Mirror's Edge
Encyclopedia
Mirror's Edge is a single-player first person
action-adventure
video game developed by EA Digital Illusions CE (DICE) and published by Electronic Arts
. The game was announced on July 10, 2007, and was released for the PlayStation 3
and Xbox 360
in November 2008. A Microsoft Windows
version was released on January 13, 2009. Mirror's Edge is powered by the Unreal Engine 3 with the addition of a new lighting solution, developed by Illuminate Labs
in association with DICE.
The game has a brightly coloured style and differs from most other first-person perspective video games in allowing for a wider range of actions—such as sliding under barriers, tumbling, wall-running, and shimmying across ledges—and greater freedom of movement; in having no heads-up display
; and in allowing the legs, arms, and torso of the character to be visible on-screen. Mirror's Edge is set in a futuristic dystopian society, in which a network of 'runners', including the main character, Faith, are used as couriers to transmit messages while evading government surveillance. In the style of a three-dimensional platform game
, the player guides Faith over rooftops, across walls, and through ventilation shafts, negotiating obstacles using movements inspired by parkour
.
Mirror's Edge has received mostly positive reviews, with the PC version garnering a Metacritic
aggregated score of 81%. The game's uniqueness and its expansive environments have received praise, while criticism has centred on its weakness of plot, trial and error gameplay and short length. A soundtrack featuring remixes of the final credits song "Still Alive" by Swedish singer Lisa Miskovsky
(unrelated to the song of the same name
featured in 2007 game Portal) was also released. A side-scroller version of the game for the Apple iPad was released on April 1, 2010 and for the iPhone
on September 2, 2010.
. According to senior producer
Owen O'Brien, Mirror's Edge aims to "convey [...] strain and physical contact with the environment", with the goal of allowing a freedom of movement previously unseen in the first-person genre. In order to achieve this, camera movement has been tied more closely to character movement. For example, as Faith's speed builds up while running, the rate at which the camera bobs up and down increases. When a roll is executed, the camera spins with the character. Faith's arms, legs, and torso are prominent and their visibility is used to convey movement and momentum. The character's arms pump and the length of her steps increase with her gait, and her legs cycle and arms flail during long jumps.
In gameplay, the character's momentum
becomes an asset. The player must attempt to conserve it through fluidity of physical actions, encouraging the creation of chains of moves. If Faith does not have the momentum required to traverse an object, she will fall off or short of it. Controls are simplified by being context-sensitive; the "up" button will cause Faith to traverse an obstacle by passing over it (i.e., by jumping, vaulting, climbing, or grabbing set pieces like zip-line
s) while the "down" button will cause her to perform other manoeuvres like sliding, rolling, or crouching. To assist the player in creating these chains of moves, the game employs a system called "Runner Vision", which emphasises environmental pieces useful for progression. Certain pipes, ramps, and doors are highlighted in red
as Faith approaches, allowing the player to instantly recognize paths and escape routes. Further along in the game, the number of these visual hints is reduced to only the end goal, and the player can opt to turn off this hint system entirely. It is also used to create puzzles in which the player must figure out how to combine the highlighted set pieces into a chain of moves in order to reach the target. Another means of assistance to the player is a system called "Reaction Time", a form of bullet time
activated by the player, slowing down time and allowing the player to plan and time their next move without losing momentum or tactical advantage.
The player character can hold weapons, but O'Brien stressed that "this is an action adventure. We're not positioning this as a shooter - the focus isn't on the gun, it's on the person." Gameplay in Mirror's Edge focuses on finding the best route through the game's environments while combat takes a secondary role. Completing the game without shooting a single enemy unlocks an achievement for the player. Consequently, guns may be obtained by disarming an enemy, but when the magazine is empty, it will need to be discarded. Additionally, carrying a weapon slows Faith down; the heavier the gun, the more it hinders her movement. This introduces an element of strategy in determining when to trade agility for short-term firepower.
Along with the campaign mode, Mirror's Edge features a time attack mode, where the player must try to complete one of a set of special maps in the shortest amount of time. Best times can be uploaded to online leaderboards, where players can also download ghosts of other players to compete against. The maps are unlocked by playing through the campaign mode. According to producer Tom Ferrer, the time trial portions of Mirror's Edge are "bite-sized and short so you can grind them and play them and get faster and faster. It's not like playing an entire level."
regime which monitors all communication, controls the media, has policies which include the outright illegalisation of smoking
, and, it is strongly implied, operates sham trials and a sham democracy. Eighteen years before the events of the game they had opened fire on a protest against their rule, killing many civilians.
As the story begins mayoral elections are near and a new candidate, Robert Pope, is challenging the incumbent Mayor Callaghan on a platform of deregulation.
American TV series Firefly
and film spin-off Serenity
were cited by O'Brien as inspirations. "Our other theme is you can't force other people to live by your rules and your society, even if your society is better," he said. "In Serenity The Operative actually says, 'This is not an evil empire. We just don't understand why you don't want to be part of our happy club.' Obviously they take it too far, and that's kind of what happens in our game as well."
), who has a distinctive tattoo around her right eye, imitated by the game's logo. Faith earns her living as a "Runner", a courier
who carries physical communiqués around the city, her services retained by revolutionary groups who avoid communicating via highly-monitored telephone
and e-mail
channels. Faith's attitude towards the totalitarian government is rooted in her past; her parents were active in protest movements when she was young, campaigning to keep the city from shifting to the oppressive regime. Her mother was killed during the "November riots" — peaceful protests gone wrong — and Faith ran away from home when she was 16, living a thief's life on the city streets. Faith became a Runner after meeting Mercury (or Merc), a former Runner who now trains new hires, sources jobs for them, and provides them with intelligence and radio support while on the job. Other characters include Faith's twin sister, Kate Connors, an officer with the city police
, Faith's friends Celeste, Drake, and Kreeg, another trio of Merc's Runners, and Jacknife, a former Runner.
