History VideoGame / MirrorsEdge

* FlippingTheBird: The "Sweet Goodbye" achievement. This is achieved by jumping forward, doing a 180 degree turn while in the air and then pressing the attack button in quick succession. This will make Faith flash a V-sign while falling backwards (this is the equivalent of flipping the bird in Britain, Ireland, and New Zealand).

* AmbiguousTimePeriod: As with it's location, the City of Glass could be chronologically anywhere from the late 90s to late 00s, though no later than the mass adoption of smartphones.
** One elevator news snippet mentions The Shard being built in 2012. but it's still unknown how many years afterwards the game is set.

* BagOfSpilling: When you die, any guns you picked up along the way will not respawn with you, so if you, for example, attempt to sneak a handgun through an entire level [[BraggingRightsReward just to see]] if it's possible to [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim just shoot]] the final boss, but miscalculate a single jump, well...

* ChekhovsSkill: [[spoiler: The disarm from behind move you learn in the tutorial from Celeste is what Faith use to defeat her in the fight with her later on]].

* ClimaxBoss: Faith's rooftop chase and kung-fu duel with the Parkour Killer. Hunting down and taking out a Runner gang leader as an attack helicopter stalks Faith in the IOS prequel.

* CowboyCop: To the city police, it seems like the standard procedure to arrest a Runner can be boiled down to "fill the fucker with lead until they stop running. Then DoubleTap". Hell, it's not even unusual to have them shoot at you [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill with the heavy artillery]] ''before'' they actually order you to surrender ! Keep in mind that, in a PacifistRun, Faith actually does ''nothing'' but run away from them and won't even carry a weapon, meaning that there is absolutely ''no'' reason for them to use deadly force against her. Then again, [[JustifiedTrope the city IS a totalitarian state]], so abusive police forces are [[TruthInTelevision part of the bunch]] (even if breaking out the attack helicopters and armored SWAT teams for ''one'' unarmed woman running around the rooftops still sounds a bit much). [[spoiler: However, turns out you're ''never'' facing actual cops, but [[PrivateMilitaryContractors Pirandello-Kruger mercenaries]], trying to defend a conspiracy to replace the police with their own private force]].
* CrapsaccharineWorld: The city seems like a pretty nice place to live for an oppressive police state; it's a clean, sunny place where the people are healthy and the economy seems to be in good shape, which begs the question just what the deal is. Then again, the CowboyCop entry may be a good indicator there is indeed something very, ''very'' wrong with that place...

** Played straight in one of the animated cut-scenes where Faith is surrounded by several armed Pirandello Krueger mercs. She drops down and she is surrounded by heavily armed mercs and they are all within close quarters. Faith all of the sudden goes Rambo and takes out all of them with melee combat as if she was this one woman army. In the game, you can be surrounded by them, but don't expect to fight out of them like in the cut-scene or expect to do so unscathed.The whole purpose of combat in this game is to fight in order to run away.

** Disarm-counters instantly take down an enemy and give you a free weapon, but you need to be in melee range[[note]]which means rushing at someone who is shooting at you[[/note]] and have very precise timing[[note]]there's only a split-second long window for assault rifle and combat shotgun-wielding mooks, almost necessitating the use of Faith's [[BulletTime Reaction Time]] ability[[/note]]. Enemy melee attacks do a lot of damage, too, so if you fail to grab once, you might not get a second chance.

** It's possible, with a ''lot'' of practice to become a Parkour Kungfu Master and kick the shit out of cops while looking incredibly badass.
* DiegeticInterface: In that there ''is'' no interface- other than an optional white "crosshair" dot to prevent motion sickness, you have no health bar, ammo counter, Reaction Time meter, or anything. For instance, to find out where you need to go in a level, you press a button and Faith automatically looks right at it.

** In the reboot, Faith cannot hold guns period. It is not a option.
* DoNotDropYourWeapon: Enemies only drop their guns when they die, and Faith's disarm moves are all one-hit knockouts.
* EasterEgg: [[spoiler:Towards the end of the penultimate chapter ("Kate"), after correctly sniping the convoy's engine, quickly look up and snipe the middle dot on an orange sign showing nine dots. Quickly zoom out, and a giant rat, about the size of a car, will dart down the street. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtaIzSmhuls&feature=player_embedded Click here to watch it, if you're curious]].]]

