It's nice to see some original thinking in computer gaming, and the concept of an action-adventure based on free running is certainly a novel one. If you're not familiar with free running, it's basically legging it around urban areas, vaulting up walls, jumping down stairwells and leaping from rooftop to rooftop while rolling acrobatically. It's a nutter's game, really, but very impressive to watch.

In the futuristic state-oppressed society of Mirror's Edge, the runners operate on the fringes of the law, delivering messages and cargo for the underground resistance. Naturally you play one such runner, and the police don't like you one bit, particularly after you've been framed in a murder plot. They shoot to kill and ask questions later, so some damn quick running is in order.

Leaping from rooftops, timing a key press to land and roll safely, then vaulting off over a fence before sprinting horizontally across a billboard is marvellous fun. The game really gives you a flavour of street running as you build up speed by chaining together such athletic moves, and the graphics reinforce this with some excellent touches, including speed blurs, palpable jolts and bone-wrenching shudders as you hit various surfaces hard.

The downside is that the "free" aspect of the running is somewhat stilted, as Mirror's Edge pretty much maps out where you can go. Metal pipes going from building to building or planks of wood jutting out over the edge are obvious jump off points, particularly because the game colours them in red highlights.

We weren't sure about the red paint spoon-feeding to begin with, but as we got further into the game it bothered us less, as the levels and jumping puzzles do become a bit trickier and the obvious paths aren't always the best. Later in the game the police presence is also greater, and while the essence of Mirror's Edge is to avoid conflict, you have to break out the kung-fu when cornered.

The combat system is easy to master, and before long you'll be landing flying kicks, disarming Officer Expendable and using his own weapon against him. This adds some variety to the running and jumping, and the developer has also tried to keep the environments fresh to that end.

Let's face it, there are only so many roofs you can jump off, so there are also forays inside office buildings (leap that water-cooler), sewage works (leap that... eww!), and even the underground. You just know you'll end up on top of a train at some point (which at least is better than ending up underneath it).

The story does enough to hold interest, and while you'll feel some deja-vu as you slide down the third zipline in a row, or leap from the top of another air-conditioning unit, there's just enough variety in the content and level design to keep you playing. Often you won't care much about any repetition anyway, as you'll be too pumped with adrenaline from dodging, ducking and weaving away from all those cops and bullets.

Alongside the main campaign, further roof running antics are provided via a series of online multiplayer races. You can race against ghost replays of the best players in the world and watch them pull off some mightily impressive moves. That you'll never be able to do. Just like real life, really.

Verdict
There's a degree of linearity in the levels and repetition in the acrobatic antics throughout the game, but Mirror's Edge works well despite these weaknesses. Most likely because it's such a fresh feeling concept. If you fancy something a little different from your average FPS, it fits the bill quite tidily.

Company: Electronic Arts

Tags: mirror's edge game roof video games action first-person shooter space combat roleplaying