Mirror's Edge

Overview

Mirror's Edge is a first person action-adventure game developed by DICE, in which the player take on the role of Faith, a master runner. The game focuses on movement instead of the shooting gameplay found in most other first person games. The game was released on PS3 and Xbox 360 on November 11, 2008, and January 13, 2009 on PC (the delay was because DICE wanted "to make an amazing PC game"). The PC version also had improved graphics with greater display and texture resolutions as well as enhanced physics effects technology ( PhysX by Nvidia) to add clothing effects, fog effects, detailed shattered glass and wind.

Mirror's Edge focuses on an acrobatic parkour style of movement, and even though Faith can use guns, they are not essential to the gameplay (the game can even be completed without firing a single shot). Mirror's Edge is one of the few first person games without combat as the main drive.

A demo was released on the PlayStation Network on the October 30, 2008, and on the October, 31, 2008 on Xbox Live. If you pre-ordered the game, a code could be redeemed to access the time trial part of the prologue stage for the demo and the original game.

While much of the game's story is told in-engine by radio broadcasts and first-person scenes where control is taken from the player, story cutscenes have a more stylized, hand-drawn animation look. According to the developer, DICE, the cost to render all of the cutscenes in the game engine would be prohibitively high.

Plot

Faith, the protagonist of Mirror's Edge.

The story was written by Rhianna Pratchett, daughter of Terry Pratchett.

Mirror's Edge takes place in a dystopian, unnamed futuristic city. The people of this time have given up many of their freedoms to attain a state of peace and comfort. More specifically, since the flow of information is mainly technological, it is easily monitored by the totalitarian government. That's where Faith, the main character, and the other Runners come in.

A certain group of people didn't like the way things were changing in the city and were pushed to the fringe of society. Instead of communicating by more modern means, they hire Runners to get information from one place to another without "Big Brother" seeing what's being passed along. Runners are usually left alone, but at the beginning of the story, the government begins to criminalize the Runners and hunt them down.

The game starts off with Faith having to deliver a package to a fellow runner, Celeste. She is guided through this level, as she is in most others, by a man named Merc. He keeps in touch with her from a distant hideout (aptly named Merc's Lair), gives her assignments and often relays information to Faith. The first level mainly serves as the tutorial and has Faith being hunted down by the police. She escapes and returns to Merc's lair. She listens to the police radios and hears that shots have been fired in the building where her sister Kate, a police officer, currently is. Faith finds Kate in the office of a politician named Pope. When Faith arrives, she discovers that Pope has been murdered and that Kate has been framed. While looking for clues, Faith discovers that Pope was clutching a piece of paper with the words "Icarus to the highest" written on it. The cops arrive and Kate surrenders herself Faith can escape. Faith escapes by sliding down the side of a building while dodging helicopter gun fire, jumps onto train tracks, crashes through a glass ceiling and then meets with another runner.

Punching a guard out.

Faith makes it back to Merc's lair alarmed and wondering why the cops are on high alert. Despite Faith not wanting to meet him, she comes into contact with Jacknife, a former runner now turned informant for Merc, who tells Faith that he has intel that might link Pope's murder to his security guard, an ex-wrestler named Ropeburn. Before paying a visit to Ropeburn, Faith meets Lt. Miller in a parking lot to try and convince him to help Kate. Lt. Miller, also Kate's superior, knows that she is innocent but because of pressure coming from his superiors, he is powerless to do anything. Faith knows that Kate doesn't stand a chance in jail and questions Miller about Icarus who doesn't give her an answer. After this, Faith runs off.

Faith infiltrates Ropeburn's office and overhears him on the phone, realizing that he's the one who framed her sister and that he's setting up a meeting downtown. Faith once again meets Miller to tell him this. Miller pulls a gun on her, telling her that he's being pressured by private firms who want to install more security on the city and that the only way he can get them of his back is to hand her over. Faith escapes and goes to the meeting. She gets the upper hand and interrogates Ropeburn. As he's hanging off the ledge of the skyscraper, he's shot by a masked sniper before he can tell Faith any pertinent information. She later intercepts Jacknife, convinced that he was the one who tipped off the cops that she was coming. He rejects the accusation, saying that if he had wanted her dead he would have done it himself.

Sniping.

With Ropeburn dead, Faith is out of leads. She decides to investigate Pirandello/Kruger, a security firm that provides the city with its security and is also helping the police fight the runners. While investigating in their offices near the docks, Faith discovers that they are the ones behind Project Icarus, which is meant to train the police forces in parkour to fight the runners. She also discovers that Ropeburn's killer is hiding in the docks, and after fighting him, it's revealed that it is Celeste, who has been a part of Icarus. She chose Icarus to keep herself safe and strongly advises Faith to do the same. She also reveals that she killed Pope because he was beginning to question the security firms.

