Mirror's Edge

 Xbox 360
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 401 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 269 out of 401
  2. Mixed: 80 out of 401
  3. Negative: 52 out of 401
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  1. GaryL.
    Feb 10, 2009
    6
    There is a lot to like in this game. The running is a lot of fun and the aesthetic is really nice and all, but I really have a problem with the combat system, which is the focus for the last few chapters, and it is one of the worst combat systems I have played in a game. Awkward, clunky controls, little to no health, no way to know how much ammo you have, weird timing in order to grab aThere is a lot to like in this game. The running is a lot of fun and the aesthetic is really nice and all, but I really have a problem with the combat system, which is the focus for the last few chapters, and it is one of the worst combat systems I have played in a game. Awkward, clunky controls, little to no health, no way to know how much ammo you have, weird timing in order to grab a gun from an enemy, among other problems. I love the running part of this game, but the combat is flat out terrible and should have been left out out. Plus, it is very very short. I would recommend that you play it, if only just to play the fun parts, but it's definitely not one of the best games of '08.… Expand
  2. JohnPifer
    Feb 22, 2009
    7
    People rip on this game too much. Yes, the story line is not that exciting and the fighting needs a bit of working on. But this game is amazing, I love it! The free-running fad has finally come in to the lime light with a very innovative game. I would have LOVED for this to be a sandbox style game, with a free city to run across.
  3. AndrewS
    Aug 15, 2009
    5
    I foolishly bought this game based on the demo. Shortly after the levels in the demo, the game becomes much more frustrating than fun. The detection on grabs seems to not want to work sometimes, and since the game has a lot of grabs onto poles and pipes, this is not a good thing.
  4. JasonP
    Nov 23, 2008
    6
    I'd have to say those giving this game above a 7 smell suspiciously of AstroTurf. Great in concept, the controls are awful. You just have to look at another free running game, Assassin's Creed to see it done right, and you realize just how far off the mark Mirror's Edge is. Repetitive, boring, frustrating. Not Fun.
  5. BrianP.
    Dec 31, 2008
    7
    The outdoor visuals are excellent. Indoors, not so much. The freerunning gameplay is loads of fun for the first few chapters until you start encountering too many enemies. After a point, the game seems to become more about forcing your way through the opposing law enforcement than speedily racing through a streamlined level. It's definitely worth trying if you've been enjoying The outdoor visuals are excellent. Indoors, not so much. The freerunning gameplay is loads of fun for the first few chapters until you start encountering too many enemies. After a point, the game seems to become more about forcing your way through the opposing law enforcement than speedily racing through a streamlined level. It's definitely worth trying if you've been enjoying the trailers and everything, but just know that you're going to die a lot. Also, you can't do most of the awesome disarming moves that the game will show you during loading screens.… Expand
  6. RyanGee
    Sep 28, 2010
    5
    Mirror's Edge is the epitome of an one trick pony. While the first levels of the video game are enjoyable and truly unique, it eventually becomes stale at the midpoint of the game. Additionally, what becomes fun becomes frustrating. Even at the easiest difficulty, the game will be based on trial and effort. Even if you complete the difficulty after multiple times, the result is notMirror's Edge is the epitome of an one trick pony. While the first levels of the video game are enjoyable and truly unique, it eventually becomes stale at the midpoint of the game. Additionally, what becomes fun becomes frustrating. Even at the easiest difficulty, the game will be based on trial and effort. Even if you complete the difficulty after multiple times, the result is not satisfying enough. Overall, Mirror's Edge is something that you have never experienced before, but that does not necessarily mean it is a good game.… Expand
  7. harryjc
    Sep 11, 2014
    7
    This game is NOT a first person shooter. It has a first person perspective, but it is a PUZZLE game. The main objective is parkouring your way through the city, and figuring out how to get around obstacles. I know this has some shooting in it, but it is hardly a shooting game, and furthermore the combat system is horrendous. Not to mention the controls are extremely complex, and movingThis game is NOT a first person shooter. It has a first person perspective, but it is a PUZZLE game. The main objective is parkouring your way through the city, and figuring out how to get around obstacles. I know this has some shooting in it, but it is hardly a shooting game, and furthermore the combat system is horrendous. Not to mention the controls are extremely complex, and moving around can be finicky. This could have been a great game, but it is held back by a few but not insignificant flaws.

