The story of Faith and the Runners unfolds layer by layer like a Grisham novel, complete with a murderous framing, shady corporate dealings, and underhanded politicians. It’s interesting enough, although I wish that it weren’t told through Esurance-style Flash animations. Unfortunately, much of Faith’s credibility, and Mirror’s Edge’s creative originality is lost the moment she pulls a gun on a cop. It had the potential to be the first (in my memory) mature-minded action game to reject violence and boldly state that we can enact change without resorting to bloodshed. The notion would have meshed perfectly with the ideals of Parkour and supported Faith’s status as a champion of the people. Besides, Faith’s sister is one of the cops. I feel like DICE is simply pandering to the conventions of the masses with the gunplay, and in the worst way possible.

Combat is the most atrocious and unavoidably frequent feature of Mirror’s Edge. Faith has four basic attacks and a disarm maneuver for dealing with the incessant stream of trigger-happy cops, but it takes three seconds or more to take one down. That’s more than enough time for reinforcements to cut you down. You are encouraged to separate enemies and take them down one at a time. Disregarding the fact that the game was supposed to be about speed and not hiding behind corners, it’s hard to “separate enemies” when they either A) refuse to come to you, or B) shoot you dead barely two steps into the same room.

With regards to my earlier stance on Faith’s violence, it does reward pacifism through Achievements, but I hope you are prepared for one of the most infuriating experiences in modern gaming. Let me paint a scenario. You have reached a complex sequence of vaults and rooftops infested with razor-sharp snipers. At the finish line is a massive gap with barely a centimeter for error. It’s your 15th attempt, and you nail every movement with meticulous flair. You approach the gap, leap with majestic confidence, and *BLAM!*. Your dead body makes the landing. Does that sound like fun?

Combat nearly ruins everything. If not for the Time Trials unlocked by completing the story, I would be hard-pressed to give Mirror’s Edge anything but a half-hearted recommendation. Time Trials are the undeniable highlight and, at least in my opinion, what it should have been from the beginning. Parkour is more than death-defying leaps and astounding acrobatics. It is the perfection of movement and form to navigate an environment without losing momentum, and that makes the Time Trials the closest thing to real Parkour.

When leaping a gap to a fire escape, tucking your legs can mean the difference between hanging from a rail and landing one floor up. Brazenly launching to the middle of a beam and bouncing off again can easily save five seconds over balancing your way across. These are the types of improvisational movements that the tutorials don’t tell you, but the Time Trials gratuitously encourage. Although you can’t race live opponents, you can race the ghost of your previous run and those with the skill to hit the front page of the Leaderboards. The 23 routes should keep you busy for a few weeks, but here’s hoping for downloadable maps in the future, or even a two-player free-roaming mode in the seemingly apparent sequel.

Mirror’s Edge is not the fully-fledged Parkour game that I was hoping for, and it stumbles over and over in its attempts to be a shooter. It can be needlessly frustrating and begrudgingly repetitive, but equally and truly awe-inspiring. If you can trudge through the story, the Time Trials provide one of the most intense and liberating platforming experiences to date, and ironically, it just might inspire you to turn off the TV and get outside.

(Author’s Note: I encourage anyone interested in practicing Parkour to visit www.AmericanParkour.com for tips on training and technique before you start jumping off rooftops.)

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