Lacking other leads, Faith investigates the security firm that has begun aiding the police force in their crackdown of Runners. She finds they are behind "Project Icarus", a program designed to train their forces in parkour
to chase and fight the Runners. Evidence also leads Faith to the trail of Ropeburn's killer to a boat in port; after chasing the unknown entity, Faith discovers the assassin is actually Celeste, who is now a part of Icarus under collusion
to keep herself safe, and warns Faith to consider the same. The arrival of the police allows Celeste to escape.
With Kate convicted for Pope's murder, Merc has arranged the police convoy transporting her into an ambush spot for Faith, and Faith is able to help Kate run free. When Faith returns to her hideout, she finds it has been attacked, Merc on the edge of death and Kate recaptured. In his dying words, Merc tells Faith that Kate is now at the Shard, Mayor Callaghan's office and where the main servers that run the city's monitoring systems are located. With Miller's help, Faith is able to enter the Mayor's private offices, destroying many of the servers to gain access to the roof. On the roof she finds Kate held at gunpoint by Jacknife. Jacknife reveals he too is part of Icarus, and has been part of the plan all along to lure the Runners out of hiding. When Jacknife tries to take Kate onto a waiting helicopter, Faith is able to jump on, knocking Jacknife out of the helicopter to fall to his death but also damaging the helicopter in the process. Faith helps Kate to escape safely from the falling helicopter.
During the end credits
, media reports that Faith's actions have only served to intensify Project Icarus, and Faith and Kate are still wanted for Pope's murder. However, with the servers damaged, the population is cautioned to avoid using electronic means of communications until the servers are restored.
In June 2007, Computer and Video Games
magazine revealed that DICE was working on a game called Mirror's Edge, which was expected to "shake up the [first-person shooter] genre". On July 10, 2007, Mirror's Edge was officially announced by Electronic Arts
, and at the Game Developers Conference
in San Francisco in February 2008, the first demonstration of gameplay was shown. A video featuring entirely in-game footage was released at the Sony PlayStation Day in London on May 6, 2008.
Mirror's Edge has a distinct visual style, with the outdoor environments predominantly featuring white
and distinctively lacking in green
, punctuated by deliberate use of strong primary colours
. According to Senior Producer Owen O'Brien, the stylistic choice allows the player to focus on the Runner Vision guidance, as well as serving as a health meter
; the colours become more desaturated as Faith starts to take damage. Because development of Mirror's Edge began before DICE's own Frostbite was completed, the game uses Epic
's Unreal Engine 3. A lighting system
called "Beast
" was developed for the Unreal Engine by Illuminate Labs
in association with DICE. The new software would accentuate the different art style of Mirror's Edge, by allowing for the reflection of colours as well as light. In order to address the issue of simulation sickness associated with the free movement of the camera in first-person view, a small reticle was placed in the centre of the screen. The reticle serves as an aiming and focal point, preventing dizziness in similar fashion to the dance technique called spotting
. Aside from this reticle (which can be hidden by the player), no heads-up display
exists in the game.
The demo
for Mirror's Edge, consisting of the game's prologue
chapter, was released via the PlayStation Store
on October 30, 2008, followed by the Xbox LIVE Marketplace
on October 31. On November 7, 2008, DICE announced that Mirror's Edge had achieved gold status
, and PS3 and Xbox 360 versions would be shipping to retailers on November 13. On January 16, 2009, a Microsoft Windows
version of the game was released. The PC version features support for NVIDIA's
PhysX
, adding detail and physics to glass, smoke and soft materials. The game includes the SecuROM
v7.x (activation based) DRM
software, unless bought from Steam.
The game is at the centre of EA's conflict with EDGE Games, a California-based development studio. EDGE Games
is not related to Edge magazine
beyond the licensing of its trademark. In September 2009, EA petitioned to have EDGE Games' trademarks cancelled, alleging continued threats of legal action. Tim Langdell, president of EDGE responded by accusing EA of engaging EDGE in settlement talks as a "play for time". Langdell's company claimed true legal ownership of the phrase "Mirror's Edge" among other variations of "Edge".
. A time trial code was also included in GameStop
preorders, along with a yellow "Runner Bag" resembling the messenger bags used in the game. Preorders from UK retailer GAME
included a Mirror's Edge-edition Fenchurch
t-shirt. The game could also be bought through the Electronic Arts website, where a package deal with a red Timbuk2
messenger bag was available. The bag featured the game's logo on the outside, while the inside featured a portrait of Faith.
2008, DICE announced it would create a limited-run comic book
adaptation of the game together with DC Comics
division WildStorm
. The six-issue comic is drawn by Matthew Dow Smith
and written by Rhianna Pratchett
.
