Mirror's Edge

By Ellie Gibson Published 7 October, 2008

Test of Faith.

As you'll know if you've read, well, pretty much anything at all about it, Mirror's Edge is an action-adventure game with a difference. Like so many other titles in the genre, it involves working out how to get from point A to point B and pulling off the right combination of moves to get there. But unlike most of them, it presents the action from a first-person perspective. For this reason it's most often referred to as an action-adventure with an FPS twist. But in fact, it's got more in common with racing games.

At least that's the case when it comes to the Time Trial mode, as we discovered during a recent hands-on session. There is a healthy selection of unlockable courses choose from, each one based on a level in the Story mode. The ultimate objective is to navigate your way to the end in the quickest time possible, hitting the highlighted checkpoints along the way. However, there's more to the Time Trial mode in Mirror's Edge than just beating the clock.

For starters, there are the controls to get to grips with. Because there's no combat involved in this section of the game, you only have the analog sticks and three context-sensitive buttons to worry about. The left stick makes Faith run, while the right stick moves the first-person camera. L1 is used to jump and vault over objects. L2 is for sliding under gaps and barrel rolling, and R1 is for pulling yourself up when hanging from ledges.

It's easy to grasp the basic manoeuvres. The controls are responsive, the context-sensitive elements make perfect sense and it's not long at all before you're running, jumping, vaulting, sliding and rolling with ease. All of this bodes well for the single-player game, but in Time Trial it's not just about whether you can pull off the moves. It's about pulling off the right moves at the right moments, and working out the best route through each level.

'Mirror's Edge' Screenshot 1

The heroine of Mirror's Edge is called Faith, as in leap of, DO YOU SEE.

Which is where the racing game element comes in. Anyone who's spent time with the likes of the Project Gotham games will know you can't just rely on good driving skills to see you through; you have to get to know each track. The only way to get an impressive finishing time is by plotting out the perfect racing line, and working out which points provide an opportunity to shave split-seconds off your total.

It's the same here, with one important difference (apart from the fact you're not driving a car, obviously). Although checkpoints show the direction in which you should be heading, there are multiple ways to get between each one. You're not dealing with a linear piece of tarmac; the path ahead is usually wide open. There's a huge range of environmental objects between you and your objective, and you've got to work out how they might help or hinder your progress.

'Mirror's Edge' Screenshot 2

There's no denying Mirror's Edge has a unique visual style, much like Eurogamer's Tom Bramwell.

As an example, let's look at the first Time Trial course we got to try out, Edge. It'll look instantly familiar to anyone who's seen screenshots of the game - all bright lighting, white backgrounds and primary-coloured details. Your first mission is to negotiate four flights of stairs. You could just run up them, of course, as myself and the other journalists playing did to begin with. Then someone pointed out Faith can wall-run, which makes navigating stairs a little bit quicker. Just a little bit - but as we were to discover, every little helps.

Once out on the rooftop, the next obstacle is a fence which you can vault over or slide under. In terms of the individual moves the slide is quicker, but you lose a tiny bit of momentum - and momentum is all important here. Faith gathers speed as she runs and links moves together. If you do something that slows her down, or perhaps make an error that brings her to a full stop, you'll lose that momentum.

This might mean, for example, that you don't have enough power to perform that big jump at the end of the rooftop cleanly. You'll still make it but only by grabbing the ledge, and you'll lose a split-second as you have to pull yourself up. Similarly, it's important to perform a barrel roll with perfect timing when you land from jumps. Mess it up, and Faith will need a second to right herself - and you'll have lost all that momentum.

But even if you pull off a perfect chain of moves from the start of the course to the end, you won't get the fastest time if you haven't plotted out the best route. This is where the Time Trials have an action-adventure flavour you won't find in racing games. At the end of each trial you'll be told the distance you travelled, and the minimum distance you could have travelled had you taken the best possible route. The distance between these figures is often astonishing. You might be ever so proud of the shortcut you found round the back of that building, that secret jump that saves whole seconds and the hidden zip-line you discovered - only to find you're still covering a hundred metres more than you need to. And you have no idea why.

