Momentum and "flow" are important in Mirror’s Edge, and as players guide Faith along the rooftop conduits of the city, they build up the capacity to slow time and increase reaction speed by hitting the X button when faced with a hostile opponent. Because she lacks the firepower to neutralize these enemies, Faith relies on her ability to disarm or temporarily disable them and keep moving. She is capable of delivering a few key strikes, including a jump kick, slide kick, and punches, but can also string these blows together with acrobatic maneuvers like wall runs and jumps. More importantly, she can quickly turn the tables on an assailant with a tap of the Y button, which will cause her to counter-attack and seize his weapon.
It’s not all about running away in Mirror’s Edge, as I was able to quickly disempower a couple of lightly-armored agents and embed multiple pieces of lead in them to clear a path during the demo. Other weapons in the game include heavier rifles and shotguns, but the bulkier the gun, the slower and less agile Faith becomes. Players must choose between mobility and firepower, though it will be possible to complete the entire story without ever firing a shot.
Staff Writer Joe DeLia spent some extensive time with the demo’s Time Attack mode, and has this to say:
"This mode might be just as exciting as the Story mode. Time Attack takes the game’s preset single player levels and strips away any of the story elements, leaving just the course and a ticking clock. The frantic pace of the single player is exemplified even more so here, as the clock keeps speeding upward while you attempt to time the perfect move and land your jumps with pinpoint accuracy. As if the gameplay of Mirror’s Edge wasn’t addictive enough, each level in Time Attack has full leaderboard support that also allows you to download anyone else’s Ghost replay data, letting you to see a shadow of the other player doing their run while you play out yours through the level. Using this, you can see the crazy shortcuts that they took, discover new paths that you never knew existed, and get disheartened when you see them speed off into the distance as you bungle yet another attempt at pulling a flawless maneuver. In essence, Time Attack mode takes the exciting single-player free running gameplay that has everyone excited about Mirror’s Edge and makes it into a racing game. This allows players to compete against your friends, albeit indirectly through the replay data, and show off their parkour skills on a worldwide level. Time Attack should prove to be very popular, and will be well worth diving into upon completion of the Story mode. Now, if you will excuse me…I have to shave .02 seconds off of my time."
The demo leaves me with few concerns about the game’s polish, as I was impressed with everything from the responsive and innovative gameplay to the stylish and artistic visual representation of what is meant to be a stark and unfriendly concrete jungle, to the character voices, sound effects, and score. I do wonder, however, if a game with such potential to be an expansive open-world playground will end up feeling entirely too linear as it directs players along specific paths through the city. Then again, if those paths are carefully crafted to optimize the gaming experience, then should it even matter?
Mirror’s Edge hits the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on November 11th. Urban flight is one week away.
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