Mirror's Edge

Finally, a female game star that looks more like a woman than a barbie doll.

A corrupt government is chasing you.  You must escape its minions and prove your sister's innocence before they catch up with you...

---

Recommended Age Minimum Age Available On... 10 8 PS3, Xbox 360, PC Overall Fun Length Frustration   Violence Sexuality Substances Gambling 6 5 6   4 0 0 0 Mods Religion Anti-Law Community Sports Magic Miscellaneous 0 0 5 0 10 0 0

1.     Gameplay

• Overall Fun - 6

Mirror’s Edge is an innovative puzzle game that forces the player to use quick deductive reasoning to run, jump, climb, and slide their way through a maze of buildings, piping, and stairwells.

The game, while somewhat frustrating, is definitely very different than other games I’ve played.  I had fun trying to figure out the different routes while avoiding the enemies.  The first-person view made it feel like I was the one pulling off all of the cool acrobatic moves that Faye was doing.

Even if I make the distance, how would my face survive the smack against that pole?

The combat mechanics were particularly awesome.  They were simple but the player is able to pull off some stunning moves that will leave an opponent disarmed and confused.  What’s even better is that the player could run through the entire game without firing a gun once.  It’s definitely nice to be able to play a first person game that not only doesn’t require the shooter aspect but also encourages players to not fire weapons (there’s a difficult-to-obtain achievement for not firing a weapon once in the game).

I had two big problems with the game that stem from one common source.  I like to take time to think about my next move.  I prefer to act strategically.  This resulted in two problems.

Convenient Piping, Inconvenient Height.

First, the game is designed to flow smoothly.  The player is almost never supposed to stop moving.  However, when you don’t know where to go, you have to stop and look around, which kills the momentum.

Secondly, in almost every level the player is being chased by the authorities.  Move too slowly and the player will be gunned down by heavily-armed SWAT members.  So the player doesn’t have much time to stop and think anyway.  Most of the time I was just going for what I thought was best and praying that it was an action that got me a little closer to the end of the level (if not a little farther from the cops).

Overall, a satisfying game, but not something I’d replay any time soon.

• Length - 5

The game is not particularly long.  There are 10 chapters (including a prologue), each of which should take less than an hour to finish.  The rest of the game’s longevity will depend entirely on how much the player wants to accomplish.

There are tons of time trials for the player to attempt.  The time trials mostly boil down to sections of the main campaign divided up into playable chunks.  There are also time attacks, in which the player attempts to beat a chapter of the campaign within a certain time.

The problem with both is that the times required are rather absurd.  Unless a gamer is either naturally gifted or spends countless hours training to become better, the gold times are nearly impossible.  Times are automatically uploaded to leaderboards, but the times on the leaderboards are so absurd that it’s not worth taking the time to attempt to beat them.

Altogether this game is very short.  It’s fun and different enough to warrant at least a second playthrough, but after that I doubt players will pick it up again.

• Frustration Factor - 6

This game frequently left me rather frustrated.  The parkour mechanics (see "Definitions") were good, but it was often difficult to figure out where to go the first time through.  The game does highlight specific elements in red so that the player will know to interact with those, but other than that the game makes it feel like where to go is up to the player.  Yet there are definitely paths that were the only real way to go, and this can make things difficult if the player hasn’t taken those paths into account.

The entire game is supposed to flow smoothly.  The player is never supposed to stop.  Yet without playing through the game at least once before hand, or seeing someone else play it, the player is often left wondering where to go.  This breaks the free-flowing element sometimes required in order to progress.

2.     Parental Notices

• Violence - 4

Violence in this game boils down to two general categories.  The first is hand-to-hand combat, which the player will frequently engage in.  The player can punch and kick opponents.  There are some finishing moves that might possibly kill an enemy, but it’s never clear if the player “killed” the enemy or simply knocked him out.  The enemy reacts in a similar way regardless if the player punches him down or shoots him.

Shotgun vs foot. (Foot wins)

The player can also shoot enemies.  The player doesn’t have guns but can disarm a gun-carrying enemy and use that weapon against them.  The game doesn’t necessarily discourage use of weapons, but it can be beaten without their use at all (there is an achievement for beating the game without shooting any enemies).  While the weapons vary in size and power, the player has to get rid of them before they can continue very far.

This is how Keanu Reeves learned Kung Fu.

• Sexuality - 0

There is no sexuality in the game.

• Substances - 0

There are no substances in the game.

• Gambling - 0

There is no mention of gambling in the game.

3.     Other Factors

• Mods - 0

There are mods for this game, but the vast majority of them consist of custom levels.  I couldn’t find anything with adult content.

• Religion - 0

Religion is not a part of this game.

• Anti-Law - 5

The main character is a “runner”, which is basically a modern smuggler.  The exact nature of the smuggled goods is never specified and is completely irrelevant to the storyline.  However, the game does involve escaping (and sometimes fighting) the authorities, who attempt to stop the player, usually with lethal force.

His eyes may seem fierce, but really he's thinking "Uh oh."

• Online Community - 0

While there is an online community, the “community” consists simply of time trials on certain course that the player can try to beat.  There is no interaction within the community.

• Extreme Sports - 10

Mirror’s Edge’s game mechanics center around a “parkour” type system (see "Definitions").  The idea is that the player is supposed to jump, slide, and wall-run his way through the level.  The player’s abilities are loosely based on realism, since a lot of what the character can do are physically possible.  This could lead more impressionable gamers to mimic her stunts, almost certainly to disastrous effects.

There are a lot of things the character does that are not physically possible.  For example, one scene has the player slide down a sloped glass building, then jump off the slope to another building without taking damage.  Damage from most falls can be averted with a somersault.  Many larger falls have conveniently placed padded mats that can also prevent damage.

Sliding down the sides of buildings, not a good idea. Especially not while getting shot at.

• Magic - 0

Magic is not mentioned in this game.

• Miscellaneous - 0

There is nothing extra worth mentioning.

---

Is this a game that's appropriate for your teen?  Support our site and use one of the links below!