With thousands of video games being released every year across dozens of different platforms and genres being combined and redefined constantly, it really is a rare treat to see a game with truly unique playstyle and mechanics. Completely ignoring the visuals or the story, Mirror's Edge is absolutely like no other in the way you control your character. It shows some pretty glaring flaws at times, but when it works it is absolutely brilliant. Any any attempt to try something new is a welcome addition to gaming.

There is always a desire to classify games by genre or style, so here goes; Mirror's Edge is a first-person runner and traversal game with minor melee combat and shooter elements. That's the best you can do when trying to fit this game into conventional classification. You play as Faith, a freakishly athletic woman living in a 1984-esque slightly dystopian near future. Faith's ability to run, jump, and climbs easily rivals that of Ezio Auditore and Nathan Drake.

The game's story is pretty typical. Big Brother is running the show and you're part of a breakaway group of "Runners" who don't abide by the tight restrictions of The Man. Your sister (who is a cop) is framed for a murder and off you go to uncover the path of betrayal and conspiracy that will eventually lead to your sister's salvation. Cutscenes take on a pretty cool animation style. The story is interesting, but it really is just a vehicle for the gameplay.

This game really shines when you're out and running at full speed, jumping gaps between buildings and wall-jumping to ledges that were thought unreachable. Unlike the Assassin's Creed "Hold the A-button and forward and watch Ezio climb" method, traversal takes a bit of skill in this game, which is great. The game is fairly linear and figuring out where you're supposed to go can be a little difficult, but potential paths to success are highlighted in red, which helps. Still, figuring out where you need to go when running at break-neck speed away from enemies can be frustrating. Failing to find an escape quickly is so infuriating because the combat is TERRIBLE.

I can see where they were going with some of the combat decisions. You can tell the intent was for the player to want to avoid combat unless absolutely necessary. Your character is a runner, not a fighter. Combat places a heavy emphasis on disarming and disabling while keeping your running momentum going. You can grab a gun, but it slows you down and only has maybe 5 bullets, so it's really meant as a last resort. Likewise, taking a couple shots from a bad guy will kill you pretty quickly, so you want to get in, knock them down, and get out without breaking stride.

I'm sure the developers' goal was to see player running in and going all matrix on bad guys, wall-flipping and slide-kicking through a room of hostiles, taking downa a few and avoiding most, before gliding into an elevator shaft to your escape. That's not what happens. That's never what happens. If you can't find the way out immediately (see above) you're quickly surrounded, at which point the combat mechanics are way too clunky for you to try anything remotely resembling matrix-ian tactics. I found the best method was to isolate one bad guy, take him down, pick up his gun, and shoot Guy #2 with it. Then I would take Guy #2's gun and shoot guy #3 etc. I can tell this isn't how the developers wanted combat to work, but for me it was the ONLY way it worked.

The combat seriously sucks the wind out of what is otherwise a very fast-paced and exciting game. I absolutely loathed the part in every chapter when you invariably get the "Oh no Faith, they're closing in on you!" in your earpiece. It was enough that I really could only handle this game one chapter at a time. Combat aside however, this game is definitely worth giving a shot to see how the running and traversal works. The story is serviceable, the visual style is unique and interesting, and certain elements of the gameplay are fantastic and really original. Just go in with the expectation that the combat is an element to be suffered, not enjoyed.