Review: “Mirror’s Edge” Game for the iPad

The name “Mirror’s Edge” might be familiar to gamers. It originally came out in 2008 as a PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game, a 3-D adventure where you played through the entire game from a first-person perspective. This iPad iteration works very differently, showing you the action from a side-scrolling view instead. However, despite this shift, it still works very well.

In the game, you portray Faith, an athletic courier who specializes in the free-running art of parkour. The futuristic city she dwells in is very bleak, controlled with an iron fist by a tyrannical government. In other to set things right and return it to the prosperous location it once was, she finds herself on the run, performing acrobatic feats to move ahead while occasionally fighting corrupt cops and other enemy agents.

All of Faith’s movements in “Mirror’s Edge” are controlled with swipes on the touch screen . You can move her in multiple directions by simply sliding along in front of her character. In addition, she also jumps and slides under objects, and bounces along walls and other objects almost effortlessly. All of these moves work wonderfully, as does her combat techniques. She can jump kick, punch and roll her way past enemies with ease, although they have a tendency to fight back later on in the game. She can also slow down time in some spots, giving her better accuracy to take down tougher opponents.

“Mirror’s Edge” has a single-player component that consists of 14 levels, but skilled players will probably get through them in a matter of two to three hours. However, there’s a huge amount of replay value. You can revisit any of the stages to shoot for a better completion time, which are uploaded to the online leaderboards. In addition, you have the option to compete with friends in multiplayer mode, either hunting down hidden packages or taking part in a quick parkour race. You probably won’t find a huge list of players awaiting a challenge here, but if you know someone who’s up for a quick sprint, it’s fun.

While “Mirror’s Edge” has quality audio and music, chances are you’ll remember it for its dazzling visuals. The side-scroll view works elegantly here, allowing you to keep tabs on Faith without your fingers getting in the way. Furthermore, the city stages are exquisitely designed, with plenty of challenges and easily marked objects for you to interact with. The frame rate is very smooth, and so are Faith’s animations. (It’s nice to see her on the screen for a change, something we couldn’t do in her previous adventure.)

More levels and a cheaper price would’ve made “Mirror’s Edge” an absolute must-have across the board. As it stands, it’s still a great iPad game that’s worth making a run for, thanks to its sharp visuals, likable heroine character and challenging gameplay .

Price: $12.99

File Size: 110 MB

Developer: Electronic Arts

Platform: iPad

iPadNewsDaily Rating (out of 4): ★★★

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