Mirror’s Edge shows a terrifying image of the future: in name of safety the government controls all communication. To get messages through without being intercepted so-called "runners" are present who run and jump over rooftops with as goal to deliver their package as quickly and efficiently as possible. One of those Runners is Faith who's sister Kate gets framed for a murder. It's up to Faith to discover the truth and hopefully save her sister. Despite the story becoming a bit predictable towards the end it's set up quite nicely.

Running high over the roofs, jumping and doing acrobatic stunts are the things Faith is occupied with most in this game. As this tends to be illegal in the world of Mirror's Edge you'll often have to deal with police and guards who not only like shooting at you but also call out the heavy guns like SWAT teams and helicopters to chase you. Needless to say that the following spectacle will make your heart beat faster.

Next to running Faith can also fight. She's small and thin so relies more on speed and timing than on pure power. The combat is therefore quite realistic. With correct timing you can simply disarm an opponent and hit him to the ground (Faith does it quite interestingly). Also you can be a bit more original by for instance kicking someone from a building or in front of a railroad tracks just before a train passes by. Of course you can also just keep hitting hostiles until the drop down or shoot them with a weapon that you've taken or picked up. Beware though, as Faith can't hold on to a weapon for long as the ammo quickly drains (with no possibility to see how much is left) and the weapon tends to slow her down as well as hinder her movements. A good timing of course requires decent controls which are no issue in this game. The only problem you might face is that Faith does something else than you expected as the controls tend to be context-sensitive.

The biggest achievement of Mirror's Edge is that at times it's capable of making you forget reality. You almost get the feeling you're really jumping over obstacles, hopping from roof to roof with optimal use of the environment to constantly get higher, faster, further. Often several routes are possible whcih make it almost seem real that you can use every thing. It certainly gives the urge to do some running and jumping over the city yourself (if it weren't for that big gap between theory and reality). Also the game makes adrenaline levels rise thanks to the intense "run for your life" chases. Music and sound effects nicely support this immersion.

As Faith's life is mainly situated on the city rooftops you get a nice view also. Although the time to enjoy this view might be lacking it certainly isn't ruined by all kinds of meters and buttons that fill up your screen. The only aid you get to see is a dot in the middle of your screen. The red color that shows you the way is also not too obnoxiously present but unfortunately all city parts look too much alike.

The playing modes next to the storyline are quite disappointing. There's some sort of racing mode where you need to get from point A to B (without hostiles) and try to improve your time. You can have some more challenge by downloading the "ghost" of another player and there are online leaderboards (registration with EA necessary) but a true multiplayer part is absent.