Mirror's Edge Review - Xbox 360

8.5

Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 9
Audio: 10
Multiplayer: 4
Innovation: 8

Innovative games are few and far between these days. With the Nintendo Wii bringing out the same motions since launch, and companies producing sequel after sequel as they don't want to risk a new franchise, it's refreshing when a game like Mirror's Edge comes along. It may be overlooked due to the likes of Left 4 Dead, and not to mention all the sequels (oops, too late), but Mirror's Edge has a lot of potential, and when a copy of the game passed through our Slice detector, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to give it a thrashing for all that it's worth.

Gameplay

Mirror's Edge is a game of speed and timing, which can also be said about any other time you're jumping from rooftop to rooftop. The main story mode consists of about 80% jumping + climbing and 20% combat which means fans of shoot-em-up games such as Gears of War or Call of Duty may want to steer clear. The game actually prefers if you don't kill anyone, although sometimes you may want to stick your boot in some bad guys' faces!

You follow the story of Faith, a young lady who must prove her sister is innocent of crimes that she has been accused of. This mainly includes running in to well-guarded facilities to gain evidence, and you’ll find most of the eight missions follow the same pattern: enter restricted area, find what you need, flee. The controls are a little tricky at first, but the tutorial at the start runs you through the basics, and if you test yourself in the time trials you’ll soon learn new tricks and fly through the main story mode.  Mirror’s Edge is one of those games that comes along every now and then and pushes the boundaries of its genre; it takes gamers out of their comfort zone and offers new experiences. This is irrevocably a risk to the developers, but they are aware of this in its production stages and any good development group can succeed, as EA have done here.

As you work your way around the different environments you soon learn to follow certain paths. There is a recommended path to all levels which lights up as a distinct red colour on different parts of the buildings, but this is not always necessarily the fastest route, as you find in the time trials. Mirror’s Edge will test your boundaries as to how far you are willing to jump off a building, and how fast you can tightrope walk across a pipe when you’re 30 stories in the air. The levels constantly keep you on your toes, and push you to the limits as you jump just that little bit further on every jump.

The combat is possibly the game’s biggest let down, but it’s not really what Mirror’s Edge is about anyway. You can go in close for hand to hand combat, which can get quite fast and technical, or you can use guns which are not recommended. Generally the game ...