Faith escapes and discovers that Kate has been tried and found guilty for the murder. She's being moved to prison by convoy which Faith promptly intercepts. She saves Kate and leads the police away to allow time for Kate to get away. After losing the cops, Faith makes her way to Merc's lair. The lair has been raided by the police, taking Kate and killing Merc. With his last breath, Merc tells Faith that Kate has been taken to the Shard, the city's highest tower. The Mayor's office as well as most of the city's security is headquartered within the building. Faith manages to destroy the servers housing security information thanks to the help of Miller. She then makes it to the roof where she finds Jacknife holding Kate at gunpoint. Jacknife reveals that he's been with Icarus all along and was being used as bait to lure out the runners. As he is about to escape with Kate on a helicopter, Faith jumps onto the helicopter, kicks Jacknife off the helicopter and to his doom. Faith and Kate both escape safely and stand atop the building, overlooking the city.

Gameplay

Despite taking place in the first-person, Mirror's Edge takes the emphasis off gun wielding and focuses more on movement and momentum. As Faith runs she continually picks up speed. This speed allows her to pull of some of the more difficult acrobatic maneuvers, as well as perform the simpler ones without losing much momentum. Finding ways to retain that momentum is one the main challenges of the game.

Everything is performed from a first-person perspective.

On the consoles, the game is controlled by a combination of three buttons and the left stick, making the controls rather simple, although there are layers of complexity. Jumping and climbing over objects is done with the left bumper (L1 on PS3), while ducking and sliding under objects is done with the left trigger. The right bumper (R1 on PS3) allows you to perform a 180 degree spin, for quick turnaround. Those three buttons in combination with the left thumbstick can control most of the gameplay, with other buttons related to combat and Reaction Time (bullet-time).

The game's producer, Nick Channon, said in an interview with Gametrailers.com that each level of the game will present the player with a few ways to get through any given area and it's up to the player to find his/her own fastest way over/under/around each obstacle laid before him.

To aid in this decision making process, the game uses a color coding system called "Runner Vision." Objects in the environment necessary to complete certain areas or perform certain movements are painted red, though this can be turned off on higher difficulty settings.

Faith is not armed by default. She can remove guns from enemies by force, but is unable to run while wielding them.

The melee combat system in the game is based on momentum as well. The more speed you have going at an enemy, the more effectively you'll be able to disarm and remove the enemy from your list of troubles.

Weapons

Despite the fact that Mirror's Edge is primarily a "free running" game, there are still a variety of weapons the player can use to dispose of opponents, if he/she chooses to do so. There is one specific achievement in the game that encourages players to never fire a single shot during an entire playthrough of the game.

Machine Guns

• M249

Rifles

• FN SCAR
• H&K G36C

Sniper Rifles

• Barrett M95

Shotguns

• Benelli M3 Super 90
• Neostead 2000

Submachine Guns

• B&T MP9
• H&K MP5

Pistols

• Colt M1911
• Beretta 92
• Glock 18

Miscellaneous

• Taser

Chapters

Mirror's Edge story is divided into 9 Chapters plus a Prologue.

Prologue - The Edge

Chapter 1 - Flight

Chapter 2 - Jackknife

Chapter 3 - Heat

Chapter 4 - Ropeburn

Chapter 5 - New Eden

Chapter 6 - Pirandello Kruger

Chapter 7 - The Boat

Chapter 8 - Kate

Chapter 9 - The Shard

Controls

The normal first-person controls are mostly intact, but there is one major difference. The left bumper and left trigger (or L1 and L2 on the PS3) are designated as up and down, respectively. These buttons control all of the player's acrobatics. This control structure is designed to give the player ease of control while still leaving skill in the mix, mostly in terms of timed button presses. For example: when taking a leap over a gap to a lower platform you have to press down right when you hit the ground to do a roll to maintain momentum and save your knees.

Mirror's Edge also takes advantage of the PS3 Sixaxis controls, with various motions corresponding with actions. Rolling the controller can be used to roll after a long fall, and twisting the controller can take an enemy weapon.

When faced with a waist-high obstruction you can press up to vault over it or, in the case of there being a hole underneath, down to slide under.

Default Controls

• L1 / LB / Space Bar: Jump / Grab onto poles / Climb / Wallrun
• L2 / LT / Shift Key: Soft landing / Slide
• R2 / RT / Left Click: Fight / Shoot / Smash doors open
• Circle / B / Left Alt: Aim toward objective / Hint
• Square / X / R key: Slow-Motion (Runner Vision)
• Triangle / Y / Right Click: Disarm (only when enemy is facing away from Faith or their weapon turns red)
• X / A / E key: Action button (pressing buttons, etc.)
• Left Analog Stick / W A S D: Walk / Run
• Right Analog Stick / Mouse: Camera

Modes of Play

Time Trial Mode.

