A stylish, futuristic adventure inspired by the underground sport of free running, Mirrors Edge promises a roller coaster ride of vertiginous thrills and acrobatic action, but fails to deliver on all its audacious pledges.
Casting players as a sexy female courier on the run from police in a dystopian concrete jungle, Mirrors Edge sees players stringing together nimble moves to leap across rooftops, bound along vertical surfaces and grind down metal pipes, the pace becoming manically thrilling once you figure out the best way through a level and can sprint from one side of the city to the other without a stumble. Moments of hand-to-hand combat where you can snatch guns from your enemies also punctuate the gymnastics with intense bursts of violence, and the sharp graphics and slick presentation create an oppressive world thats the perfect backdrop for your outrageous vaults and tumbles.
Sadly, figuring out the best way through the levels is fraught with frustration as youre forced replay sequences over and over again before you can figure out the jumps and rolls required to create the seamless sequences that make Mirrors Edge so electrifying. The vertigo-inducing, first-person viewpoint is also a problem as you rarely get to see the heroine creating a strange sense of detachment from whole experience and the moments where you wield a gun are slow and frustrating, bringing the delirious rush of leaping impossible gaps screeching to an awkward standstill.