. Contributing artists included Benny Benassi
, Junkie XL
, Paul van Dyk
, Teddybears
and Armand Van Helden
. Although "Still Alive" is also the name of the closing credits song of 2007 game Portal, the two tracks are unrelated. The album, titled Still Alive – the Remixes, was released on November 11, 2008. The album was included free in the standard game in later releases for all platforms. In May, the Mirror's Edge Original Videogame Score was released in online-only form. The album was composed by Swedish electronic musician Magnus Birgersson
, also known as Solar Fields.
reporting scores of 81% for the PC version and 79% for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions. Official Xbox Magazine
gave the game 9.5 out of 10, praising its "brilliant sense of motion and gameplay". Play awarded it 9 out of 10, while GameTrailers.com
gave it 8.3 out of 10. Computer and Video Games
was also positive, calling it "A brilliant and unique experience, even if the small shooting parts aren't quite up to scratch." IGN
awarded the game 8.3 out of 10, calling it a "thrilling and stylish venture", but "the first chapter of a franchise that's still finding its feet." GameSpot
praised the immersive gameplay environments, but criticised the inconsistency of gameplay speed. Ian Bogost of Gamasutra
commended the game for being unconventional, calling it "a shooter that makes you hate to shoot".
Edge
gave the game 5 out of 10, stating that the levels felt contrived and that there was no true freedom through the levels, merely multiple preordained paths. The Guardian
noted the game's short length, and many reviews criticised the "trial and error
" nature of the play. Despite giving the game a score of 8 out of 10, Eurogamer
dismissed the storyline as rambling, adding that "[Mirror's Edge] is going to divide audiences down the middle... Some will be able to overlook the gaping flaws, but others will never appreciate its moments of brilliance, and both positions are justifiable... " Other issues raised were the stylistic choice of animated cutscene
s, and the "cramped" feel of some of the levels.
The developers initially projected a total of three million copies of Mirror's Edge to be sold, but in February 2009, Electronic Arts reported sales of over one million. According to an October 2010 court document pertaining to the legal conflict between EA and Edge Games
(see Mirror's Edge#Development and release), Mirror's Edge has sold more than two million copies worldwide, with more than 750,000 of those copies having been sold in North America. The iPhone
-compatible version of the game has sold more than 37,000 copies.
A side-scrolling
browser game
interpretation of Mirror's Edge titled Mirror's Edge 2D was released by Electronic Arts in conjunction with independent developer Borne Games. The game is similar to and uses the modified engine of Borne's popular game Fancy Pants Adventures
. A one-level beta was released on November 11, 2008, with an expanded three-level beta released on February 24, 2009. The developer's site states that "the full Mirror’s Edge 2D has been released, but we’re still in beta."
A version of Mirror's Edge for the iPhone
and iPod Touch
was announced on December 2, 2009. It is a side-scrolling game with 3D graphics, featuring 14 levels and dynamic camera angles, and was scheduled for release in January 2010. It was then later revealed that the iPhone and iPod Touch versions were pushed back to an April release. EA Mobile released Mirror's Edge for iPhone and iPod touch on September 1, 2010 priced at $4.99 USD
(£2.99 GBP
) but it now costs $0.99 USD (£0.59 GBP). An iPad
version was released on April 1, 2010 originally priced at $14.99 USD (£8.99 GBP) but it is currently $9.99 USD (£2.99 GBP).
In October 2008, the game's senior producer, Owen O'Brien, suggested that "the story we're telling at the moment is kind of a trilogy
, a three-story arc." In a June 2009 interview with Videogamer.com, EA Games Europe senior vice president Patrick Söderlund confirmed that a sequel
to Mirror's Edge is in production. In January 2010, Karl-Magnus Trodesson of DICE declined to comment on the sequel, explaining that DICE "[hasn't] officially announced that we're working on it."
In February 2011, it was reported that development on Mirror's Edge 2 had been "stopped" after EA rejected a prototype submitted for a sequel. EA later clarified that they consider Mirror's Edge "an important franchise", but otherwise had no further announcements. EA President Frank Gibeau confirmed on E3 2011 that a sequel is in development, and that it may run on the Frostbite 2 engine.
First person (video games)
In video games, first person refers to a graphical perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player character. In many cases, this may be the viewpoint from the cockpit of a vehicle. Many different genres have made use of first-person perspectives, ranging from adventure games to flight...
action-adventure
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
video game developed by EA Digital Illusions CE (DICE) and published by Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
. The game was announced on July 10, 2007, and was released for the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
in November 2008. A Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
version was released on January 13, 2009. Mirror's Edge is powered by the Unreal Engine 3 with the addition of a new lighting solution, developed by Illuminate Labs
Illuminate labs
Illuminate Labs is a Swedish software company based in Gothenburg, founded in 2002 and specializing in video games lighting. The company produces two middleware products called Beast and , based on their proprietary LiquidLight technology. Autodesk, Inc...
in association with DICE.
The game has a brightly coloured style and differs from most other first-person perspective video games in allowing for a wider range of actions—such as sliding under barriers, tumbling, wall-running, and shimmying across ledges—and greater freedom of movement; in having no heads-up display
HUD (video gaming)
In video gaming, the HUD is the method by which information is visually relayed to the player as part of a game's user interface...
; and in allowing the legs, arms, and torso of the character to be visible on-screen. Mirror's Edge is set in a futuristic dystopian society, in which a network of 'runners', including the main character, Faith, are used as couriers to transmit messages while evading government surveillance. In the style of a three-dimensional platform game
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
, the player guides Faith over rooftops, across walls, and through ventilation shafts, negotiating obstacles using movements inspired by parkour
Parkour
Parkour is a method of movement focused on moving around obstacles with speed and efficiency. Originally developed in France, the main purpose of the discipline is to teach participants how to move through their environment by vaulting, rolling, running, climbing and jumping...
.
Mirror's Edge has received mostly positive reviews, with the PC version garnering a Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
aggregated score of 81%. The game's uniqueness and its expansive environments have received praise, while criticism has centred on its weakness of plot, trial and error gameplay and short length. A soundtrack featuring remixes of the final credits song "Still Alive" by Swedish singer Lisa Miskovsky
Lisa Miskovsky
Lisa Miskovsky is a Swedish musician. Her mother is Finnish and her father is from the Czech Republic.-Biography:...
