The Mirror's Edge

I hate racing games and I do not have the reflexes to enjoy games that involve precision jumping onto precariously high places.  But I do enjoy this game which has both.  The Mirror's Edge is a slick well done FPS style game that involves running, jumping, and scaling through a realistically rendered futuristic cityscape.  You play Faith - a futuristic courier who contrary to real couriers (who run the streets) run the roof tops of high rises.  The couriers are portrayed as an underground network that corporations use to deliver sensitive packages that could otherwise be intercepted by rival corporations or the law.

Faith has just returned from being out of action from a fall she sustained previously.  But just as she gets her legs back her sister who is a police officer is framed for the murder of a prominent mayor candidate.  She must now rely on her connections to the underground to find out why her sister has been framed and avoid the police who is out to arrest her as her sister's suspected accomplice.

The game has an FPS gameplay but no weapon inventory.  Faith instead can use her speed to quickly disarm her pursuers and use their weapons but she must throw away the weapon to perform her acrobatic feats.  Other than that the game's focus is on basically getting to the next cut scene anyway you can.

The graphics are very slick and opposite to many 3D games the cutscenes are actually cel shaded like a comic book where as the gameplay is realistically rendered.  Both are very effective at delivering the story behind the game that is somewhat a complicated conspiracy plot.  The visuals are very (very) bright and contrasted of sunlit solid basic colours and bright white.  On the default settings of the game pathways are indicated by solidly coloured (usually red) structures that players can easily spot amidst avoiding gunfire and the the adrenaline rush one gets running through this game.

The Mirror's Edge is a console port (from XBox).  For some odd reason the default mapping of the controls was reversed for my PC-gamepad and I spent a couple of hours finding and successfully editing.  I, however, am still out on which control method is better.  I find my self constantly switching between "noob-stick" and keyboard and at one point had the gamepad on my left hand to control motion and mouse on my right hand for precise targeting and combat.  You'll have to find your own comfort zone on this one but I am quite surprised controls for a well produced game can be so awkward.  Further more the game apparently has the down button for forward and an up button for backward - not an easy thing for even anyone playing on a gamepad.  Luckily these are all quite fixable with some config file editing.  The Mirror's Edge can be found on Steam for $29 USD.