The result is that while you're repeating courses, you're not only practicing your moves but looking for new shortcuts and better routes. This makes the Time Trial courses more than just a test of how good you are at pressing buttons, and consequently more interesting. It also increases the incentive to repeat them over and over again, as does the star rating system. The only way to achieve three stars is to find the perfect racing line through the course, to work out the best moves for navigating your way through it, and to pull them all off flawlessly.

'Mirror's Edge' Screenshot 3

Mirror's Edge is being developed by DICE - better known for producing Battlefield, of course.

Which is by no means easy. Sometimes, for example, it's just impossible to see how you could reduce your distance travelled. At this point you might want to cheat, and download the ghost of someone better at the course than you. Then you can race against the ghost, and more importantly, see the route taken to get that super-fast time. You can also race against your own ghosts, which is a good way of spotting ways to improve your efficiency.

Not all the courses place an equal emphasis on route-planning and acrobatic precision. In another one we tried out, Stormdrains, there's only one pathway through most of the course - and it involves traversing a series of elevated platforms. There's very little room for error; if you miss a single jump, your only real choice is to start the whole thing again. However, the restart mechanism is fast enough and the courses short enough to prevent this from becoming too much of a chore.

'Mirror's Edge' Screenshot 4

Don't know about you but we're a bit bored of Parkour - it's well Y2K5.

The question is whether the Time Trial mode is good enough to provide long-term entertainment, or whether it'll feel like a tacked-on extra. That will partly depend on what kind of player you are. Those who have the patience to achieve perfection and get a thrill from topping leaderboards will probably find it has plenty of appeal; those who are more Mario Karters than Project Gotham Racers might not.

In any case, an even bigger question still hangs in the air: will Mirror's Edge really be as amazing as everyone hopes? Fortunately it won't be long before we can tell you once and for all, with just under a month to go until it's on shop shelves. For now, though, it's clear that DICE has thought long and hard about how Mirror's Edge can draw influence from other genres, and still offer something different.

Mirror's Edge is due out for PS3 and 360 on 14th November.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (59) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Ninja_Tino #1 3 years ago

    Despite never laying my eyes upon the man, the Tom photo comment made me chuckle. Don't know why though. Looking forward to the game but it's still no way near the top of my Oct/Nov list.

  • andywilkie35 #2 3 years ago

    yeah same, looking forward to it but its lower down on my priorities

  • kinky_mong #3 3 years ago

    Damn release date. Going head to head with Banjo Kazooie and then Left 4 dead the week after means I'm going to leave off buying this on release.

  • Eraysor #4 3 years ago

    14th is over a month, not under! Curse you EG!

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #5 3 years ago

    im personally looking forward to this more than banjo or left4 and motorstorm i think my time will be split between this and resistance 2, of course only if im not still LBP'ing

  • ronuds #6 3 years ago

    This sounds about as "on-rails" as you can get? Is there any freedom at all in the way you can approach a challenge - apart from just "jump over or under," but instead maybe "go this way or that"?

    Yay for on-rails???? I say, boo.

  • dr_faulk #7 3 years ago

    Doesn't sound promising...

    ?

  • gingerlink #8 3 years ago

    "Those who have the patience to achieve perfection and get a thrill from topping leaderboards will probably find it has plenty of appeal; those who are more Mario Karters than Project Gotham Racers might not."

    I'm sorry, have you SEEN how addicted to the time trials people get on that game?

    Also, the one thing about the shortest possible distance, down to the other things, that wouldn't necessarily be the fastest.

  • Futaba #9 3 years ago

    You make it sound good, and lol @ the bit about Tom's features :p

  • Gnort #10 3 years ago

    Multiple routes through a stage sound good for the story mode, but won't really add much to the time trials, as the first thing anyone keen on getting a good time will do is download a fast ghost (or look a route up on Youtube) and use that. It won't be long before every competitive player is using the same route.

  • Stu #11 3 years ago

    Still massively looking forward to this.

  • BillyBrush #12 3 years ago

    It sure does have the looks..this mode sounds like something i'll never ever touch though...sure hope they get the story and pacing right because first person running timetrials are only ever the flavour du press event.

