Mirrors Edge Playthrough - As Peaceful As Possible

I just finished my second playthrough of Mirrors Edge. I was inspired to blow the dust off this game because of an article in the Wall Street Journal about people playing games without killing enemies (I wrote a short post about it here). Mirrors Edge is one of the few games I know that are designed to be played like this. In my opinion the weapons in this game are only for impatient people. Sure you have to hit those fuckers all the time, so "peaceful" probably isn't exactly the right word for it. But then again, they are shooting at you, so it could be self-defense.

The player is encouraged not to shoot the guards (see top right). This was taken seconds before I finished the game.

I did die quite often and I had to try certain levels many, many times until I managed to knock down that red door without shooting a gun, but I did it! And it was worth it! Finally reaching the end of a level after being stuck seemingly for hours, even doubting that it is possible not to kill those guys is just great. It reminded me of Demon's Souls - believe it or not. This feeling of accomplishment after landing that impossible stunt or getting through those guards is something many games lack nowadays.


The HUD-less interface, the breathing, the swooshing, the music, the vivid colors also are things that I really, really liked. There are some extremely powerful moments in here. When you are climbing up and up and up and the music sets in while you jump across a bottomless pit - it's just great!

Sorry for the bad picture quality, I photographed my TV with my cellphone....it looks better if you click on it.

Even though this is probably one of my favorite games - i played through it in 4 or 5 sessions - there are some things that I think could have needed some fine-tuning. At times, the places where the game saves are just annoying. Having to repeat a simple, but extremely long combination of jumps before finally getting to the jump that is causing you trouble AGAIN AND AGAIN makes you want to throw your controller into the new TV. I rage-quit several times because of that.

Faith, the peaceful Nun

And sometimes Faith doesn't seem to be keen on grabbing a ledge for no reason. If this happens after you finished a complicated passage, it makes your blood boil.
I also didn't care too much for the story. It was OK, I guess, I didn't skip the (anyhow short) cutscenes, but I was far from emotionally involved.

Seeing as I value innovation more than anything, I hold Mirror's Edge in high regard. They tried something new and they managed to pull it off in an incredibly awesome way. If there ever was a Mirror's Edge 2, I would buy it immediately. Those annoying things could easily be adressed. And without them, the sequel (or prequel) would be out for true greatness...