While Mirror's Edge's main focus is on the single-player campaign, there is "a semi-multiplayer" component. Time Trial levels are unlocked through progress in the story mode and the idea behind them is to complete a section of a level (not necessarily taking the same route as the level it was lifted from) going down a prescribed route in the fastest time possible. If connected to PSN or Xbox Live, the completion time is uploaded and can be used by other players to race against. In turn, their ghost times can be downloaded for your use.

The player sees a series of red checkpoint markers that tell them where they're supposed to go, and a red figure represents the ghost data that gives you an indication of how well you're doing in any given Time Trial level. Ghost data can also give you a chance to see how others managed to get their times and how they handled certain sections of a level, a very useful feature for those trying to squeeze out the best time. Each Time Trial stage has a qualifying time, which if achieved, grants the player one star. If even faster times are achieved then two or even three stars are awarded for the level.

There is also a Speed Run mode, in which one is tasked with completing a whole chapter of the campaign under a stringent time limit. It usually requires a flawless run with no falls to finish them under par time.

Downloadable Content

Mirror's Edge downloadable content is available for purchase for all three versions of the game. The new content was originally scheduled for release on January 29th, 2009, but later delayed until February. Players are challenged to achieve the fastest times possible on nine races, across seven all new Time Trial maps with an all new, abstract design. There are no guns, police, or city environment. The pack is available for US $9.99 or 800 Microsoft points, and all PlayStation 3 owners are able to download an additional, exclusive map for free.

Limited Edition

Limited Edition Bag.

EA teamed up with Timbuk2 to create the "Limited Edition Mirror's Edge Runner's Bag Bundle," which included a copy of the game with a Timbuk2 brand messenger bag. The bag has the Mirror's Edge logo on the front and an image of Faith printed on the inside. Only 200 were made, and the bundles were sold for $130.

Comic Book

DICE announced during Comic Con 2008 that it would create a limited comic book, together with DC Comics division and WildStorm. The comic is a prequel to the game and is is drawn by Matthew Dow Smith and was written by Rhianna Pratchett.

Soundtracks

Two soundtracks were released for the game:

Still Alive: The Remixes

Released November 11, 2008, this Mirror's Edge soundtrack is a remix album featuring the Mirror's Edge theme song Still Alive by Swedish musician Lisa Miskovsky and five remixes of the song by Paul van Dyk, Benny Benassi, Teddybears, Armand Van Helden and Junkie XL. The theme song was made available as a free download on the Playstation Network and Xbox Live shortly after the album's release.

Mirror's Edge Original Videogame Score

Released May 19, 2009. Unlike the previously released remix album, this album features in-game music by Magnus Birgersson (Solar Fields) as well as the original "Still Alive" by Lisa Miskovsky.

Tracklist:

• 01 - Introduction - Solar Fields
• 02 - Edge & Flight - Solar Fields
• 03 - Jacknife - Solar Fields
• 04 - Heat - Solar Fields
• 05 - Ropeburn - Solar Fields
• 06 - New Eden - Solar Fields
• 07 - Pirandello Kruger - Solar Fields
• 08 - Boat - Solar Fields
• 09 - Kate - Solar Fields
• 10 - Shard - Solar Fields
• 11 - Still Alive - Lisa Miskovsky
• 12 - Still Alive (Instrumental) - Lisa Miskovsky

Trivia

• The movement mechanics used in Mirror's Edge for movement was originally developed to be in Battlefield 2. It was abandoned during development due to time constraints, but technicians at DICE continued playing with it and eventually came up with the idea for a first person game based entirely on speed and movement.
• The main character was originally designed to be male, with Faith just being a gang member character created for the game's multiplayer. The development team liked her so much, however, they decided to make her the protagonist.
• The game is endorsed by free-running legend Sebastien Foucan, and players are able to race against his time trial ghost in both the demo and the full game. Players are to look for the gamertag "CatchFoucan" on the leaderboards for the game to see if they can beat the parkour master's time.
• During a visit to the DiCE offices in Stockholm, the guys that do the Swedish gaming podcast Spelradion stated that it isn't hard to see where they got the inspiration for the futuristic design for Mirror's Edge since the office space had a similar feel to it.

Xbox 360 Game Installation

Mirror's Edge requires 5.7GB of space to install on an Xbox 360 HDD.

PC System Requirements

• Operating System Microsoft Windows XP SP2/Vista
• Processor Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz or 100% compatible equivalent
• Memory 1GB RAM or more
• Video Card DirectX 9.0c compatibility video card
• HDD Space At least 8 GB of free space
• DVD Drive 8x or faster DVD-ROM drive
• Sound Card DirectX 9.0c compatibility sound card
• DirectX DirectX 9.0c
• Network An online connection is required for access to Leaderboards

Shader model 3.0 required. Video card must have 256 MB or more memory and contain one of these chipsets: NVIDIA GeForce 6800 or better.