* EliteMook: The Pursuit Cops can do a lot of the same parkour moves Faith can, so outrunning them can be challenging. They also deploy smoke grenades to conceal incoming attacks and won't hesitate to use their tasers on Faith if they're unable to reach her directly. In addition, they're extremely proficient in hand-to-hand combat [[note]]if you haven't spent a lot of time fighting, and don't know how the [=PCs=] telegraph their attacks, you're in for a [[CurbstompBattle walloping]][[/note]], making it nigh-suicidal to attack them head-on. In case one is brave enough to do so, the Wall Run Kick becomes crucial to defeating them, allowing Faith to [[HoistByTheirOwnPetard take them out with one of her disarming grabs]], and attacks from above are still an instant knockout. [[EscapeSequence Merc will advise you to flee]] whenever you encounter one.
* EscapeSequence: As you might guess, a game about running is full of these. On many occasions, you might find that luck, skill, and free use of guns allows you to fight your way past enemies you're supposed to flee from, but that won't fly when they break out the helicopters.

* FacialMarkings: Faith has a tattoo round her right eye, making it resemble the "runner's mark" that features prominently in the game.

* FemaleGroinInvincibility: The first hint that the masked Parkour Killer is a woman (if her pain yelps when taking damage don't give it away earlier) is that, during her boss battle, she takes regular damage from crotch kicks that briefly stun every other enemy in the game.

** Also, when [[spoiler:Merc says "Who knows who [Jacknife]'s working for now", the elevator Faith's in is showing advertisements for Callaghan, Pirandello Kruger, and [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs both Callaghan and Pirandello Kruger.]]]]
** This one is really subtle, but during [[spoiler:New Eden, if you try to use the elevators again once you're in the mall, you get a special error message saying the elevator controls have been siezed by Pirandello-Kruger; the same error screen that appeared on the elevators in Robert Pope's building before it was raided by PK officers. Some players might brush this off, but to attentive players it's an early warning that you're walking into a trap.]]

* GenreMashup: {{FPS}} + a PlatformGame; lots of running and jumping and a pinch of handguns and all from first person perspective.

* HoistByTheirOwnPetard: A couple of Faith's disarm moves involve knocking out the offending mook with their own weapon's stock. Most notably, if a disarming grab is performed on a Pursuit Cop, Faith will use their taser to electrocute its wielder.

* HyperspaceArsenal: ''Very'' much averted. Carrying weapons reduces Faith's speed and agility, so while she can disarm enemy mooks and use their guns against them, she must usually discard them immediately; how can you shimmy up a pipe while carrying a [[{{BFG}} 50. caliber sniper rifle?]]
** The exception is the pistol and the machine pistol, which are both small enough that Faith can carry them without slowing down a bit. Unfortunately, they also have the smallest ammo clips out of any weapon in the game (except the shotgun, but that's another story entirely).

* IfYouCanReadThis: A naive InnocentBystander is TemptingFate when he types that he pities the SinisterSurveillance who has to monitor his porn surfing. He offhandedly wondered what they'd do if they learned he was quitting his job; [[spoiler: tie him to a chair and [[ColdBloodedTorture beat him bloody]]?]] Guess what? [[spoiler:''[[ForegoneConclusion That's exactly what they do!]]'']]

** Enforced in the reboot. As long as Faith is not still, bullets will miss.

** There are spots where an obviously non-fatal drop will still cause death. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XopNFEJCfsk Example.]]
* ItsAllUpstairsFromHere: The last level is a really long climb.

** The snipers have these, apparently to give away their position. [[FridgeBrilliance Then again, those "laser sights" may simply be visible due to the Runner's Vision !]]
** It's really useful when ''you'' have a SniperRifle too; not only do you sensibly have the laser switched off, but you can use their beams to trace up to them with the scope. It even produces a handy little dot if they're behind cover!
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: When Faith is in an elevator, the TV screen on the elevator flashes various messages about the state of the city. One message outlines tips for determining if someone you know is secretly a Runner, and one of the tips is "A fondness for the color red", the dominant color of the game's "Runner Vision".