(unrelated to the song of the same name
Still Alive
Still Alive may refer to:* Still Alive , the closing credits song from the Portal video game* Still Alive – the Remixes, the theme song from the video game Mirror's Edge...
featured in 2007 game Portal) was also released. A side-scroller version of the game for the Apple iPad was released on April 1, 2010 and for the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
on September 2, 2010.
Gameplay
In Mirror's Edge, the player controls the protagonist, Faith, from a first-person perspective as she is challenged to navigate across a gleaming city, by jumping between rooftops, running across walls, and gaining access to buildings through ventilation shafts. This is accomplished by use of techniques and movements inspired by the discipline of parkourParkour
Parkour is a method of movement focused on moving around obstacles with speed and efficiency. Originally developed in France, the main purpose of the discipline is to teach participants how to move through their environment by vaulting, rolling, running, climbing and jumping...
. According to senior producer
Game producer
A video game producer is the person in charge of overseeing development of a video game.The earliest documented use of the term producer in games was by Trip Hawkins, who established the position when he founded Electronic Arts in 1982...
Owen O'Brien, Mirror's Edge aims to "convey [...] strain and physical contact with the environment", with the goal of allowing a freedom of movement previously unseen in the first-person genre. In order to achieve this, camera movement has been tied more closely to character movement. For example, as Faith's speed builds up while running, the rate at which the camera bobs up and down increases. When a roll is executed, the camera spins with the character. Faith's arms, legs, and torso are prominent and their visibility is used to convey movement and momentum. The character's arms pump and the length of her steps increase with her gait, and her legs cycle and arms flail during long jumps.
In gameplay, the character's momentum
Momentum
In classical mechanics, linear momentum or translational momentum is the product of the mass and velocity of an object...
becomes an asset. The player must attempt to conserve it through fluidity of physical actions, encouraging the creation of chains of moves. If Faith does not have the momentum required to traverse an object, she will fall off or short of it. Controls are simplified by being context-sensitive; the "up" button will cause Faith to traverse an obstacle by passing over it (i.e., by jumping, vaulting, climbing, or grabbing set pieces like zip-line
Zip-line
A zip-line consists of a pulley suspended on a cable mounted on an incline...
s) while the "down" button will cause her to perform other manoeuvres like sliding, rolling, or crouching. To assist the player in creating these chains of moves, the game employs a system called "Runner Vision", which emphasises environmental pieces useful for progression. Certain pipes, ramps, and doors are highlighted in red
Red
Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
as Faith approaches, allowing the player to instantly recognize paths and escape routes. Further along in the game, the number of these visual hints is reduced to only the end goal, and the player can opt to turn off this hint system entirely. It is also used to create puzzles in which the player must figure out how to combine the highlighted set pieces into a chain of moves in order to reach the target. Another means of assistance to the player is a system called "Reaction Time", a form of bullet time
Bullet time
Bullet time is a special and visual effect that refers to a digitally enhanced simulation of variable-speed photography used in films, broadcast advertisements, and video games...
activated by the player, slowing down time and allowing the player to plan and time their next move without losing momentum or tactical advantage.
The player character can hold weapons, but O'Brien stressed that "this is an action adventure. We're not positioning this as a shooter - the focus isn't on the gun, it's on the person." Gameplay in Mirror's Edge focuses on finding the best route through the game's environments while combat takes a secondary role. Completing the game without shooting a single enemy unlocks an achievement for the player. Consequently, guns may be obtained by disarming an enemy, but when the magazine is empty, it will need to be discarded. Additionally, carrying a weapon slows Faith down; the heavier the gun, the more it hinders her movement. This introduces an element of strategy in determining when to trade agility for short-term firepower.
Along with the campaign mode, Mirror's Edge features a time attack mode, where the player must try to complete one of a set of special maps in the shortest amount of time. Best times can be uploaded to online leaderboards, where players can also download ghosts of other players to compete against. The maps are unlocked by playing through the campaign mode. According to producer Tom Ferrer, the time trial portions of Mirror's Edge are "bite-sized and short so you can grind them and play them and get faster and faster. It's not like playing an entire level."
Synopsis
Mirror's Edge takes place in an unnamed utopian city where life is comfortable and crime almost non-existent. But the city's state of bliss is the achievement of a domineering and totalitarianTotalitarianism
Totalitarianism is a political system where the state recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible...
regime which monitors all communication, controls the media, has policies which include the outright illegalisation of smoking
Smoking
Smoking is a practice in which a substance, most commonly tobacco or cannabis, is burned and the smoke is tasted or inhaled. This is primarily practised as a route of administration for recreational drug use, as combustion releases the active substances in drugs such as nicotine and makes them...
, and, it is strongly implied, operates sham trials and a sham democracy. Eighteen years before the events of the game they had opened fire on a protest against their rule, killing many civilians.
As the story begins mayoral elections are near and a new candidate, Robert Pope, is challenging the incumbent Mayor Callaghan on a platform of deregulation.