    ..is anyone looking forward to seeing if they can run in firstperson quicker than other people?...i know i'm not

  • Menace #13 3 years ago

    Time trials.. oh please say it isn't so. I hate time trials in every way and form.

  • Rirekon #14 3 years ago

    @ ronuds;
    "This sounds about as "on-rails" as you can get? Is there any freedom at all in the way you can approach a challenge - apart from just "jump over or under," but instead maybe "go this way or that"?

    Yay for on-rails???? I say, boo.     "

    Did you even read the article? There's a whole section in there about finding alternative routes...

  • Triggerhappytel #15 3 years ago

    This is looking great, really looking forward to playing it at the EG Expo at the end of the month.

    Could be one of the new IPs of the year.

  • FenderMaster #16 3 years ago

    I'll probably pick up either this or PoP this Christmas, depends on which is longer... probably PoP, I imagine this game will be under 8 hours like all first person games...

  • Chalee #17 3 years ago

    Fendermaster, You finished the first deus ex in under 8 hours? Impressive, most impressive.

  • Telepathic.Geometry #18 3 years ago

    That hands on makes this sound like a most delicious game.

  • Kujata #19 3 years ago

    flyingsupernerds "Too many good games coming out. Need a second job."

    I have a second job - at Game. I all works out!

    Still really looking forward to this. I love the visual style and hope the first person camera works as well as the videos suggest. I want this to be my single player GOTY. Oh let it be so!

  • SixFootHalfling #20 3 years ago

    fenderMaster
    you finished all of oblivion in 8 hours?, now thats fucking impressive

  • shotgun44 #21 3 years ago

    saints row 2 and LBP are top of my list at the mo i think! and wipeout when i get my tv fixed!

  • Negotiator #22 3 years ago

    It's the first person perspective thats the magic of this game, the body movement is (for the first time) fully realised in a FPS.

  • FreakyZoid #23 3 years ago

    Fendermaster, You finished the first deus ex in under 8 hours? Impressive, most impressive.
    http://speedrunwiki.c om/Deus_Ex

  • TheTingler #24 3 years ago

    I managed to get a go on this recently, and feel horrible because I'm the voice of dissent. Yes, it's great fun, but (the part I played anyway) is very linear, with no incentive to replay save for Time Trials - which only go so far. Without multiple routes, I can't see most people playing this more than once.

    I feel certain the story is going to be great and it's going to be fun while it lasts - it how long it lasts that worries me.

  • ParanoidZombie #25 3 years ago

    Still very skeptical about this one: it's basically a first person platformer, and the first person view and platforming don't mix well IMO. It's not nearly as accurate as a third person view, which is not nearly as accurate as 2D. It looks like you can see your feet all the time, which is a good thing - that would have made Half life and Portal's platforming sections less miserable for me-, but in the end I think this will end up being very frustrating, or very dumbed down. My prediction: very good tech demo, passable game with a short lasting appeal (2008's Assassin's Creed, sort of). Kudos to DICE for trying something innovative, though.

  • UncleLou #26 3 years ago

    "Tomb Raider for the Noughties, pure bargain bin material."

    Damn poor people.

  • Scimarad #27 3 years ago

    As I'm playing Wipeout at the moment, I love the idea of the time trial idea.

  • FenderMaster #28 3 years ago

    okay, first person rpgs are a bit longer, i was wrong

  • ronuds #29 3 years ago

    @ Rirekon

    "Did you even read the article? There's a whole section in there about finding alternative routes..."

    I see that now, but must've missed it the 1st time. I was skimming the 1st time.

    TheTingler, who claims to have played the game, seems to think it's linear, though. I don't know what to think! Wasn't really much interested in this anyway.

  • T4RG4 #30 3 years ago

    I still have the feeling, in fact even more so after reading that preview, that people (inc myself) are merely hoping this game will be good and on release we'll see its different, but lost amongst everything else.

    It just seems a little, empty?

    Nice presentation, interesting idea, well packaged (music/EA promoting it heavily), blah... but... hmm.

  • Goodfella #31 3 years ago

    Personally, this is at the top of my 'to get' list.

    It appeals to me. That's all I can say. To the others slating it, why bother?