    However, the game is not all bad. Of course not -- ! The concept, though not necessarily original, is well executed enough that it is unique. It's a lot of fun rolling around, and jumping, and running along walls, and climbing. Not to mention, despite coming out several years ago, the graphics still hold up. The high contrast world, the buildings, and the paint make this a visual feast. So it is worth checking out, but it may not be worth it for everyone.    … Expand
  8. Andreasg
    Aug 29, 2013
    5
    Mirror's edge is something unique,new and refreshing in the gaming world.. but its not for everybody...

    The good: Running jumping and moving around at great speeds while performing acrobatics is great fun and its the games greatest strength. Its something you never experience in gaming before.. especially when you string a series of moves together as you gain speed its very    Mirror's edge is something unique,new and refreshing in the gaming world.. but its not for everybody...

    The good:
    Running jumping and moving around at great speeds while performing acrobatics is great fun and its the games greatest strength. Its something you never experience in gaming before.. especially when you string a series of moves together as you gain speed its very exhilarating. Also the graphics and the overall design concept is great and beautiful..

    The bad
    The story in the single player campaign is just an excuses to go through all the levels. Also the story at times dosent even make sense, and its plain ridiculous. Almost zero character development and the artistic style of how everything is communicated looks bad and feels cheap.

    This game is not a shooter, but you have the option to pick up a gun.. AVOID THIS AT ALL COSTS.. the combat mechanics are beyond broken.. Almost unbelievable that this game came from the creator of the BF series.

    Also this game is very short.. which almost feels like a tech demo rather than a full game.

    Today it can be found in bargain bins for like 5-10 bucks.. for that price its worth playing this unique and short game...    … Expand
  9. RicochetPhoenix
    Aug 14, 2011
    7
    Mirror's Edge, to me, was an excellent concept that was executed a bit poorly. The idea of free running around rooftops with parkour and jumping skills while in first person view...is interesting - and could be a blast if done right. And at times, it is a blast in Mirror's Edge - when you know what to do and the controls don't screw you over or confuse you. Most of the time you will beMirror's Edge, to me, was an excellent concept that was executed a bit poorly. The idea of free running around rooftops with parkour and jumping skills while in first person view...is interesting - and could be a blast if done right. And at times, it is a blast in Mirror's Edge - when you know what to do and the controls don't screw you over or confuse you. Most of the time you will be forced to stop dead in your tracks and stumble around the environment looking for the next thing you're supposed to jump to, jump from, or climb up...and it kills the momentum and the fun. Much like Sonic, for a game that hypes itself on being all about speed, it loves to slow you down to a halt about 90% of the time. Also, the combat in this game is horrendous and arguably broken but definitely cheap. Once again, just like with speed, for a game that's all about running it loves to put you into tight spaces where fighting is the only option, and the protagonist Faith is severely lacking in this area. To put it frankly, this game is frustrating 3 times more often than when it is fun. The gameplay mechanics just didn't gel properly and needed more work. As for the aesthetics though, I love the sterile feel that the pastel colors provide to represent this totalitarian utopia. It is a nice looking game, but even flaws come up there as the cutscenes are all done in a different style of choppy, sloppy, hand-drawn animations that just clash with everything else in the game. All in all, this game is worth a rental as there are some fun moments to be had (especially the chase scene near the end of the game where there are enemy runners after you) and some interesting set pieces as obstacles....but I can't justify paying much more than $10-15 on it. It's just flawed, but you can see the foundation for a potentially brilliant sequel in the future.… Expand
  10. DarrellH.
    Nov 14, 2008
    7
    Mirror's edge as it stands now is not a triple A title. Yes we all love it when games implement new ideas and concepts. We should not let a game pass through however just because they came up with a new idea. That said, the amount of times you will die, be it from death or from combat is so frustrating that it will inspire many gamers to just quit playing all together. Probably the Mirror's edge as it stands now is not a triple A title. Yes we all love it when games implement new ideas and concepts. We should not let a game pass through however just because they came up with a new idea. That said, the amount of times you will die, be it from death or from combat is so frustrating that it will inspire many gamers to just quit playing all together. Probably the most frustrating part of the game is its reliance on indoor environments, which are harsh because they are the stages that use the least amount of runner vision increasing the difficulty 10 fold (play through the first time you enter an office space and you'll see what I mean) If your looking for a great first person platformer, your not going to find it here. Mirror's Edge is good, but its not A material like say Portal, who Mirror's Edge could use a few notes from. Even though you may have found yourself scratching your head as per how you were supposed to solve a particular puzzle in Portal, you never were frustrated nor killed 20 times to figure it out. There were clear visual cues, which is really all Mirror's Edge really needs to make it say an 8. Better story for a 9.… Expand
  11. wesker2012
    Mar 3, 2013
    5
    A solid new IP from EA. Its nice to see EA take some chances with new IPs. The game has an elegant simplistic art style that is different from any other game out. The game focuses on parkour which combines running and a puzzle element of where to go next. Its interesting to see a game focus purely on running. Although, free running in videogames this generation is nothing new, it hasn'tA solid new IP from EA. Its nice to see EA take some chances with new IPs. The game has an elegant simplistic art style that is different from any other game out. The game focuses on parkour which combines running and a puzzle element of where to go next. Its interesting to see a game focus purely on running. Although, free running in videogames this generation is nothing new, it hasn't ever been the sole focus of a game. As of any game that relies heavily on one or two main game mechanics, the game starts getting tiring as the game progresses. And the combat could have been better implemented. Overall though, its nice to see EA games go the creative route instead of playing it safe with a more traditional type of new IP.… Expand
  12. Dragoonjinx
    Jul 18, 2013
    7
    This is a game that seemingly rewards you for your observation and response speed but a lot of the situations you get into can be solved with trial and error (and there's a good chance you'll be doing a lot of that here) as a lot of the moves you have to perform require precisely timed button combo's.