* LovesTheSoundOfScreaming: One of the achievements in the smart phone game is "Scream for Me," where Faith makes the PK mercs...[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin yeah.]]
* MadeOfIron: Faith can take a sniper bullet in the back while wearing only a tank top, and it will slow her down a little. She also drops a respectable distance through a glass ceiling and lands ''in the glass'', yet is able to get up and keep running like nothing happened.
* MagnetHands: Averted. Faith ''cannot'' perform delicate maneuvers, or even run quickly when carrying most weapons. She can stuff a single pistol ''or'' SMG in her trousers, but that is ''it.''

** Mercury, whose [[CodeName code-name]] clearly refers to the [[http://tinyurl.com/22ggbd Ancient Roman messenger of the gods.]] Also he's frequently referred to as "Merc" which can also be taken as shorthand for "Mercenary", which the Runners are, to a degree.
** Faith too; she "keeps the faith" regarding her sister's innocence and her own profession. The ending [[spoiler:has her literally ''and'' figuratively making a leap of Faith]].

* OnlyAFleshWound: Taking too many bullets in succession will kill her, but getting shot "only" once or twice will barely slow Faith down.
* OnlyInItForTheMoney: [[spoiler: {{Face Heel Turn}}ing and training SuperpoweredMooks pays better than an illegal courier service and the cops don't shoot at you.]]

* ParkourAssassin: The Pursuit Cops trained by Project Icarus, including [[spoiler: Celeste.]] The EliteMook of the Blues, these are by and far the most difficult enemy Faith has, mostly for the fact that even their snipers can't do half the things a Runner can - and Pursuit Cops ''can.'' Their tendency to attack in groups and ability to block attacks makes a fight mostly unfeasible, but they can be beaten, and if you can get an opening to stealth-disarm one, it's a satisfying sight.

* PlatformGame: The developer was trying to innovate by making it first-person, though this led to several people, including [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Yahtzee]], complaining that you wouldn't be able to see the character's feet before jumping. The game suffers from the lack of proprioception, the sense that lets you know where all the bits and pieces of your body are at any given moment, which is why you can touch your fingers to your nose with your eyes closed (unless you're drunk). It also suffers from the fact that your brain is constantly comparing the inputs from different senses. So when your eyes tell you you're running along a rooftop and doing flips, but your body tells you you're sitting perfectly still, the result is motion sickness. So it causes problems because of what it doesn't tell you, and because of what it does tell you.

* ThePrecariousLedge: Faith slows down long enough to creep across ledges on the rooftops, such as during the training sequence whilst following Celeste. These short sections come with Plummet Perspective too.

* RegeneratingHealth: Any harm sustained by Faith will fully go away in several seconds. As there is no health meter, the game communicates Faith's status through telltale visual feedback: minor injuries will merely desaturate and add a slight vignette to the image, but when the edges of the screen begin flashing red, it's time to seek cover.

* SceneryPorn: The game's artstyle and primarily rooftop based levels naturally lend themselves well to fantastic views of the expansive skyscraper-dotted cityscape.

* SickeningCrunch: When Faith jump/falls off a roof; splat!

* SniperRifle: The fact that Faith can take more than a single shot from a [[{{BFG}} Barrett M82]] seems to make her [[MadeOfIron somewhat more]] than a FragileSpeedster... Which may be why the Blues eventually decide to ZergRush her.
* SoftGlass: In one level, Faith evades the police by jumping onto a glass ceiling, falling ''right on top'' of the broken shards, and simply walking it off.

** Usually these vents will kill you instantly if you try to just pass through the jet of steam, but there's one in the [[EternalEngine Pirandello-Kruger]] level which activates on a timer, yet will only cause mild damage, [[GoodBadBugs if it hurts you at all]], allowing you to [[SequenceBreaking skip waiting for it to turn off]].

* TechnicalPacifist: Toss as many Blues off skyscrapers as you like, but as long as you don't ''shoot'' them you will still pass the [[CosmeticAward "Test of Faith"]].

%%* TankTopTomboy: Faith. Her outfit is a black tank top with white lines going down on the sides.

* TimeTrial: One mode of the game is completing a course in the fastest time possible. It goes with somethng different as the place for the Time Trial DLC takes place in some rather abstract levels, specifically designed to have players go through trial and error for the fastest time.
* TitleDrop: In the intro movie: ''"We call ourselves Runners. We exist on the edge between the gloss and the reality; the Mirror's Edge."'' In this case, it seems to be not so much shoehorning the phrase in, but explaining it, which is kind of a nice change from the norm.
* TitleIn: The beginning of each level has an onscreen caption stating Faith's location within the city and the time it begins.

