The Plot. The story takes place in the near future, in a city called New Eden, which is mostly controlled by corporations and everyone who doesn't like it is considered a criminal. In this harsh world any traditional means of communication is not usable because of surveillance, so the messaging business is handled by a group of messengers called Runners. They use rooftops, evasive techniques and fast feet to keep out of sight and deliver the packages. The story is about a runner, Faith, whose sister is framed for the murder of a mayor candidate and Faith sets out to clear her sisters name.
General thoughts. First of all, this is probably my most favorite game in a long while. This is the only game I've finished with all difficulties and I think more than 5 times over the last two years since it came out in January 2009. I honestly don't know how many times I've played through this one. I love almost every aspect about it. The other reason for me playing through it so many times is the game being short. In fact, it's one of the shortest games of this type I've ever played. The total storyline is about 2-3 hours long, but I figure you could stretch it out to about 4-5 hours if you search for every hidden package along the way or keep failing at some key points for too long.
This game is very different from any type of first person shooters ever created and I'm really happy that EA is experimenting with this type of gameplay. Mirror's Edge is more of a parkour-type of game. There is some shooting, but there's not a lot of that and in most parts can be avoided completely. Faith is much more comfortable without a gun. Since the game is about Runners, all you will be doing is running around rooftops and climbing all sorts of things. Mostly you have to figure out how to get past the countless obstacles and that's what makes this game interesting. At some parts you don't even have much time to think about which way to go because of people shooting at you.
My favorite part about this game is the pace. This is a very fast game, because all the moves, jumps and slides are designed to keep you going. The longer you run, the faster you get and the less chance of being shot. You have to do all sorts of daring jumps and dangerous moves in order to get forward. There are some places where you manage to lose your tail, stop and think about how to move forward.
The level design is something quite different from anything seen before. The plot is set in a futuristic world and this is seen only by the way the world looks and feels. Most of the areas you go through are very bright. The rooftops are white. This gives you the feeling of cleanliness and freedom and I think this could be connected to the plot. After all, this is a world controlled by money and the corporations are trying to keep things looking bright to make people feel free in a clean environment. I think it's very likely that large cities could look something like that in the future.
Another thing the developer included to make the gameplay smoother is using subtle hints to lead you in the right direction. Some of the elements on your path are red and turn back to the original color when you're past them. According to the plot, it's called Runner Vision and is sortof like a hunch that Faith gets while running. This is subtle enough to not feel like the player is lead towards the goal, but helps the gameplay a lot. This is turned off if you play using High difficulty. It really feels different if the runner vision is turned off.
All the loading screens are replaces with story-related cut-scenes, so there isn't a time when the game appears to have stopped. There are in-game action sequences where you can't control your character, but they mostly fit with the flow and don't feel too fake. The loading cut-scenes are designed as a cartoon, separate from the game engine. The animation looks weird, but in a way, it helps remind you that this is the point where the story goes on and a new mission is about to start.
The story itself is quite interesting and has some unexpected twists along the way. It's difficult to tell much about the plot without spoiling it, so I'll just leave it at that.
This is also a very interesting example of a game that has done better on PC than on consoles. I've heard bad things about this from console users because console controls don't feel right with the fast pace of the game. Looking around for another ledge while hanging from one is supposedly really slow on analogue sticks. So this is certainly a game to play on PC instead of a console.
All in all, this is an awesome game and I'm sure I'll play it again at one point. If you're tired of conventional shooters, this is something you should try out. Actually, I'd recommend this to any fan of first person shooters. A lot of adrenaline in this. And a fair amount of frustration. Sometimes Faith simply refuses to grab on to a ledge. This game would get a 10 if it wasn't so damn short.
I love this game.
9/10 Flogs
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