  • Genome #32 3 years ago

    So, you didn't get to play the single player when you got a chance to preview it, but only the free running bit? And it's out in roughly a month? This sounds like they know the single player experience has turned out to be a bit pants.

    Guys, stop fooling yourselves, it's going to be a let-down.

  • bad09 #33 3 years ago

    Just like Dead Space I really do hope this turns out as good as it looks.

    Edit - Oh speaking of DS, love the ad EG!
    Edited by 1 at 07/10/08 @ 20:59

  • mazk #34 3 years ago

    That Tom comment really made me actually laugh out loud. Thanks Gibbo, girl. Didn't Tom actuially come top in the least hideous game journalist list recently?

  • I_AM_THE_DOCTOR #35 3 years ago

    EG is comparing the game to racing games. which in many ways it sounds like one with a lot of things missing, like the option to change the camera view, a third person view is more than welcomed. What about racing against your friends? all racing games have that. I was really looking forward for this game but now it sounds like the game has an identity crises, It's not an action adventure game nor a racing game, and i like both genres but can't imagine having them together
    Edited by 1 at 07/10/08 @ 21:57

  • septimus #36 3 years ago

    EG really needs to stop putting crap under 360 when it's multi platform and it was tested on PS3. Unbiased journalism.... it's like being at Gamespot.

    Still have hopes for this game.

  • UncleLou #37 3 years ago

    This game looks like a first person platformer and game designers must be incredibly stupid to even think that first person view is compatible with platforming.

    :-D

  • FenderMaster #38 3 years ago

    This game looks like a first person platformer and game designers must be incredibly stupid to even think that first person view is compatible with platforming.

    see Turok Dinosaur Hunter for proof

  • Stuz359 #39 3 years ago

    See Metroid Prime for proof that platforming first person can work.

  • 3william56 #40 3 years ago

    Gents, you need to open your minds a bit. It seems pretty obvious that DICE have altered the game design to make "platforming" work in first person. No pixel perfect MegaMan9 instadeath jumps which need feet-cam to make here. It looks like jumps have a long tolerance window, but speed rewards (no pull up / stumble) for accuracy. Classic platforming doesn't work in FP, which is why unimaginitive sh*t like Turok (choke) fail. Redefining the genre to make the mechanics compatible can. I have faith (ugh) that this can be made to work, and work well.

  • UncleLou #41 3 years ago

    "I have faith (ugh) that this can be made to work, and work well."

    Absolutely. Allegedly, first-person melee doesn't work, either. Until people play Dark Messiah.

  • Dizzy #42 3 years ago

    Slightly interested in this one.

    I like some of the technical decisions they have made. A lot of almost flat polygons but a lot of geometry detail. But after their other "FPS-racing" game (The Club) I do not have a good feeling about this. I prefer my platformers 2D.

  • Pike #43 3 years ago

    Absolutely. Allegedly, first-person melee doesn't work, either. Until people play Dark Messiah.


    I played it, and it didn't convince about FPM at all. Riddick however really did.

    Now as for Mirror's Edge, it still looks spectacular and it seems as if DICE have got the control issues down, judging by previews.

  • UncleLou #44 3 years ago

    It didn't? Surprising. I thought the controls in DMoMM, and the feeling of actually having a body, were fantastic. After half an hour, I was whirlwinding through the levels like a berserker, kicking, blocking, jumping, slashing and whatnot.

    Riddick's melee was cool, but it had about 1/50th of the functionality of DMoMM.

  • UncleLou #45 3 years ago

    Not had a problem at all with the platforming in Messiah. I think you guys just need to lrn2play really, etc. ;)

  • charming_fox #46 3 years ago

    The heroine of Mirror's Edge is called Faith, as in leap of, DO YOU SEE.

    Did Ellie Gibson just Biffo us?

  • TheTingler #47 3 years ago

    @ronuds "TheTingler, who claims to have played the game, seems to think it's linear, though. I don't know what to think! Wasn't really much interested in this anyway."

    Too be fair I've only played the level seen in a lot of the videos, and that was very linear. If the other levels branch out a lot that would quell a lot of my fears - but I didn't see any evidence of that.