Themes
According to senior producer Owen O'Brien, "[Mirror's Edge] asks how much of your personal freedom are you willing to give up for a comfortable life. It's not one girl against this police-state dictatorship. It's more subtle than that."American TV series Firefly
Firefly (TV series)
Firefly is an American space western television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon, under his Mutant Enemy Productions label. Whedon served as executive producer, along with Tim Minear....
and film spin-off Serenity
Serenity (film)
Serenity is a 2005 space western film written and directed by Joss Whedon. It is a continuation of the short-lived 2002 Fox science fiction television series Firefly, taking place after the events of the final episode. Set in 2518, Serenity is the story of the captain and crew of a cargo ship...
were cited by O'Brien as inspirations. "Our other theme is you can't force other people to live by your rules and your society, even if your society is better," he said. "In Serenity The Operative actually says, 'This is not an evil empire. We just don't understand why you don't want to be part of our happy club.' Obviously they take it too far, and that's kind of what happens in our game as well."
Characters
The protagonist of Mirror's Edge is 24-year-old Faith Connors (voiced by Jules de JonghJules de Jongh
Jules de Jongh , born in California, United States is an American voice actress, singer, television and radio presenter...
), who has a distinctive tattoo around her right eye, imitated by the game's logo. Faith earns her living as a "Runner", a courier
Courier
A courier is a person or a company who delivers messages, packages, and mail. Couriers are distinguished from ordinary mail services by features such as speed, security, tracking, signature, specialization and individualization of express services, and swift delivery times, which are optional for...
who carries physical communiqués around the city, her services retained by revolutionary groups who avoid communicating via highly-monitored telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
and e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
channels. Faith's attitude towards the totalitarian government is rooted in her past; her parents were active in protest movements when she was young, campaigning to keep the city from shifting to the oppressive regime. Her mother was killed during the "November riots" — peaceful protests gone wrong — and Faith ran away from home when she was 16, living a thief's life on the city streets. Faith became a Runner after meeting Mercury (or Merc), a former Runner who now trains new hires, sources jobs for them, and provides them with intelligence and radio support while on the job. Other characters include Faith's twin sister, Kate Connors, an officer with the city police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
, Faith's friends Celeste, Drake, and Kreeg, another trio of Merc's Runners, and Jacknife, a former Runner.
Plot
Faith, after completing a delivery to fellow Runner Celeste, learns from Merc that her sister Kate may be in trouble at Pope's office. When she arrives, she finds Kate standing over the body of Pope, insisting she has been framed for murder and requesting Faith to discover the cause. Faith finds a piece of paper with the name "Icarus" on it in Pope's hand. Kate remains at Pope's office to provide distraction for Faith's escape. From a former Runner, Jacknife, Faith learns that Pope's head of security, a former wrestler named Travis Burfield (under the ring name Ropeburn), may be connected to Pope's murder. Faith meets Lt. Miller, at Kate's behest, narrowly avoiding arrest. At Ropeburn's office, she overhears him setting up a meeting at a new place downtown. At the meeting, Ropeburn discovers Faith's presence and attacks her, but Faith gains the upper hand and throws him off the roof. As he is hanging above a long drop, she tries to interrogate Ropeburn, but before he can reveal anything he is killed by an unknown assassin.Lacking other leads, Faith investigates the security firm that has begun aiding the police force in their crackdown of Runners. She finds they are behind "Project Icarus", a program designed to train their forces in parkour
Parkour
Parkour is a method of movement focused on moving around obstacles with speed and efficiency. Originally developed in France, the main purpose of the discipline is to teach participants how to move through their environment by vaulting, rolling, running, climbing and jumping...
to chase and fight the Runners. Evidence also leads Faith to the trail of Ropeburn's killer to a boat in port; after chasing the unknown entity, Faith discovers the assassin is actually Celeste, who is now a part of Icarus under collusion
Collusion
Collusion is an agreement between two or more persons, sometimes illegal and therefore secretive, to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading, or defrauding others of their legal rights, or to obtain an objective forbidden by law typically by defrauding or gaining an unfair advantage...
to keep herself safe, and warns Faith to consider the same. The arrival of the police allows Celeste to escape.
With Kate convicted for Pope's murder, Merc has arranged the police convoy transporting her into an ambush spot for Faith, and Faith is able to help Kate run free. When Faith returns to her hideout, she finds it has been attacked, Merc on the edge of death and Kate recaptured. In his dying words, Merc tells Faith that Kate is now at the Shard, Mayor Callaghan's office and where the main servers that run the city's monitoring systems are located. With Miller's help, Faith is able to enter the Mayor's private offices, destroying many of the servers to gain access to the roof. On the roof she finds Kate held at gunpoint by Jacknife. Jacknife reveals he too is part of Icarus, and has been part of the plan all along to lure the Runners out of hiding. When Jacknife tries to take Kate onto a waiting helicopter, Faith is able to jump on, knocking Jacknife out of the helicopter to fall to his death but also damaging the helicopter in the process. Faith helps Kate to escape safely from the falling helicopter.
During the end credits
End Credits
"End Credits" is the first single from Drum and Bass duo Chase & Status' second studio album No More Idols. The single was co-written, co-produced and features vocals from Plan B and was released on 29 October 2009, reaching a peak position of No. 9 in the UK Singles Chart...
, media reports that Faith's actions have only served to intensify Project Icarus, and Faith and Kate are still wanted for Pope's murder. However, with the servers damaged, the population is cautioned to avoid using electronic means of communications until the servers are restored.
Development and release
In 2007, DICE creative director Ben Cousins told GameIndustry.biz that the studio was looking to create "something fresh and interesting", anticipating a need to diversify away from the successful Battlefield franchise the studio was known for.In June 2007, Computer and Video Games
Computer and video games
A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but following popularization of the term "video game", it now implies any type of...
magazine revealed that DICE was working on a game called Mirror's Edge, which was expected to "shake up the [first-person shooter] genre". On July 10, 2007, Mirror's Edge was officially announced by Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
, and at the Game Developers Conference
Game Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference is the largest annual gathering of professional video game developers, focusing on learning, inspiration, and networking...
in San Francisco in February 2008, the first demonstration of gameplay was shown. A video featuring entirely in-game footage was released at the Sony PlayStation Day in London on May 6, 2008.
