The only key graphical thing I feel the game really needs is a bit more background life - the occasional indoor areas you explore are almost completely devoid of life save for the occasional security guard, which really offsets the sense of immersion when you infiltrate the headquarters of a gigantic mega-corporation and find it's almost completely deserted. Oh, and yes - the much-vaunted "PhysX" additions actually do add quite a bit of noticeable flair to the game in the form of flying glass parts from broken windows, extra sparks and general debris from missed gunfire, and all sorts of other cool little touches throughout the campaign. There's enough that people who have already played through the console version will catch on to the differences pretty quick, and this of course just serves as icing on the cake for PC newcomers.

With all of these little touches, the game has the potential to be fantastically immersive; this is one point that can't be debated. What can be debated however is how long and effectively this immersion lasts as you play it. Thanks to the somewhat repetitive (if beautiful) architecture and almost exclusive focus on running, jumping, and running some more, the game does tend to get a bit tedious in places - even with the scenes where you're frantically trying to climb up a wall while being shot at from every direction (especially because of these scenes, in fact - having to replay them several times over from constant deaths gets a bit annoying). The game also seems to vary wildly between holding your hand around every little corner, and throwing you into a situation that may have you scratching your head for minutes on end trying to figure out what to do, and where even the helpful "hint" button points you in the right direction, but doesn't explain how to get there.

A partially-saving grace comes in the form of the speed-running modes, where you can actually go online, check out the highest records for a given course, and even download and race against a 'ghost' representation of that person's run. That's as far as multiplayer goes however, with the game sadly lacking any kind of co-op or other multiplayer forms. This is a bit surprising given the length of the game's campaign, and gives the impression the developers dedicated most of their time fleshing out the game's amazing animation system and graphics instead of creating actual content. The game is a pretty enticing package, but sadly there just isn't enough of it.

Ultimately this makes Mirror's Edge a tricky bargain for PC gamers. The bright side is that it doesn't seem to suffer from the same over-the-top DRM that EA's games have historically included, and is even available on Steam if that floats your boat (which for most, it does). You'll get a pretty solid singleplayer experience for your money, as well as the chance to experience that crazy "parkour" fad with the normal bone-breaking falls you would endure - but don't expect much beyond that.

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