VGRC

Last year, EA made a huge 180, and not just with the parkour running lead character of Mirror's Edge, but they managed to pump out seemingly decent titles along with risky new IP's during a harsh season filled with blockbuster sequels and other new rival games. Instead of being the EA of old - hashing out half-assed sequels with professionals on the front with a fake smile, EA  decided to put out the EA DICE developed, Unreal Engine 3 powered, free-running centered first person action-adventure game Mirror's Edge to much attention of the gaming press and public.

What makes Mirror's Edge so delightfully different is that instead of being a run-and-gun, off-the-mill first-person-shooter, it's instead a more fresh platforming affair with lush visuals and sharp graphics. Penned by Rhianna Pratchett, the story is also there to push the game along at a decent pace alongside it's rather contrasting backdrop. Set in a conformist dystopia where communication is monitored heavily by a totalitarian regime, this apparation juxtaposes directly with the seemingly wide open and beautiful cityscape. Due to the crush in communication, a network of runners, employing parkour and a disdain for the social crushing regime pinning them down, are tasked with delivering messages while evading government surveillance. And this is where the player comes in. Stepping into the grippy shoes of the main character, Faith, an athletic, seemingly independent post-modern femme fatale; sans large breasts and overtly large features - Faith represents the cutting edge of what a runner should be.

Differing from the norm of third-person platforming games, Mirror's Edge decides to shake things up a bit, and employs a first-person perspective, again, different from regular vanilla FPS games. Rather, Mirror's Edge adds a more Ben and Jerry's flavour to the mix, with a wider range of actions such as sliding under barriers, grappling onto ledges, running across walls, and tumbling all over the place. The lack of a HUD apart from a distinct dot in the center of the screen to represent a crosshair allows a more visual approach to the game by letting Faith's limbs be visible to the player - giving them not only an even greater sense of characterisation, but also a sense of being able to convey movement and momentum. But the beauty in this not only lies with the simple screen estate, but it also translates to the controller. What is simply assigned as "Up" and "Down" buttons is exactly that. "Up" means to jump, vault, climb or otherwise traverse over an obstacle, while "Down" means to perform lower manoeuvres like slides, rolls or to simply crouch down. Where these buttons are assigned to on the controller are also quite sensible and simple. Left Bumper acts as the "Up" button, while the Left Trigger acts as the "Down" button. Right Trigger acts as the combat button, either as melee attacks, or to fire the currently picked up weapon, while Y serves to disarm opponents - the only way to procure firearms. Right Bumper gives a simple 180 degree turn, X acts as the button for Reaction Time, a kind of Bullet Time-esque slo-mo system that assists the player by making the timing of jumps and disarms much easier. The A button serves to simply interact, and B nudges you in the right direction by giving you a hint. Of course, relying on the B button might put you in the right track, but rather, the game does it by itself on the sly with it's "Runner Vision". It's all fine and dandy if you're not color-blind, simply because "Runner Vision" helps pick out key elements within your field of vision to give the best escape route in a nice red color.

Color is an important factor in the game, seeing as it relies so heavily on it for its breathtaking scenery. Gone are the muddy and gritty grays, browns and blacks of Gears of War-style games, and instead, you're welcomed to a bright world, filled with whites, blues, reds and the odd green or yellow here and there. The sheer visual presentation is breathtaking, not just in thanks to the Unreal Engine 3, but also thanks to some handy powerful lighting systems that light up, reflect and refract the scenery around you. The in-game lighting is also worth noting on it's own, as it is that breathtaking.

But despite all of these high points, the game itself falls short, of well, it's play time. Hitting the game on it's normal difficulty setting, even with the no-gun-kills achievement set in mind, it only really lasts around 8-9 hours, which frankly, doesn't really appeal to your hard earned $60. While yes, the game does try to increase game time by including elusive messenger bags that are hidden away in each level, as well as a time attack mode to where the player can try to complete portions of levels as fast as possible, not to mention the online leaderboards for times and of course, achievements - Mirror's Edge falls at the finish line of what could have been an even greater title that what it already is. The pacing is great, the levels are great, but the timing is not. All it really adds up to and points to is the inevitable sequel - if sales are good, of course - and shades of the older Electronic Arts starts to creep back.

There's no denying that Mirror's Edge is a great game. It's innovative, smart, sleek, stylish, and to stop this sibilance, it's just outstanding. The presentation, the graphics, the controls, it's almost perfect. But the lack of length and multiplayer features, as well as missing minute details such as a replay editor or map maker that could easily expand the game to greater heights are sorely missed; and this is what hurts the game overall.