Mirror's Edge has a distinct visual style, with the outdoor environments predominantly featuring white
White
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
and distinctively lacking in green
Green
Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
, punctuated by deliberate use of strong primary colours
Primary color
Primary colors are sets of colors that can be combined to make a useful range of colors. For human applications, three primary colors are usually used, since human color vision is trichromatic....
. According to Senior Producer Owen O'Brien, the stylistic choice allows the player to focus on the Runner Vision guidance, as well as serving as a health meter
Health (gaming)
Health is a game mechanic used in role-playing, computer and video games to give value to characters, enemies, NPCs, and related objects. This value can either be numerical, semi-numerical as in hit/health points, or arbitrary as in a life bar....
; the colours become more desaturated as Faith starts to take damage. Because development of Mirror's Edge began before DICE's own Frostbite was completed, the game uses Epic
Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc., also known as Epic and formerly Epic MegaGames, is an American video game development company based in Cary, North Carolina. Its most recent success has been the Gears of War series of games, although it is also known for its Unreal Engine technology. It is the parent company of...
's Unreal Engine 3. A lighting system
Global illumination
Global illumination is a general name for a group of algorithms used in 3D computer graphics that are meant to add more realistic lighting to 3D scenes...
called "Beast
Beast (software)
Beast is a content pipeline tool used for advanced global illumination and dynamic character relighting. Beast is developed and sold by Swedish games lighting technology company Illuminate labs...
" was developed for the Unreal Engine by Illuminate Labs
Illuminate labs
Illuminate Labs is a Swedish software company based in Gothenburg, founded in 2002 and specializing in video games lighting. The company produces two middleware products called Beast and , based on their proprietary LiquidLight technology. Autodesk, Inc...
in association with DICE. The new software would accentuate the different art style of Mirror's Edge, by allowing for the reflection of colours as well as light. In order to address the issue of simulation sickness associated with the free movement of the camera in first-person view, a small reticle was placed in the centre of the screen. The reticle serves as an aiming and focal point, preventing dizziness in similar fashion to the dance technique called spotting
Spotting (dance technique)
Spotting is a technique used by dancers during the execution of various dance turns. The goal of spotting is to attain a constant orientation of the dancer's head and eyes, to the extent possible, in order to enhance the dancer's control and prevent dizziness....
. Aside from this reticle (which can be hidden by the player), no heads-up display
HUD (video gaming)
In video gaming, the HUD is the method by which information is visually relayed to the player as part of a game's user interface...
exists in the game.
The demo
Game demo
A game demo is a freely distributed demonstration or preview of an upcoming or recently released video game. Demos are typically released by the game's publisher to help consumers get a feel of the game before deciding whether to buy the full version....
for Mirror's Edge, consisting of the game's prologue
Prologue
A prologue is an opening to a story that establishes the setting and gives background details, often some earlier story that ties into the main one, and other miscellaneous information. The Greek prologos included the modern meaning of prologue, but was of wider significance...
chapter, was released via the PlayStation Store
PlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store is an online virtual market available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The Store offers a range of downloadable content both for purchase and available free of charge. Available content includes full games,...
on October 30, 2008, followed by the Xbox LIVE Marketplace
Xbox Live Marketplace
The Xbox Live Marketplace is a virtual market designed for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console that allows Xbox Live members to download purchased or promotional content...
on October 31. On November 7, 2008, DICE announced that Mirror's Edge had achieved gold status
Golden master
In hardware and software development, a golden master is the reference model from which copies are mass-produced. An analogy is made to the production of certain types of physical media...
, and PS3 and Xbox 360 versions would be shipping to retailers on November 13. On January 16, 2009, a Microsoft Windows
Games for Windows
Games for Windows is a brand owned by Microsoft and introduced in 2006 to coincide with the release of Windows Vista. The brand represents a standardized technical certification program and online service for Windows games, bringing a measure of regulation to the PC game market in much the same way...
version of the game was released. The PC version features support for NVIDIA's
NVIDIA
Nvidia is an American global technology company based in Santa Clara, California. Nvidia is best known for its graphics processors . Nvidia and chief rival AMD Graphics Techonologies have dominated the high performance GPU market, pushing other manufacturers to smaller, niche roles...
PhysX
PhysX
PhysX is a proprietary realtime physics engine middleware SDK developed by Ageia with the purchase of ETH Zurich spin-off NovodeX in 2004...
, adding detail and physics to glass, smoke and soft materials. The game includes the SecuROM
SecuROM
SecuROM is a CD/DVD copy protection and digital rights management product developed by Sony DADC. SecuROM aims to resist home media duplication devices, professional duplicators, and attempts at reverse engineering software. It is most often used for commercial computer games running under the...
v7.x (activation based) DRM
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
software, unless bought from Steam.
The game is at the centre of EA's conflict with EDGE Games, a California-based development studio. EDGE Games
EDGE Games
Edge Games is a video game developer and publisher headquartered in Pasadena, California, known for the aggressive reputation of its chief executive and founder, Tim Langdell, in enforcing their trademarks relating to the word "edge"...
is not related to Edge magazine
Edge (magazine)
Edge is a multi-format computer and video game magazine published by Future Publishing in the United Kingdom. It is known for its industry contacts, editorial stance, distinctive anonymous third-person writing style, yearly awards and longevity....
beyond the licensing of its trademark. In September 2009, EA petitioned to have EDGE Games' trademarks cancelled, alleging continued threats of legal action. Tim Langdell, president of EDGE responded by accusing EA of engaging EDGE in settlement talks as a "play for time". Langdell's company claimed true legal ownership of the phrase "Mirror's Edge" among other variations of "Edge".
