will present the player with a few ways to get through any given area and it's up to the player to find his/her own fastest way over/under/around each obstacle laid before him.

To aid in this decision making process, the game uses a color coding system called "Runner Vision." Objects in the environment necessary to complete certain areas or perform certain movements are painted red, though this can be turned off on higher difficulty settings.

Faith is not armed by default. She can remove guns from enemies by force, but is unable to run while wielding them.

The melee combat system in the game is based on momentum as well. The more speed you have going at an enemy, the more effectively you'll be able to disarm and remove the enemy from your list of troubles.

There are some annoying moments when you'll find yourself jumping too far and falling off a building but these don't ruin the overall experience. Level design is good and areas have a nice layout in which your running is rarely disturbed. All in all it's a great experience and most importantly fun to run around in the shoes of Faith.
Singleplayer
The singleplayer mode in Mirror's Edge is a mixed-bag really. There are some memorable levels and moments but for the most part, it is pretty weak. The weakest part of this game is its story, or its lack of one. The protagonist is Faith and I must say she's pretty cool. However, the problem which arises is simply I didn't really learn anything about her and this in turn made her feel slighty bland and uninteresting as a character. There isn't really any surprises throughout the course of the game's plot and the supporting cast and villians are also not explored. The idea of a totalitarian metropolis where information is strictly guarded is a very good one. Unfortunatly, weak characters and lack of cohension in the plot ruin it. Cut-scenes are a change of pace from the first-person action. They are cel-shaded in style and while they look very nice, I feel that they are seriously out of place with the rest of the game. Again, this only makes the plot feel even more disjointed.

The story mode is also pretty short, around 7+ hours if you're average at the game. There's the usual collectibles on offer here, with 30 runner bags located throughout the game. The hardest difficulty is a decent challenge for any gamer and I found the game to be more enjoyable when I had no option but to run.

The real bones of the game are the Speedruns and Time Trials. These are obviously time-based challenges that really put your running skills to the test. Speedruns involve you running through chapters of the story in under a certain time, which is easier said than done with some chapters. Time Trials take place over smaller areas and work much the same way as the Speedruns, although you earn stars for your troubles. For example you can earn up to three stars on a track, the longer you take then the less stars you'll earn. I found these challenges equally entertaining and frustrating, as a single mistake will often cause you your three-star rating or Speedrun completion. Mirror's Edge running mechanics are at their best here.
Multiplayer
Any kind of multiplayer is sadly absent from Mirror's Edge, which I find quite bemusing. Surely being able to race against your friends or other people online would've been a fantastic addition to the game? Well, I guess the developers didn't think so and the only online feature implemented was the ability to follow other players' ghosts while playing through Speedruns and Time Trials. There is also a leaderboard in place which showcases the quickest runners and times on every track. But in all fairness, this was a massive opportunity missed by DICE and if there is a sequel in the future, I expect them to rectify the lack of online multiplayer modes.
Technical
This is without a doubt the strongest aspect of Mirror's Edge. There is much to admire in the developer's decision to use very vibrant colours in the design of the game world. Bright yellows, sunny oranges and cool blues are all used in favour of more traditional colours in other games, ie. brown. This creates a visual feast for the eyes and perfectly suits the style of the game. Faith's animations are top-notch and you can really feel every jump and harsh landing. Also, the screen blurs as you gain speed and Faith's breathing rate increases as you run for your life. All these come together to create a brilliantly immersive experience.
However, I must say the soundtrack to Mirror's Edge is absolutely amazing. It is packed with many great tunes that set the atmosphere for the game. It is honestly one of my favourite soundtracks from a game, so it's a shame that the game lets itself down in other areas because there is a solid technical base from which they could've made a fantastic game.

Gameplay: 7/10 Good
First-person perspective is brilliant and controls are great but a few niggling flaws hold it back. Still great fun and a very different gaming experience.
Singleplayer: 7/10 Good 
Some great moments but the story is hugely forgettable and relies too often on "Escape from" scenarios. Faith is a cool character but is wasted with a weak story.
Multiplayer: N/A
Should've been included and is strange how DICE didn't realise how great it could have been. Maybe in the sequel?
Technical: 8/10 Superb 
Great soundtrack and design. Strongest point of the game.
Overall: 7.5/10 Good

For me, Mirror's Edge is a case of what it could be more than what it is. On one hand, it's perhaps the most unique gaming experience that's on the PS3 at the moment. On the other hand, it has a few major flaws that hold it back from being something truly special. But in saying that it is still a very good game that I recommend you play at some stage. I hope that a sequel will surface in the future that will fulfill this game's massive potential.