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Mirror’s Edge is a concept and an experience. It can’t be a game since it fails in terms of nearly every mechanic it gives the player. It’s an impressive showcase of high style and art, though not much else.

The cinematics here are amazing, and it’s a shame the entire game doesn’t share the same style. It’s not that the realistic look during gameplay is terrible (it’s quite impressive at times despite heavily overdone blooming), but it doesn’t stand out comparatively. Those same cinematics tell a decent tale of murder at the hands of an oppressive government, and introduce a solid number of characters to make it worth your while.

Mirror’s Edge is gutsy for trying a first-person perspective title based entirely around jumping. Platforming is hardly the ideal genre to place a first-person title, and Mirror’s Edge is exactly the reason why.

Players control the agile and quick Faith. She’s a free runner, dashing across rooftops at will. When the game is at its peak, it’s exhilarating. You can literally feel unstoppable as you dive under vents, jump over obstacles, and free fall onto soft landings. The sense of pacing and speed is unmatched.

When chased or in a race, the intensity ramps up. The need to constantly be on the move only makes the feeling of being rushed forward stronger. You begin to see things that can be used to make your path shorter, effectively creating a linear environment with multiple paths.

Sadly, those sections are few and far between. Outdoors on the rooftops, it mostly works. Indoors, the game falters… hard. Faith has a number of moves at her disposal, including some complex dash-jump-grab maneuvers. The problems are obvious. One, it’s completely disorienting to spin around in mid-air from this perspective.

Two, Faith consistently fails to grab onto necessary ledges. You’ll jump, the game obviously registers the destination has been reached as Faith puts her hands up, but she fails to hold on. The game is a fun concept, but not when you’re forced to repeat sections repeatedly because of its flaws.

Thirdly, it can be difficult to figure out where to go. There are two different tools at your disposal. One is runners vision, which highlights objects in red that show you the way. On top of that, you can hit B to see where you need to go. Unfortunately, this spins the camera around to the target area, troublesome when you’re under attack and trying to hide but also couldn’t possibly know an exit.

There are times when both of these combined aren’t enough. Level design offers up a number of puzzles that test both your mind and jumping skills, yet even if the mind works, there’s no guarantee the game will. Some of the solutions seem impossible, and some of the checkpoints can be ridiculous, forcing the player to waste time repeating a number of slow hanging wall crawls to get back to their destination. That’s not fun, and goes against the game’s attempted sense of speed.

Also, the levels all have similar sections that feel like the last one. A number of corridors, hallways, and rooftops are indistinguishable from the rest. Apparently, all buildings in the city are required to have the same paint design, only changing the occasional color. Elevators seem to take forever to move, and a couple of mid-level loads are irritating.

While only a few sections require it, combat is just as irritating. Punching and kicking might as well not even be in the game. Disarming foes requires a perfectly timed press of the Y button, although you can slow down time when you have the ability to do so (yet there’s no meter to tell you if you have the skill or not). Shooting is bland, and while Faith is a solid shot, aiming is touchy.

Where Mirror’s Edge will probably find an audience are the time trials. Most of these levels feel tailor made for speed runs, and shaving off a few seconds from the top players time will keep competitive players coming back. If you’re not the type to spend hours refining your skills though, there’s nothing to do once you’ve beaten this one except unlock a few collectables.

It’s not that Mirror’s Edge is a terrible, forgettable product. It’s not. In fact, it’s a daring, unique, and certainly original concept. That doesn’t mean it’s easy to look past the numerous faults it has. Would you really be relishing how original it is after you missed the same jump ten straight times? No, not really, and that’s the legacy Mirror’s Edge leaves behind.

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