Running to the ‘Edge’

Sophie Prell

Run. Jump. Shoot. Nothing new, right?

Not so in “Mirror’s Edge.” Here, players assume the role of Faith, a rebellious inhabitant of a dystopian future where information has become a crime.

Faith is a Runner, a profession that has her racing through a nameless, monochromatic city transporting information from point A to point B — mostly via rooftops.

While this may sound boring — a game about running? There are a few nifty twists to go along that make “Mirror’s Edge” stand out.

Faith is incredibly acrobatic, allowing her to leap over fences, scale walls, slide down the faces of buildings and more — and without breaking a sweat.

Think the opening scene to “Casino Royale” or the “It’s Not My Time” music video from 3 Doors Down.

Mind you, it’ll be up to the player to decide how to best tackle each course, as Faith will be presented with various options. Highlighting her path is Runner Vision, which turns interactive objects like springboards and swing bars a saturated red color.

Although level design seems non-constricting, the differences in paths are pretty minimal and ultimately, I feel as though the game should’ve been a bit more open.

I mentioned earlier the colorless city and Faith’s affinity for red, but it’s important to note that this artistic direction is prevalent everywhere. Areas are essentially dominated by one solid color, which works quite well for the world’s feel, but it can be blindingly bright at times.

Graphically, the game impresses with some awesome speed effects, a great sense of vertigo and a detailed character model for Faith. It’s too bad that nearly all of the cutscenes in “Mirror’s Edge” are computer animated cartoons because they look so stiff and bland compared to the rest of the game.

There are also a few strange shading issues, aliasing problems and screen tearing, which happens more often on the 360 version.

“Mirror’s Edge” is enjoyable and worthy of attention, but the story is short and pretty weak — though it serves its purpose. Once finished, players can move on to the challenging time trials and speed runs that are also available.

Ultimately, let’s keep faith that there will be a sequel which fleshes out this formula’s strengths while eliminating its weaknesses.

—Sophie Prell is a junior in pre-journalism and mass communication from Alta.