Mirror's Edge
One of the most important laws of sociology and philosophy says - "Any utopia always ends with a lot of blood." Because all people are different, everyone needs something individual and interesting, and absolute happiness, law and order and an honest society can be ensured only with total control.
If utopia does not end in blood, then it is built on pain and suffering. Even historical examples speak of this. Any states that position themselves as happy and prosperous, inside turn out to be tough, totalitarian and completely spit on human rights from a high bell tower. You don't have to look far for examples - just look at a couple of Asian neighbors.
A similar principle is implemented in Mirror's Edge. The city in which the game takes place seems ideal - everyone here seems to be happy, dozens of skyscrapers of glass and concrete soar upward, and the crime rate is reduced to zero. But once you get inside, it turns out ...
Revolutionary movements: jumping, pushing off walls, running
The city, which is called 5 (Five) or the City of Mirrors in Mirror's Edge, is something like a futuristic Ashgabat: bright, beautiful, modern, comfortable, but ruled by a dictator, and therefore surprisingly deserted. The local totalitarian regime took control of all social life - it banned freedom of speech in the media, monitors all communication channels, completely limited meetings, rallies and demonstrations, acquired a pocket court and the illusion of democracy. Why, you can't even smoke around the corner!
However, not everything is so bad. A new candidate, Robert Pope, is striving for power, promising full-fledged democracy and other amenities. He only has to wait for the elections and win them.
Only with the first point there is a failure. Robert Pope is killed shortly before the vote. Kate's girlfriend, a police officer who was on friendly terms with him, is blamed for the death of the politician.
Even before the arrest, her sister Faith meets with Kate. Together they inspect the site of Pope's death and find a piece of paper with the words "Icarus" on it. Faith begins to figure out what this word actually means, and thus goes to a guy named Jackknife. He does not say anything important, but mentions that Pope had his own security service, which was managed by a certain Ropburn.
Well, then everything is the old fashioned way. Faith begins to look for Pope's real killer, tries to free his sister from prison, fights a totalitarian regime and just jumps from place to place. This girl is the so-called "running", that is, a professional parkourist. And she will use her skills to defeat the dictatorship.
Parkour as a goal and a means in Mirror's Edge
The most interesting thing about Mirror's Edge is that most of the gameplay is about parkour. The main character runs here and there along walls, pipes, other elements of the urban landscape, dashingly jumps from roof to roof and simply demonstrates miracles of dexterity.
The game itself actively helps the gamer in demonstrating acrobatic techniques. Almost everything in the City of Mirrors is painted white or silver. But sometimes bright red or yellow elements appear. Actually, these are the objects of the urban landscape that can and should be used for parkour.
The main character is so strong, brave, dexterous and skillful that she can even break the laws of physics, paving a route through the urban jungle. It is not difficult for her to run along the wall, to make an enchanting jump - too, and then pull herself up two human heights - and just spit. True, in battle it will not be possible to manifest all this: Faith is a weak girl, she is knocked out with a couple of shots, so each enemy is mortally dangerous. But, on the other hand, you can run away from him or try to enter into open confrontation, hitting the enemy with a series of jumps.
Mirror's Edge Gameplay
From the point of view of the genre, Mirror's Edge is an action game. However, the gameplay is increasingly leaning towards a three-dimensional horizontal-vertical runner. You will have to run a lot here, constantly and non-stop.
On the other hand, Mirror's Edge is no different. Locations and settings are constantly changing. Here Faith rushes through some port, jumping from container to container; here she is already on the roof of a skyscraper, where she reached by scaffolding and pipes; and a minute later the girl is already sitting on the roof of the metro train and is preparing to jump to the next - apparently, she is approaching the transfer station.
There are almost no shootouts here. Mirror's Edge is not a game about juggling cannons after all. It is easier for the heroine to run away from the enemy than to engage in battle with him. So put on your favorite sneakers - and go ahead, the urban jungle is calling!