    The first person platforming though worked great though, if that's what people are worried about. The game is built on the whole principle, so there are no (at least not in the level I played) tiny platforms that were so annoying to jump to in Metroid Prime. I would not even really call it a platform game.

  • Doctor_What #48 3 years ago

    I'm pretty sure Mirror's Edge is going to be this year's Assassins Creed.

    I suspect that you might be right, then again I really quite enjoyed Assassin's Creed for the things that it did well... Before promtly selling it as soon as I'd finished it.

    I really do hope that Mirror's Edge is good, purely because I'm sick of rusting, decayed, and dirty versions of the future. Maybe if this game does well then developers might investigate the possibility that the future might not be entirely covered in crap.

  • RedPanda #49 3 years ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:59 28-01-2012

  • kinky_mong #50 3 years ago

    This...

    See Metroid Prime for proof that platforming first person can work.

    plus this...

    It looks like jumps have a long tolerance window, but speed rewards (no pull up / stumble) for accuracy. Classic platforming doesn't work in FP, which is why unimaginitive sh*t like Turok (choke) fail. Redefining the genre to make the mechanics compatible can.

    ...means that I believe this game definitely has the potential to be good.

    To dismiss this game on the basis that Turok ballsed up 1st person platforming is ridiculous. That Jurassic Park game (I think it was called Trespasser) that to my knowledge was one of the first games to try physics based gameplay wasn't particularly effective, but no one said "Real life physics can't work in video games", and if they did they've been proved wrong.

    So basically as long as this game doesn't contain dinosaurs it will work.


  • SteveB #51 3 years ago

    Tom is officially the world’s Least Hideous Games Journalist / Industry Person of 2008.

    http://ramraider.blogspot.com/ 2008/07/least-hideous-games-journalist-industry.html

  • HolyJebus #52 3 years ago

    I just think its funny how everyone complains about games all looking and playing the same and then someone tries something different and everyone complains that it can't play well before they've even played it. This game is an original spin on a tired genre, just wait and give it a try before you shoot it down. Even if it isn't GOTY it may open up possibilities to some originality in future First Person games and I commend DICE for trying something original. I for one am really looking forward to trying this.

  • bodypopper #53 3 years ago

    I have a feeling this will get lost in the sequel-tastic Xmas crush and have a tenner knocked off come Jan 1st.
    Result.
    If it's any good of course.
    Edited by 1 at 08/10/08 @ 11:58

  • Gearskin #54 3 years ago

    Sounds special.

  • samk #55 3 years ago

    This is starting to sound more and more like the trial-and-error hell that was Stuntman: Ignition.

  • Azazel #56 3 years ago

    It's Jahiera!

  • HolyJebus #57 3 years ago

    @KingsXKing

    The fact that it is a first person runner is original.
    That there's little to no shooting.
    They've integrated a time trial aspect.
    Downloadable ghosts in a first person game.
    The graphics.
    Using colours to inform the user how to navigate.
    Pretty much no HUD.
    The location.
    That there's not just endless enemies coming at you to kill.
    etc etc

    As is the case on this website, you've already made up your mind so you're not going to agree with my points but I think it's glaringly obvious that this game is original. If some of you don't like some of the original aspects, that's fine but they are original. And yes i'm sure some of these have been implemented slightly into other games but they have not had a whole game built around them.

  • ph101 #58 3 years ago

    Personally I like all the features - the way the running and jumping, pulling yourself and rolling is integrated with movement in a natural way. I love the way you can see your limbs and have a sense of body - this is long long overdue. The bad bit is I think all this should be par de course for FPSes. If it was integrated with decent first person combat - blocking, punching kicking, AND great gun control then it would be awesome. As it stands it look like it will be fun but quickly boring, as you realise that jumping around is cool, but you will still want to be able to shoot people basically, or that you want to be able to have awesome kung fu battles as well. Hopefully, however, other designers will look at what has been done and integrate it with their action/fps design in the future. Hopefully i'm wrong though - the vids do show some gunplay too so lets hope it works.

  • dcangel #59 3 years ago

    Ooo.

    I only heard about this in the past week or two, and since then I've been crossing all my fingers and hoping that it doesn't turn out to be awful, because it looks like it could be incredibly fun. Demo, please...