Mirror's Edge Review

Game: Mirror's Edge
Ted Puffer Review: 4 stars

The reason I decided to give this game a shot was because of the graphics. You play "Faith", a runner who is a glorified messenger in a futuristic city. She gets around by jumping between rooftops, sliding down drainpipes and other parkour behavior. The city is what caught my eye. EA did an amazing job of creating a huge, sterile glass and chrome city to play in, and to my mind it's the real star of the game.
If you go online you'll see that the reviews for the game are mixed. Almost everyone likes the fact that the idea behind the game is new and fresh. Yes, there is some gun play involved. But for the most part, the game is played in FPS style and has you solving puzzles. Specifically, how on earth are you going to get from the street to the top of a skyscraper without using stairs.
The reviewers didn't like the controls, and I have to agree with them. When you encounter a hostile target, you use almost Aikido like disarming moves. Again, this is new but at the same time leads to a lot of frustration. For the most part, you can be in the perfect position, use the disarm move at the perfect time, and then helplessly watch as Faith gets pistol-whipped until the screen goes black.
But I stuck it out and am glad I did. The plot, Faith's motivation for getting to the top of said skyscraper, is very good and the voice work in the game is exceptional.
The drawback from playing this game is a serious one. I remember going to the arcade and playing some racing game, something fast and entertaining enough to get the adrenaline flowing. Then I'd get in my car and drive like a maniac home. After leaping chasms in the game, it was hard to drive in a safe and normal way afterward.
Now when I'm at the mall, I look around and think, "hop that ATM, jump to the planter and then shimmy over the railing and I'm on the second level. That's got to be easier and faster than walking all the way to the escalator..."