* TrainingDummy: Celeste serves as one during the tutorial on hand to hand combat and gun usage.

* UnstoppableMailman: Faith's job is an illegal courier for physical mail, regardless of how many death-defying jumps she has to make.
* UseYourHead: During the fight against [[spoiler: Celeste]], if Faith keeps attacking her for too long, she will block her hands and counter with a headbutt to the face. If Faith's health is low enough, she could even be killed by that counter.
* VideoGameCaringPotential: The game allows you to do a PacifistRun, and even awards an achievment for doing so.

* VideoGameSliding: Sliding under objects comprises an important part of Faith's parkour-inspired move set.

* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: The City's location is ambiguous. Clocks throughout the game depict the letters "E.T.", as in "eastern time", which would make you think it's on the East Coast of North America. Not so fast though, because the City's coastline matches Shenzhen Bay near Hong Kong, much of the City's architecture bears a decidedly Asian vibe to it and traffic is on the left side of the road. Then there's two official languages, English and Chinese. All of this adds up to confusing the hell out of anyone trying to figure out where the City is beyond "somewhere in East Asia", and that's probably intentional.

* WhiteIsPure: In the game, the City of Glass is represented in white and chrome to reflect its status as a pristine symbol of Conglomerate greatness

''Mirror's Edge'' is a first-person action platform game developed by Creator/{{DICE}} and published by Creator/ElectronicArts for Platform/Playstation3 and Platform/Xbox360 in 2008 and Platform/MicrosoftWindows in 2009. The game utilizes UsefulNotes/UnrealEngine 3.

An [[UsefulNotes/IOSGames iPhone/iPad]] prequel was released in 2010. The gameplay was changed to a 2D ''VideoGame/{{Canabalt}}''-style platformer, and the plot involves Mayor Callaghan's attempt to turn the public against the police so she[[note]]She was male in the original game[[/note]] can replace them with her private military, something that was only hinted at in the original game.

** In the [[UsefulNotes/IOSGames iOS]] version, these kill you faster than getting shot, and appear fairly often in levels that take place indoors.

''Mirror's Edge'' is a first-person action platform game developed by Creator/{{DICE}} and published by Creator/ElectronicArts for UsefulNotes/Playstation3 and UsefulNotes/Xbox360 in 2008 and [[UsefulNotes/WindowsGames Microsoft Windows]] in 2009. The game utilizes the [[UsefulNotes/GameEngine Unreal Engine 3]].

** One elevator news snippet mentions The Shard being built in 2013. but it's still unknown how many years afterwards the game is set.

** Both the games visuals and plot place it firmly into the post-cyberpunk genre; very clean, very shinny, and also an oppressive police state where the heroes are the ones who can avoid them. At the same time, futuristic weapons or electronics are completely absent. The few times people do use computers, it's to read documents during cutscenes, and the most complex electronic devices the player uses are elevator buttons.

''Mirror's Edge'' is a first-person action video game developed by Creator/{{DICE}} and published by Creator/ElectronicArts for UsefulNotes/Playstation3 and UsefulNotes/Xbox360 in 2008 and [[UsefulNotes/WindowsGames Microsoft Windows]] in 2009. The game utilizes the [[UsefulNotes/GameEngine Unreal Engine 3]].

[[caption-width-right:330: [[{{Tagline}} "On the edge of the city, you find out who you really are."]]]]

''Mirror's Edge'' is a first-person action video game by Creator/{{DICE}} and published by Creator/ElectronicArts for UsefulNotes/Playstation3 and UsefulNotes/Xbox360 in 2008 and [[UsefulNotes/WindowsGames Microsoft Windows]] in 2009. The game utilizes the [[UsefulNotes/GameEngine Unreal Engine 3]].

While the game is a [[FirstPersonShooter first person shooter]], guns are completely optional[[note]]There's even an achievement for not firing one in the entire game called [[{{Pun}} Test of Faith]][[/note]]. Instead, Faith uses [[LeParkour parkour]] to traverse rooftops and evade enemies. The rooftops turned into large puzzle pieces as players found their way to point B. The game also had an interesting art direction: the city was almost entirely sterile white save some sparse colors here and there. Items and places would turn red to point players in the right direction.

Succeeded by the continuity reboot ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdgeCatalyst'' in 2016.