    Single Player The single player story has a good steady flow to it, in the style of    This is a game that seemingly rewards you for your observation and response speed but a lot of the situations you get into can be solved with trial and error (and there's a good chance you'll be doing a lot of that here) as a lot of the moves you have to perform require precisely timed button combo's.

    Single Player

    The single player story has a good steady flow to it, in the style of a conspiracy murder story set in a utopian looking city. In-between levels you are shown FMV's in a very different art style to the game engine which I feel some gamers may not be fond of.

    While the environments can look and seem like a playground you're always being directed, it's not about multiple paths, in fact most of the gameplay boils down to three types; enemy area's where you will either run away run around or take on enemies it's usually your choice but there are moments where you will have to take them all down, puzzle area's where you will have to use your repertoire of parkour moves to ascend, descend or navigate through a room and chase area's where you will either chase down a target or be chased down yourself.

    Multi-player

    Multiplayer, perhaps not a major selling point here, though it does feature a competitive time trial and speed run modes both of which include ranked leader boards.

    Gameplay

    The gameplay is very smooth and frame rate drop is an absolute rarity, although occasionally once a level the action will pause for a moment to "load level" which can be quite the immersion killer.

    Most levels consist of moments where you may be bounding and wall running at your own pace toward an objective, to suddenly being chased or often confronted by armed police, you have all kinds of offensive moves at your disposal as well as a counter attack which if activated at the right moment will disarm and disable enemies, unfortunately this can take getting used to, as all enemies have different melee attacks and therefore different timing.

    There are also elevator rides that often break up chases which is good, so you know your safe to take a breath when you reach an elevator, but the preceding load time in the elevator's can be astonishingly long, which is strange because dying and respawning takes practically no time at all.

    Graphics

    Graphics are impressive, with stunning cityscape vistas and the city itself definitely hits the neo-Tokyo feel it was aiming for. Textures are very high resolution, I'm not completely sure what they were trying to achieve with the colour scheming but it's well implemented and rarely feels out of place. most of the environments area's are themed on a colour, there is a section where you're running through an office that is all yellow and out into a plaza and subway that is completely blue.

    Sound

    The sound design here much like the graphics is high quality and immersive(especially through headphones or surround sound.)
    Most music and ambient sound is very subtle, helping the player to lose themselves in the world of mirrors edge.

    Longevity

    Averagely the single player story will take most between 6-7 hours to complete, you might replay the main story to find all of the messenger bags that are hidden throughout each level.
    Outside of the single player there are time trials which are made of small sections of story areas.
    Then there is speed run, which is basically a time trial for whole levels of the single player as mentioned before both of these include leader boards to compete with friends and other users on a world ranking board.

    Final thoughts

    While I have no personal reason to dislike the art style of the cutscenes, I do wish they'd kept all the cut scenes in engine, I feel it would have helped me feel more connected to the character's (A very well executed example is Half Life 2).
    I would also like to have seen a co-op mode, maybe with players playing as other couriers seeing events from a different perspective, taking different paths helping each other throughout levels.

