14 DAY TRIAL // I like Mirror's Edge because it is first person and allows you to run really, really fast across a future city of white and red. It's a dystopia a gamer can love.
The sense of freedom in the game is a direct result of the fact that Mirror's Edge is first person. It feels a bit weird at first but the sensation soon passes. As you jump, slide and wall run, you get more and more accustomed to how far Faith can jump, to when she needs to roll in order to land a big jump and to the general rhythm of her movement. You get to know Faith, with her limitations, capabilities and physicality. It's almost a tactile experience. I began to feel when I needed to jump, when to trigger that roll, when to slide in order not to lose momentum.
And then I reach an enemy that's hard to avoid through movement, an enemy I must take down. It's still a rhythm based element, like the free running, but it's less familiar, harder to time and execute. And after I take the weapon, I tend to use it to free the surrounding area and then ditch it as I look around for the next red thing I need to get to. This breaks the flow. It separates me from Faith. It makes Mirror's Edge less enjoyable. I need time to get into the rhythm again and then another fight sequence ruins it.
If only the developer and the publisher had allowed for a way to play the entire game without taking an enemy one on one. I know that there are ways to evade all the enemies that you encounter, but as I see it, when you're rushed by more than a couple of firearms wielding cops, you need to fire a few shots yourself, otherwise you get turned into a dead body pretty quickly. It would have been nice to be easier to evade in a game that prides itself on encouraging you to run.
To see how that would look like, try the Time Trial mode. It's what Mirror's Edge wants you to do. Just take Faith out for a spin and move elegantly around the scenery. It's an experience in freedom (although there's no open world here), unequaled in the games released last year. That's what DICE should try if it gets the green light for a sequel. Let the game be all rhythm and no combat. Restore my faith in Mirror's Edge.