So, like most 20-somethings right now, I am one broke-ass individual. As a gamer you know what that means: borrow games, buy ‘em used, or buy ‘em cheap. I chose the last option when I purchased Mirror’s Edge a few weeks ago for the ripe price of $5 USD on Steam. I’ve wanted to play the thing forever, and for many reasons. For one, it looked amazing at the time of it’s first previews: sterile settings, but creepily realistic in terms of the urban architectural design, and with very stark, interesting color choices. Also, the protagonist had very life-like motions. Faith (your avatar) will brace her hands against any wall you run into, for instance. Her limbs also show up in other animations, all life-like and appropriate for the strenuous acrobatics she’s performing. Overall, it looked like an impressive simulator, and a great step in innovation for the games industry.

So… it’s almost four years later…how does it stack up? Well, favorably in many areas considering what it is, which is to say a rooftop parkour simulator whose appeal is as much about the concept as about the actual gameplay. The controls are tight, though the jumps where you will have to spin 180 degrees in midair were really frustrating on a keyboard. I should also note that some of the paths forward were frustratingly unclear—I had to Youtube one jump on the last level, or I’d still be playing that damn spot right now. The visuals, even on my crappy lil’ laptop, were quite breathtaking, and the characters in the game are mo-capped extremely well. The voice work…not so much. It was appealing at first, but ME’s voice work runs into the same problem most other games do: those speaking say their lines unnecessarily fast, breaking the immersion.

Speaking of immersion, the early levels will suck you in completely if you don’t end up failing too horribly (like me!). You WILL die quite a bit in this game, and if it’s at points like where you retry jumps 20 or more times (like me!), then the sense of flight and urgency that propels the game drops to nothing. Because this is a game with intense situations in first person mode, AND you don’t have any guns even though the enemies do (you can steal theirs until they run empty, though), certain deaths will leave you startled and on edge continually. I think I may have actually invented a few new swear words playing this game.

I remember one particular scene where I finished hopping between moving subway train roofs while dodging signs that could maim me very badly, only to finally, FINALLY survive and get to the next area…which was a tunnel where a third subway train plowed into me headlong and out of nowhere, screaming its’ horn in my ear all the while. I was not prepared, and I lost a good pair of boxer shorts that night. When you are immersed in the game as I was, it’s as if you really are the one hit by the A train. This is both a triumph on the part of the developers, and a warning of sorts. Should you fall too many times in first person perspective from skyscrapers, or get hit by too many trains you didn’t see, or get shot in the face too many times by cops hidden around a corner, you may end up with a heart attack: your uneventful life flashing before you as you quickly contemplate the possibility of an afterlife, and where the hell that Cheetos stain on the rug came from. Like me! (not really)
There are a few zones that are very frustrating in particular, and your deaths aren’t always about a lack of skill. Whether the constant influx of bullets from police officers actually hit you or not is left largely up to random chance, and so I’ve had times where I was killed by three hits in quick succession while running away, only because the computer got lucky. Every other time, I was hit once, maybe twice, and it was clear to me that that section of the level wasn’t designed to be a fatal crossing point. You should also note that three pops is all it takes within the span of about 15 seconds to kill you, and the later enemies have semi-automatic weapons, so death can be both sudden and infuriating.

Overall, I would give the game a solid 7, both for daring and intelligent design, as well as precise artistic direction and some truly wonderful sound design. The theme song, “Still Alive” by Lisa Miskovsky, is very catchy in particular. The cutscenes between levels are similar to flash cartoons, and therefore glaringly ill-fitting, but the story is shallow enough (in an acceptable way) that it doesn’t matter too much. The soundtrack is atmospheric techno, but it drives the tense moments instead of distracting from them when they arrive. The game is also short, and so worth the reduced Steam price I paid and then some, but certainly not worth the original $60 or so that was asked. Perils of the industry’s current M.O.

So, if you see it on Steam, in a store, or otherwise available, give it a try. You may be surprised. Just remember: It’s not for the faint of heart, or those with heart conditions in general.

Related posts:

1. Mirrors Edge 2 Not So Edgy