A shining example of why not all games should have a story.
I wanted to like Mirror's Edge, and I did for the first few levels; I was free-running across rooftops, sliding down pipes and wincing every time I pressed the wrong button and fell hundreds of feet to the ground below. Mirror's Edge at it's core is a fun, beautiful and innovative game. It's a shame then that the whole experience is marred by an intrusive, linear and inherently boring plot.
I need to stress that the core gameplay of Mirror's Edge is fun, you play in the first-person as what we Earthlings refer to as a parkourist although within the world of Mirror's Edge they are known as "Runners". Unimaginative name aside, this is where the game truly shines. That is, the running. In Mirror's Edge you are running a lot and you are required to constantly think about where you're going while doing your best to avoid the platitude of obstacles the levels throw at you. It's amazing what a change of perspective does to differentiate Mirror's Edge from Prince of Persia or Assassin's Creed, the rush you get from jumping over a thirty foot gap between buildings intensifies tenfold when seen through the eyes of the character doing so. Likewise, the horror of not quite making it the full thirty feet is intensified just as much when seen through the eyes of the plummeting protagonist. It's a good thing that the experience of falling is a notable one as it will happen many, many times. Death is a frequent occurrence in this game as one would assume in a game where split second decisions are always required and the difference between pressing the left trigger 0.1 seconds after you jump and 0.2 seconds after you jump is the difference between life and death.
Another positive attribute Mirror's Edge boasts is its beautiful art-style. The world you play within is entirely white, with patches of red, blue and green added to not only break up what would be a monotone landscape but also to direct you where to go with a concept known as "Runner vision". Runner vision is the equivalent of an arrow pointing you in the direction you need to go, though not as blatant. When you build up speed and momentum in Mirror's Edge, the objects in the world which you are able to interact with become red and therefore stand out like a sore thumb. These objects may include a box you can jump off, a pole you can climb up or a plank of wood you can leap from. Runner vision is a great way for players to have their hand held through these levels without them feeling like they have no control or choice in where they're going.
If the two preceding paragraphs were all there was to this game it would be fantastic, there could be the 20 or so levels to complete, each with their own time trials and online leaderboards to compare your time with others. There could have even been a level-editor to ensure eternal replayabilty. Nope. Instead of the game being centred around a solid gameplay mechanic we have a dull story about a city overrun with corrupt officials and a rebel group trying to blah blah blah... It's been done hundreds of times before and this instance is no more interesting than the last. Regardless of the fact that the game has an unnecessary story albeit a horrible one at that, the major problem is how much the story interferes with the playing of the actual game. Despite the cutscenes placed between each level, on occasion the game will suddenly break away from the fast-paced adrenaline-fuelled gameplay to an in-game cutscene filled with nothing but dialogue where you can't even control the direction your looking. In a game with such a heavy emphasis of the concept of the player being the avatar they control it is such a slap in the face whenever I'm brought out of my immersion and placed within a scene where I have no power. It's incredible how different these scenes are when you are able to walk and look around, the Half-Life series did this to perfection; seldom was I not moving around the room thwacking everything with my crowbar (people included) when I was forced into an area of pure dialogue, and guess what?
It was fun.
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