Marketing campaign
Buyers who pre-ordered Mirror's Edge at Game Crazy received a code that unlocked a time trial portion of the demo, as well as a Mirror's Edge-themed t-shirtT-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
. A time trial code was also included in GameStop
GameStop
GameStop Corporation is an American video game and entertainment software retailer. The company, whose headquarters is in Grapevine, Texas, United States, operates 6,500 retail stores throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New...
preorders, along with a yellow "Runner Bag" resembling the messenger bags used in the game. Preorders from UK retailer GAME
GAME (retailer)
The Game Group plc is a British video games retail company. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index....
included a Mirror's Edge-edition Fenchurch
Fenchurch (clothing)
Fenchurch is a company and brand of skater clothing, based in Acton, London, England. Although a relatively new brand, it has quickly become a significant part of the urban fashion scene.-History:...
t-shirt. The game could also be bought through the Electronic Arts website, where a package deal with a red Timbuk2
Timbuk2
Timbuk2 is a San Francisco-based messenger bags company. It was established in San Francisco in 1989 by former bike messenger Rob Honeycutt. The company was originally named Scumbags, but founder Honeycutt changed the name to Timbuk2 Designs in 1990...
messenger bag was available. The bag featured the game's logo on the outside, while the inside featured a portrait of Faith.
Comics
During Comic-ConComic-Con International
San Diego Comic-Con International, also known as Comic-Con International: San Diego , and commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con, was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by Shel Dorf and a group of San Diegans...
2008, DICE announced it would create a limited-run comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
adaptation of the game together with DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
division WildStorm
WildStorm
WildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, published American comic books. Originally an independent company established by Jim Lee and further expanded upon in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999...
. The six-issue comic is drawn by Matthew Dow Smith
Matthew Dow Smith
Matthew Dow Smith is an American comic book artist.- Bibliography :* Astronauts in Trouble: Live From the Moon #1 and #2* The Book of Fate #11* Day of Judgment #1-5...
and written by Rhianna Pratchett
Rhianna Pratchett
Rhianna Pratchett is a freelance computer games scriptwriter, narrative designer and former journalist...
.
Soundtrack
On October 7, 2008, EA announced the release of a remix album featuring the Mirror's Edge theme song "Still Alive" by Swedish musician Lisa MiskovskyLisa Miskovsky
Lisa Miskovsky is a Swedish musician. Her mother is Finnish and her father is from the Czech Republic.-Biography:...
. Contributing artists included Benny Benassi
Benny Benassi
Marco Benassi , better known as Benny Benassi, is a Grammy Award winning Italian disc jockey and record producer of electro house music. He is best known for his 2002 summer club hit "Satisfaction"...
, Junkie XL
Junkie XL
Tom Holkenborg , better known as Junkie XL or JXL, is a Dutch musician. He uses the name JXL in cases where the term "Junkie" might cause offense. XL is for "Xpanding Limits"....
, Paul van Dyk
Paul van Dyk
Matthias Paul, better known by his stage name Paul van Dyk is a German Grammy Award-winning Electronic Dance Music DJ, musician and record producer...
, Teddybears
Teddybears
Teddybears is a Swedish band formed in 1991, known for mixing pop, rock, hip-hop, electronica, reggae, punk and many other genres.-History:...
and Armand Van Helden
Armand Van Helden
Armand Van Helden is a record producer, DJ and remixer whose biggest commercial successes came from his remixes of the 1996 Tori Amos song "Professional Widow" , which reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in January 1997, and his own track "U Don't Know Me ", which went to number 1...
. Although "Still Alive" is also the name of the closing credits song of 2007 game Portal, the two tracks are unrelated. The album, titled Still Alive – the Remixes, was released on November 11, 2008. The album was included free in the standard game in later releases for all platforms. In May, the Mirror's Edge Original Videogame Score was released in online-only form. The album was composed by Swedish electronic musician Magnus Birgersson
Solar Fields
Solar Fields is the stage name of Swedish electronic music artist Magnus Birgersson. He has released nine albums, and has also scored all interactive in-game music for the Electronic Arts game Mirror's Edge.- History :...
, also known as Solar Fields.
Reception
Mirror's Edge has received mostly positive reviews, with score aggregator MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
reporting scores of 81% for the PC version and 79% for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions. Official Xbox Magazine
Official Xbox Magazine
Official Xbox Magazine is a monthly video game magazine which started in November 2001 around the launch of the original Xbox. A preview issue was released for E3 2001, with another preview issue for November 2001. The magazine is bundled with a disc that includes game demos, preview videos and...
gave the game 9.5 out of 10, praising its "brilliant sense of motion and gameplay". Play awarded it 9 out of 10, while GameTrailers.com
GameTrailers
GameTrailers is a media website that specializes in video game related content. It provides free access to original programming , game trailers and recorded game play. Along with standard definition , many of the video clips are offered in a higher resolution .Users can upload videos, create...
gave it 8.3 out of 10. Computer and Video Games
Computer and video games
A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but following popularization of the term "video game", it now implies any type of...
was also positive, calling it "A brilliant and unique experience, even if the small shooting parts aren't quite up to scratch." IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
awarded the game 8.3 out of 10, calling it a "thrilling and stylish venture", but "the first chapter of a franchise that's still finding its feet." GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
praised the immersive gameplay environments, but criticised the inconsistency of gameplay speed. Ian Bogost of Gamasutra
Gamasutra
Gamasutra is a website founded in 1997 for video game developers. It is owned and operated by UBM TechWeb , a division of United Business Media, and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine Game Developer...
commended the game for being unconventional, calling it "a shooter that makes you hate to shoot".
