 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Mirror's Edge
- Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows
- Price: $45-60
- Genre: Action/Adventure
Common Sense Media says
A refreshingly different take on first-person action.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this action game can be played without firing a weapon at all. But if you want to, Faith, the heroine, can aim and fire a gun, killing enemies who are after her, including the oppressive police force of this futuristic city. Blood can be seen when shooting targets and they fall to the ground in a lifelike fashion, but there is no gore or excessive violence. Faith can also punch, kick, and slide into enemies to cause them to trip, or disarm them to get their weapon. What makes this game interesting is the camera perspective -- you play as the strong female character and view the world by looking over her shoulder as she wall-jumps, slides under barriers, leaps across chasms to land on ledges, and performs other heart-stopping feats. Players who suffer from acrophobia (fear of heights) or vertigo may have trouble playing this action adventure.
What's it about?
An action game played from a first-person perspective is usually considered a "shooter," those popular run-and-gun video games, such as the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare or Halo titles, where the protagonist roams through the world toting all types of weapons. Now, Sweden's EA DICE studio is offering this first-person perspective in an action game with MIRROR'S EDGE. In Mirror's Edge you play as Faith, a "runner," or information courier, in a world where all communication is tightly monitored by the state. Your job is to act as a messenger between those who oppose the state's control over people's lives. By traversing rooftops and alleyways and navigating through underground waterways, you'll perform your tasks while remaining undetected by the "Blues," or police, as well as cameras and other monitoring equipment. After the tutorial and prologue, you also learn about Faith's twin sister, Kate, who was framed for a murder she didn't commit.
Played entirely from a dizzying first-person perspective, players control the agile Faith as she navigates through the city by running across ledges, climbing ladders, jumping from roof to roof, shimmying across ledges, and sliding down ziplines. Gamers might liken it to a Prince of Persia experience, but from a different view of the action.
Is it any good?
Mirror's Edge is an exciting, immersive -– and for the most part, non-violent –- video game. What's fun is that while you'll have many missions to complete, how you go about it might vary from player to player. For example, in one memorable scene early on in the game, you're being chased by police in a building, with bullets whizzing past your ears. You can choose to frantically climb the staircase and find a hiding spot behind some boxes, climb up onto a shelf and find an opening to an air vent to crawl through, or kick open a door to the roof, hop over an electric fence and run like mad. While you're encouraged not to use weapons in the game (in fact, you can unlock a special Xbox 360 Achievement or PlayStation 3 Trophy for not firing them) it is possible to pick up and fire a gun, if you like. Otherwise, our heroine will punch or kick to confront baddies and disarm them.
Another fascinating aspect of this game is that along with the main campaign, there is a special Race mode. While playing in Race mode, you're dropped back into the city and can compete against other Mirror's Edge players to see who has the best time; every move throughout the obstacle courses is recorded and your time trials appear as red silhouettes of your character for others to beat. There are a few minor issues, such as some moves are hard to pull off (such as hopping between two walls) and the first-person view can make it tough to know when to jump from one building to another, but overall, Mirror's Edge is a fantastic first-person adventure worth every dime. But be forewarned: those who feel nausea from watching first-person films like Cloverfield or anyone who suffers from acrophobia (fear of heights) or vertigo might want to forego this dizzying adventure.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the concept behind this interesting game, about a society that slowly became increasingly controlled by the government. Why is it that we periodically see Orwellian-like worlds similar to this one appear in literature, movies, and games? Do you think new technology developments such as survellience cameras, GPS phones, passports with computer chips, and satellite imagery make people wonder about the possibility of government abuse?
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AGE
Good but HARD!
Firstly, this is a hard game! Thats mostly why I set the age so high. Its really challenging; most kids will find this hard to master. I'd even venture to say a twelve year old, unless they are experienced with gaming, might struggle.
Great graphics, its an experimental parkour game that really did what no first person game has ever done before. There is violence, but very little is done by you. And there isn't that much, honestly....most of the time, you are running away from a kind of "Big Brother" governemnt that sends police to shoot you, and you disarm and run from them. You can also shoot back...but gameplay makes this exceedingly difficult usually and your best bet is to run.
Lot of fun. Not the best game I've ever played, but something completely new and certainly worth it, certainly. Difficult though. This is a hard game towards the end. Your kid will need really good fine motor skills and problem solving in order to get anywhere here.
