Mirror's Edge really is going to be a marmite game for the majority of people. Your not going to merely like-it or think it's average. You will either love it, or you will hate it-it's as simple as that. I will warn you right from the get-go that it has flaws. Huge gapping ones depending on how you look at it. But it also a game of quaint charm, of great character and is a genuinely fun game to play. Additionally I would also consider myself a 'lover' (Although not of marmite; I despise that evil brown paste!) but will try my uppermost best to provide an honest, fair and unbiased review.

The main character in the game (and the one you will spend the entire time controlling) is Faith. An Asian-mixed woman, dressed almost completely in black, with several tattoo's and one hell of a leap! The story builds over 9 impressive chapters, with an additional prelude. However much to the contrary of the initial set-up, the first 5 or so chapters, really are nothing to write home about. A traditional chapter will start with a briefing of your goal for that level, and then your straight off. Leaving little time to hang around, but also little to care about the story. You will get a few in-game cut scenes throughout the levels, where for example the camera will move to the other end of a building, to show a parade of blues (Police) running and gunning directly towards you. Then when you have completed that level, you will get a short cartoon clip. These clips are too short to really care about, but are well made and enjoyable. They round off each chapter nicely and in a unique, if albeit novel way.

I think now would be a good time to mention a rather game-defining point; the camera. Now the entire time you play Mirror's Edge you will be playing in FPS mode. FPS mode, stands for First Person Shooter mode, which basically means you see the world in 1st person, from Faiths eyes. Now this of course means you have a fantastic view of the highly artistic urban landscape. But it also means you cannot see your feet. Now in games where gun play is a huge part that is fine, but in a game where the core mechanics of the game are jumping; That can provide an issue. There is no option to switch camera, FPS mode is all you get. Within the first half an hour (And for me within the first level) you will fall to you death countless times because of this. Now once you get used to the camera angle, all is fine. But finding that sweet spot, of when exactly to jump, to make sure you just about fling yourself from one building to another-is tough to say the least. To be completely fair it's fantastic and rather exhilarating once you get the hang of it: but the learning curve is really, really steep. However even having said that, the game could of benefited hugely from having a 3rd person perspective-as an option at least. Much like in Fallout 3, you will most likely play in 1st person the majority of the time; but it is nice to be able to pan out and actually see there is a character you are controlling. Being able to see your character more often, would also help you build a stronger relationship with Faith; Which is a missing ingredient in many ways.

Another important aspect with a game like this is the control scheme. I found that this was very easy to use, and as there are little inputs, most should get used to it shortly after picking up the controller. For the 360 version you run around with the 'right analogue stick', and gain speed simply by not bumping into things and keeping flow. Your most used button would then be the 'left shoulder button' which makes Faith Jump. You will also be using the 'left trigger button' a fair amount. That makes you crouch when stationary, to get through vent's and small tunnels. It will also make you slide when running, to quickly slip under objects whilst maintaining maximum momentum. It can also be used to roll, as long as you hit it at the perfect time, just before you land from a height. Beyond that the only other key thing is balancing, when walking along narrow planks. This is done with the 'left analogue stick' so as not to fall. Everything else is done by Faith on her own accord. Wall runs, grabbing ledges, objects, and the like is all done with a simple jump. The control scheme really is refreshingly simple and yet offers a lot of depth. A huge part of the end-game activities is to try and get a level done in the shortest time possible. To get the best possible times, you must have perfect accuracy with you moves and must keep the flow through the entire course. The control scheme is perhaps where Mirror's Edge shines the most, as after the initial difficulty, it is a rewarding and fun system.

You additionally have a few advanced moves in you arsenal. The first is for disarming your opponents. To do this you will need to get in close proximity to a gun-wielding foe and press the 'Y button'. From there an also most mini-game will start, with a short clip of Faith going for the Polices gun. Just near the middle of the clip the gun will flash red, indicating that you should press Y again. From there if you get the timing correct faith will grab the gun, and if you miss the timing Faith will get shoved aside and then shot at! I found this very hard to get right and near the end of the game you have around half a second to hit the button correctly. You do have another tool in your arsenal to help though; Reaction Time. By pressing the 'X button' the whole game will slow down, enabling Faith to run around in an almost Matrix-style, which makes light work of everything in her path. This of course makes combat (And even weapon thieving) a breeze, but is a limited resource. Faith has no health bar of such, but is a tough little fighter. On my first play through I found she could take 3 or 4 bullets or punches, before she died. Which is usually more than enough to have eliminated any trouble. Also whenever she is in trouble of be killed, the screen will flash red. Simply taking a quick detour form the action and running around for a bit, will completely heal her up; and then enable her to trash the bad guys!

The music for this game is phenomenal! No doubt's about it, the techno/trance like beats and the flowing mechanic like noises supplement the game perfectly. The theme tune in particular is a song that really effected me and is now (rather ironically) on my Ipod. It is called Still Alive and is by a young Swedish singer named Lisa Miskovsky. A stunning and haunting tune, that almost sums up the entire game in both lyrics and presence. The song was considered so beautiful that it has spawned several remixes by some of the biggest DJ's in the world! Armand Van Helden, Junkie XL and Paul Van Dyk are amongst the list of great artists who have released there own version of the track. The game ticks every box possible for me with the music and truly excels in every point.

Price wise I paid £39.99 for this on launch day, as that was the only price available at the time. However now almost every shop online and in the high street has Mirror's Edge for between £17.99 and £19.99 brand new. It is a real bargain at that price.