Mirror's Edge Impressions (PS3)

In Mirror's Edge, leaps of "Faith" make you king of the leaderboard.

by Chris Buffa on Tuesday, October 07, 2008

A funny thing happened the day after playing Mirror's Edge. Upon waking up the next morning and looking out the window, we immediately began mapping a path to the adjacent building if we had the opportunity to jump across. Strategies for scoring the best time, which fences to leap across and pipes to slide under were far more important than figuring out what to wear or brushing our teeth. So while it remains to be seen whether the game's story mode is good, Time Trial has had a profound affect on our game time, to the point that shaving off another second is all we think about.

Time Trial is all about going from point A to B in the most efficient and quickest way possible. Faith, the game's female protagonist (and quite a looker) is able to slide underneath and vault over numerous objects, and you should always keep in mind that sometimes, it's the more unconventional route that'll lead you to victory. Don't always run up the stairs. Instead, consider wall jumping. As you'll soon discover, once EA releases a demo via Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, there are numerous possibilities.

Controls are simple but still take some getting used to. You maneuver Faith forwards and backwards with the left analog stick and adjust her direction with the right analog stick, as you would in most console first person shooters. To jump, you press LB (L1 on the PlayStation 3 controller) and to slide, you hit L2 (also L2 on PS3).

Mirrors Edge

    From the makers of Battlefield comes Mirror's Edge, a stylish first person adventure where you, as a runner, deliver messages while evading the enemy. Instead of using guns to complete missions, you must scale rooftops, slide under pipes and down windows, all the while enjoying gorgeous scenery. (Screenshot 1 of 18)

    From the makers of Battlefield comes Mirror's Edge, a stylish first person adventure where you, as a runner, deliver messages while evading the enemy. Instead of using guns to complete missions, you must scale rooftops, slide under pipes and down windows, all the while enjoying gorgeous scenery. (Screenshot 2 of 18)

    From the makers of Battlefield comes Mirror's Edge, a stylish first person adventure where you, as a runner, deliver messages while evading the enemy. Instead of using guns to complete missions, you must scale rooftops, slide under pipes and down windows, all the while enjoying gorgeous scenery. (Screenshot 3 of 18)

    From the makers of Battlefield comes Mirror's Edge, a stylish first person adventure where you, as a runner, deliver messages while evading the enemy. Instead of using guns to complete missions, you must scale rooftops, slide under pipes and down windows, all the while enjoying gorgeous scenery. (Screenshot 4 of 18)

    From the makers of Battlefield comes Mirror's Edge, a stylish first person adventure where you, as a runner, deliver messages while evading the enemy. Instead of using guns to complete missions, you must scale rooftops, slide under pipes and down windows, all the while enjoying gorgeous scenery. (Screenshot 5 of 18)

    From the makers of Battlefield comes Mirror's Edge, a stylish first person adventure where you, as a runner, deliver messages while evading the enemy. Instead of using guns to complete missions, you must scale rooftops, slide under pipes and down windows, all the while enjoying gorgeous scenery. (Screenshot 6 of 18)

    From the makers of Battlefield comes Mirror's Edge, a stylish first person adventure where you, as a runner, deliver messages while evading the enemy. Instead of using guns to complete missions, you must scale rooftops, slide under pipes and down windows, all the while enjoying gorgeous scenery. (Screenshot 7 of 18)

    From the makers of Battlefield comes Mirror's Edge, a stylish first person adventure where you, as a runner, deliver messages while evading the enemy. Instead of using guns to complete missions, you must scale rooftops, slide under pipes and down windows, all the while enjoying gorgeous scenery. (Screenshot 8 of 18)

    From the makers of Battlefield comes Mirror's Edge, a stylish first person adventure where you, as a runner, deliver messages while evading the enemy. Instead of using guns to complete missions, you must scale rooftops, slide under pipes and down windows, all the while enjoying gorgeous scenery. (Screenshot 9 of 18)

    From the makers of Battlefield comes Mirror's Edge, a stylish first person adventure where you, as a runner, deliver messages while evading the enemy. Instead of using guns to complete missions, you must scale rooftops, slide under pipes and down windows, all the while enjoying gorgeous scenery. (Screenshot 10 of 18)


If you intend to wall jump or just climb up things, run towards something and press LB/L1. Finally, after making a huge jump, pressing L2 at just the right moment instructs Faith to perform a roll, which saves a small amount of time as opposed to just letting her hit the ground.

Most of the fun comes from figuring out the best paths to take, and we happily let the clock tick past the three-minute mark as we surveyed the area and attempted various stunts. Once we found our route, we did a trial run, paying close attention to the red checkpoints littered around the map (miss one, and you can't complete the course).

Unfortunately, our chosen path wasn't good enough to beat someone's 52-second score, which, while impressive, seems terrible considering someone else achieved 47. But that's what makes Time Trial so enjoyable. It's all about feeling the rush as Faith flies through the air and narrowly avoids plummeting to her death by grabbing a rail and pulling herself up. Now factor in the online leaderboards, where gamers post their best times, and the ability to download and race against people's ghosts, and Mirror's Edge has the potential to become one of your favorite addictions.

Related Links

Mirror's Edge PS3 Game Guide

Mirror's Edge Xbox 360 Game Guide

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Latest Article Comments (3)

  • silverag3 on 10/16/2008 11:44 pm

    I CANT WAIT AFTER I HEARD THIS STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • powerfulone87 on 10/15/2008 1:18 pm

    I had plans on getting this game before it was announced. Before anyone knew about it. BEFORE I FREAKING KNEW ABOUT IT!!!!

  • dancingcowofdoom on 10/10/2008 7:14 pm

    Sounds pretty kool.

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Mirror's Edge

Mirror's Edge
  • GenreFirst Person Shooter
  • Release Date11/11/2008
  • PublisherEA Games
  • DeveloperDICE
  • ESRBT - Teen

Mirror's Edge

Mirror's Edge
  • GenreAction Adventure
  • Release Date11/11/2008
  • PublisherElectronic Arts
  • DeveloperDICE
  • ESRBT - Teen