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AGE
Good for 10+
Basically I like the game, it's kinda hard to get used to the controlls but overall its a 5/5 No blood, if any, very little. If you're getting hurt there will be a red area that indicates where you're being harmed from. Basically you're a "runner" They do Parkour and Free-Running from building to building. You're goal is to grab packages from one place to another without dying or getting caught by the enemy. Honestly if you're iffy about this game. Download the Demo on the PS3. It teaches you what you're basically going to do. It involves real Parkour/Free-Running stunts and actions professionals use. Search up Parkour on youtube or Google if you still don't understand what this game is about.
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AGE
Its iffy
It earned its teen rating by having alot of s words in there and when you shoot the enemy like said above for watch out for violence you get a almost cartoon blood when shooting an enemy but you use your fists and feet more than a gun. Great game though
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AGE
Running around is fun!
This is a great free running game. The violence is nothing serious. Its got a bit of blood, kicking and shooting. But its actually fine. You run at someone kick the gun out of the hand then shoot them. There is not much blood, and its more like paint anyway. Its got a lot of language, not serious ones but they are frequent. Its just not a bad game blood wise. Its a lot of fun though.
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AGE
Good but hard.
The only reason it's a high age rating is because of the fact that this game is HARD. It's almost like an 8-bit side scroller in the fact that it's pretty frustrating. Language may be an issue (obscenities spew out occasionally), and "bullet-time" events may be a teeny bit violent, but it's pretty safe for anyone 14 up. It's not a very violent game, but violent enough to take issue. Otherwise, it's a beautiful game with a pretty good running mechanic.
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AGE
Definetely worth getting, and the violence is AN ILLUSION.
If you are looking for a first person shooter, that isn't actually very violent, then there would be two games that I would suggest-Portal and Mirror's Edge.
The game is big, expansive, and cheap(at least for the PC[20$!]). The story is so good it could even be put into a movie!
The gameplay is unique, and even though there is violence, the least of it is what Faith dishes out(at least while you're playing as her.)Most of it is by The Blues and some other characters.
Another thing that I found saddening is that the only blood appears in cutscenes,(seeing people that were murdered or be murder) and not when you actually shoot people. But, when you are shot, a red splat(you guessed it)appearson the screen where you just were shot.
The only other violence that I would say is that when Faith gets killed in a certain manner, she falls on the ground, lifts up her hand, then drops it.
The REAL reason that this game is rated T is because of all of the SWEARING. Yes, ALL of the SWEARING. Da-n, Sh-t, A-s, Hell, plus some Screwed and others that I am forgetting.
However, the worst part would be that most of the characters swear.
Overall, this game is one to buy. Oh yeah-If you can, get it for the Xbox or PS3, cause physics don't work on the PC.
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AGE
Excellent. Pure Excellence. Parents Please Read.
I purchased this game on my 12th birthday, and found it to be fantastic. The great detail in visuals, combined with the quality of sound and realist feel of the gameplay really enhance the game. The language definitely is not an issue. There is only one case when the word S**t is heard, and several minor cases where d**n, and a** are heard. The violence is not bad at all, though there are cases where police and guards are shooting at you, and you do have to defeat several enemies (with either hand-to-hand combat or firepower) the blood is not an issue. There is only one case in the game were, for a moment, minor gore can be seen when you arrive at the site of a level, in a cutscene. You play as a heroic female trying to free her city from a corrupt government, but surprisingly, the game environment is not dark or "evil" seeming in any way. The gameplay itself is absolutely amazing. The main character is a freerunner, and most of the game you are moving across buildings, jumping from rooftops, and running on walls in a very realistic, Parkour-like fashion. The intricate level design, excellent voice acting, and amazing gameplay make this game one of the best game out there. I would highly recommend this game to anyone, it is great.
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AGE
Great game!!!
Maybe there is some swear words but this game is one of a kind, great graphics and brilliant gameplay, also, the main charictor (sorry if i spelt that wrong) faith is a great rolemodel for yound girls to stick up for what they thing is good, but dont try theese stunts at home!!! 12+
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Kid, 12 years old
August 27, 2009
AGE
It is cool cool cool!!!
This game is one of the coolest games it is action packed with punching kicking you name it!
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| Platforms: | Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows |
| Available online? | Not available online |
| Genre: | Action/Adventure |
| Developer: | Electronic Arts |
| Release date: | November 11, 2008 |
| Price: | $45-60 |
| ESRB rating: | T for Blood, Language, Violence |
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