Edge
Edge (magazine)
Edge is a multi-format computer and video game magazine published by Future Publishing in the United Kingdom. It is known for its industry contacts, editorial stance, distinctive anonymous third-person writing style, yearly awards and longevity....
gave the game 5 out of 10, stating that the levels felt contrived and that there was no true freedom through the levels, merely multiple preordained paths. The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
noted the game's short length, and many reviews criticised the "trial and error
Trial and error
Trial and error, or trial by error, is a general method of problem solving, fixing things, or for obtaining knowledge."Learning doesn't happen from failure itself but rather from analyzing the failure, making a change, and then trying again."...
" nature of the play. Despite giving the game a score of 8 out of 10, Eurogamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
dismissed the storyline as rambling, adding that "[Mirror's Edge] is going to divide audiences down the middle... Some will be able to overlook the gaping flaws, but others will never appreciate its moments of brilliance, and both positions are justifiable... " Other issues raised were the stylistic choice of animated cutscene
Cutscene
A cutscene is a sequence in a video game over which the player has no or only limited control, breaking up the gameplay and used to advance the plot, strengthen the main character's development, introduces enemy characters, and provide background information, atmosphere, dialogue, and clues...
s, and the "cramped" feel of some of the levels.
The developers initially projected a total of three million copies of Mirror's Edge to be sold, but in February 2009, Electronic Arts reported sales of over one million. According to an October 2010 court document pertaining to the legal conflict between EA and Edge Games
EDGE Games
Edge Games is a video game developer and publisher headquartered in Pasadena, California, known for the aggressive reputation of its chief executive and founder, Tim Langdell, in enforcing their trademarks relating to the word "edge"...
(see Mirror's Edge#Development and release), Mirror's Edge has sold more than two million copies worldwide, with more than 750,000 of those copies having been sold in North America. The iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
-compatible version of the game has sold more than 37,000 copies.
Expansions and sequels
On December 4, 2008, EA announced the creation of seven all-new time trial maps for Mirror's Edge, slated for release in January 2009. According to Owen O'Brien, Senior Producer for DICE, “The freedom of movement and control in first person has been the most popular aspect of Mirror’s Edge so we decided to distill these down to their purest form for this map pack... We deliberately chose a more abstract aesthetic that is still within our distinctive art style and then focused on flow and gameplay to create an experience and challenge very different from the main game.” In January 2009, the release date was specified as January 29. The release was delayed until February 19, 2009, when the 'Time Trial Map Pack' was made available as downloadable content for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. An eighth map is available exclusively for the PlayStation 3 version of the game. The time trials DLC has proven to be incompatible with versions of Mirror's Edge purchased from Steam.A side-scrolling
Side-scrolling video game
A side-scrolling game or side-scroller is a video game in which the gameplay action is viewed from a side-view camera angle, and the onscreen characters generally move from the left side of the screen to the right. These games make use of scrolling computer display technology...
browser game
Browser game
A browser game is a computer game that is played over the Internet using a web browser. Browser games can be created and run using standard web technologies or browser plug-ins. Browser games include all video game genres and can be single-player or multiplayer...
interpretation of Mirror's Edge titled Mirror's Edge 2D was released by Electronic Arts in conjunction with independent developer Borne Games. The game is similar to and uses the modified engine of Borne's popular game Fancy Pants Adventures
Fancy Pants Adventures
Fancy Pants Adventures is a series of free side-scrolling Flash games created by Brad Borne. Two worlds have been released so far, World 1 on 14 March 2006 and World 2 on 9 January 2008. Borne had announced that after the 2009 Comic Con, he would officially start working on World 3...
. A one-level beta was released on November 11, 2008, with an expanded three-level beta released on February 24, 2009. The developer's site states that "the full Mirror’s Edge 2D has been released, but we’re still in beta."
A version of Mirror's Edge for the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
and iPod Touch
IPod Touch
The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
was announced on December 2, 2009. It is a side-scrolling game with 3D graphics, featuring 14 levels and dynamic camera angles, and was scheduled for release in January 2010. It was then later revealed that the iPhone and iPod Touch versions were pushed back to an April release. EA Mobile released Mirror's Edge for iPhone and iPod touch on September 1, 2010 priced at $4.99 USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
(£2.99 GBP
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
) but it now costs $0.99 USD (£0.59 GBP). An iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
version was released on April 1, 2010 originally priced at $14.99 USD (£8.99 GBP) but it is currently $9.99 USD (£2.99 GBP).
In October 2008, the game's senior producer, Owen O'Brien, suggested that "the story we're telling at the moment is kind of a trilogy
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
, a three-story arc." In a June 2009 interview with Videogamer.com, EA Games Europe senior vice president Patrick Söderlund confirmed that a sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to Mirror's Edge is in production. In January 2010, Karl-Magnus Trodesson of DICE declined to comment on the sequel, explaining that DICE "[hasn't] officially announced that we're working on it."
In February 2011, it was reported that development on Mirror's Edge 2 had been "stopped" after EA rejected a prototype submitted for a sequel. EA later clarified that they consider Mirror's Edge "an important franchise", but otherwise had no further announcements. EA President Frank Gibeau confirmed on E3 2011 that a sequel is in development, and that it may run on the Frostbite 2 engine.