'Mirror's Edge' keeps away from the same old thing

Game Title: Mirror's Edge

Platform: Playstation 3 (reviewed), Xbox 360

Studio: DICE/EA

Rating: T for Teen

THE REVIEW:

Gameplay: A lot of games these days try to follow formulas set by earlier hits. For every "Halo" or "Mario" or "Grand Theft Auto" title, there are a dozen clones, striving (and usually failing) to replicate their success. That's why it's so refreshing to see someone take a chance on a unique concept like the one in "Mirror's Edge."

The game puts you in control of Faith, an urban dweller in a dystopian not-too-distant future. Faith is a runner — one of a group of outlaws that attempt to subvert the Big Brother-like government surveillance by hand-carrying information from rooftop to rooftop, using a series of acrobatic moves. Think of a futuristic version of the recent "Prince of Persia" games, or the free-running urban sport called parkour, and you'll have an idea of the movement involved. There are several paths across the city skyscrapers; the easiest paths are marked by bright red ramps, platforms and pipes, but the game encourages exploration and alternative solutions. Faith can leap huge distances, run up walls and vault over obstacles — she moves across the skyline at top speed with ease and fluidity.

Here's the twist: you control Faith through all of these motions in a first-person perspective. Your eyes are Faith's eyes. Aside from a few short video clips between levels, you never see Faith's face. You do see her arms swinging at her sides as she runs, or her legs preparing to absorb the shock of a long fall. The viewpoint, combined with the speed and agility of Faith's moves, make for an immersive experience. In fact, if not for a tiny cross-hair dot in the center of the screen to orient your senses, you could easily get motion sickness. It's that intense.