* MixAndMatch: {{FPS}}[=/=]PlatformGame; lots of running and jumping and a pinch of handguns and all from first person perspective.

* CameraScrew: The player's camera is permanently fixed to Faith's eyes. Keep in mind Faith has to rapidly twist in midair to wall-jump...

** At the very least it is set somewhere on (an) Earth since there is mention of the USA and UN...along with [[BattlefieldBadCompany Serdaristan and Tasbikistan]]

* RareGuns: The [=NeoStead=] 2000 and the [=G36C=].

* AwesomeButImpractical: Yes, if you were a suicidal adrenaline junkie, you too could learn to do ''almost'' everything that Faith does. You'd also learn why Creator/JackieChan stopped doing as many movies as he used to. Running along perpendicular walls works with the proper shoes and circumstances, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGfARFDH9oU as shown here]]. It takes a lot of training, but we can assume that Faith has completed that training. There is also a point in the game where she jumps off an eighty foot building and lands on her feet to escape from the "anti-runners". Ouch. On that note, we can easily conclude that well over half the "runners" ended up killing themselves with these stunts fairly quickly.

The game is set in a [[{{Utopia}} big, shiny city]] in a conformist [[PoliceState police-state]]. You are cast as Faith, an illegal courier or "runner", whose job it is to hand-deliver messages and data [[LeParkour across rooftops and skyways]] to avoid ubiquitous government monitoring of movement and communications. The story follows Faith in her struggle to free her sister, a police officer who has been framed for the murder of the opposition candidate for Mayor of the city. While running her clients' illegal messages, she gets caught up in a series of events which lead to her being ruthlessly pursued by the totalitarian government herself. Mercury, Faith's trainer and mentor, acts as her guide, helping her outwit, outrun, and overcome the sinister agents out to eliminate her.

* TheTetrisEffect: You, too, will develop "Runner Vision". After completing this game, all pipes, ladders and cranes ''you'' see will be cherry-red, and you ''will'' find yourself plotting the best way to navigate them.

* TimeTrial: One mode of the game is completing a course in the fastest time possible. It goes with SomethingCompletelyDifferent as the place for the Time Trial DLC takes place in some rather abstract levels, specifically designed to have players go through trial and error for the fastest time.

While the game is a [[FirstPersonShooter first person shooter]], guns are completely optional[[note]]There's even an achievement for not killing with one in the entire game[[/note]]. Instead, Faith uses [[LeParkour parkour]] to traverse rooftops and evade enemies. The rooftops turned into large puzzle pieces as players found their way to point B. The game also had an interesting art direction: the city was almost entirely sterile white save some sparse colors here and there. Items and places would turn red to point players in the right direction.

* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler:Jackknife is punted out of a helicopter by Faith.]]

* IfIWantedYouDead: Jackknife says this when Faith accuses him of being the mysterious assassin. [[spoiler: He's not, but he did ''hire'' the assassin.]]

* InstantWinCondition: [[spoiler: Booting Jackknife out of his helicopter and rescuing Kate apparently causes all the PK officers on the roof that would've filled the two full of lead right afterwards to vanish into the ether, and the game apparently doesn't care about the hordes of blues swarming the building either as the game ends right there instead of depicting Faith and Kate's escape.]]

* NonStandardGameOver: You'll get one if you fail to [[spoiler: shoot the engine of the police truck carrying Faith's sister to jail]] in Chapter 8. You'll also get one if you lose Jackknife in Chapter 2 or [[spoiler: the Parkour Assassin]] in Chapter 7.

%%* PsychoForHire: [[spoiler:Jackknife]].

* RedOniBlueOni: On a large scale, the City is divided between the TotalitarianUtilitarian government (which is associated with the color blue through their police force and Jackknife. The police force are even called "Blues" by runners) and the runners, the defiant, passionate young couriers who evade their control (who specifically associate with red via "runner vision" and their personal effects).

* NonStandardGameOver: You'll get one if you fail to [[spoiler: shoot the engine of the police truck carrying Faith's sister to jail.]]

* FingerlessGloves: Faith wears one to protect her hand when sliding down cables, but [[FashionableAsymmetry only on her right hand]], just because it's [[RuleOfCool cool.]]

* ExtremeSportExcusePlot: The whole "dystopian future" plot is basically just an excuse for lots of awesome [[LeParkour Parkour]] action.