    Overall, even though It got a little frustrating at times, I enjoyed the ride (even If it was a little on the short side) and was left wanting more.    … Expand
  13. Termin8ter
    Aug 22, 2017
    7
    Developed by Battlefield developer DICE, Mirror's Edge was a bold new IP that did a good job of trying something new. And it was brave for a developer like DICE, who were currently flag-shipping their smash hit Battlefield franchise, to step out and take a crack at something fresh. But they didn't entirely succeed. Sure, the visuals are excellent, the parkour controls are tight andDeveloped by Battlefield developer DICE, Mirror's Edge was a bold new IP that did a good job of trying something new. And it was brave for a developer like DICE, who were currently flag-shipping their smash hit Battlefield franchise, to step out and take a crack at something fresh. But they didn't entirely succeed. Sure, the visuals are excellent, the parkour controls are tight and responsive, and the soundtrack isn't actually too shabby at all. And the sound design is also good, even on the guns. The problems lie with other aspects. For example, the combat feels really tacked on. It doesn't feel very effective to perform, the weapon disarms are way too hard to nail, and the gunplay, if you do decide to use it, feels like a worse version of Bad Company's gunplay, due to the lack of iron sights or decent maneuverability with aiming. The story also isn't that great either. It sure isn't bad, but it's just average slop. This game definitely has it's good aspects, but the problems are also hard to ignore. I'm just praying that DICE can make a better follow up than Catalyst was and craft a true, evolutionary sequel to this game.… Expand
  14. AdiD.
    Nov 13, 2008
    7
    Once you get over the first impression of a bland cityscape you realise just how well the visuals have been designed to help you make the most of the experience. Sadly, the gameplay itself prevents this Mirror's Edge from being a classic. The controls are clunky and less than intuitive and the repetetive nature of brute force progression can get tedious. Worth a look, but try before you buy.
  15. LotharioEscobar
    Nov 18, 2008
    5
    Combat never should have been included in this game. I just wanted to have fun exploring and jumping around a high-altitude sandbox; freestyle. Being constantly chased and shot at by the cops is mind-blowingly annoying, and the combat dynamic almost entirely ruins the parkour experience. I won't buy the sequel without trying it first, but I still have faith in the basic idea.
  16. haloboyscp
    Dec 29, 2015
    7
    I really love the game and the experience given by it!!!
    This is definitely a late review as I am just now taking advantage of the opportunities given by the xbox backwards compatibility.
    However, Mirror's Edge is not without its very frustrating flaws. I am enjoying the plot quiet a lot, I like the design, the graphics, and the experience as a whole. However, there are serious    I really love the game and the experience given by it!!!
    This is definitely a late review as I am just now taking advantage of the opportunities given by the xbox backwards compatibility.
    However, Mirror's Edge is not without its very frustrating flaws.

    I am enjoying the plot quiet a lot, I like the design, the graphics, and the experience as a whole.
    However, there are serious drawbacks related to the gameplay. The gameplay is simply a mega frustrating experience. Get ready to retry the same sequences a lot of times. (Mainly wallriding is glitchy, the lack of map or direction can be frustrating at times)

    Overall an AMAZING experience put with a very very frustrating gameplay and controllings. There are times you want to break your controller into parts :)

    Score: 6.5    … Expand
  17. CenkAlp
    Jan 3, 2018
    7
    Hikaye = 6
    Oynanış = 7
    Grafikler = 6
    Sesler = 6
    Keyif = 7
    Atmosfer = 8
    Süre = 7
  18. Cyborg_TDRK
    Jun 24, 2021
    5
    Não me leve a mal o jogo é bom, mas ele é muito repetitivo e maçante, o combate é difícil e as fases são confusas
  19. Gam1998
    Apr 18, 2021
    7
    For the story it wasn't that good I really didn't understand a thing till I realized that it is so simple and bad but the gameplay is good not better than catalyst but good.
  20. goodgriff33
    Dec 24, 2022
    7
    Answer: 75 characters is between 10 words and 19 words with spaces included in the character count. If spaces are not included in the character count, then 75 characters is between 12 words and 25 words.

Awards & Rankings

50
#50 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2008
18
#18 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2008
14
#14 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2008

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 82 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 63 out of 82
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 82
  3. Negative: 0 out of 82
  1. Thunderbolt
    60
    But for every bit as brilliant Mirror’s Edge is, it’s also equally as frustrating. For every time you exclaim in joyful accomplishment by nailing a series of jumps and lifts, you’ll lament missing a ledge by the width of a fingernail for what feels like the hundredth time, just as much.
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  2. PTGamers
    85
    Mirror's Edge is a distinct game, both in playability and visuals and that's a major feat. Faith is full of character and her world is colorful and vibrant, although the adventure is quite short.
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  3. Totally360
    80
    Mirror’s Edge seems to be yet another game marking EA’s gaming renaissance. Rather than churning out endless sequels, it’s encouraging to see that they’re willing to take a leap of faith (pardon the pun) and let ace developers such as DICE try out new IPs and ideas.
    Read full review
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