now playing: "Mirror's Edge 2D"

Heads-up announcement: There will be one weekly review published on Fridays, starting this week and going through November.

Genre(s): Action

Credits: Electronic Arts & Borne Games, 2008

Today's game has all the benefits of being on a casual platform (your free-to-play browser) while carrying the glamor and prestige of a triple-A console title.

That's because it's an officially approved version of the PlayStation/Xbox/PC title Mirror's Edge, in which you basically do parkour a la FPS while evading the minions of a fascist regime.

Basically, it's the ultimate geek gamer's dream, right up there with the thrilling pace of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time for movie lovers.

While you can finish the level simply by getting from point A to point B, you'll unlock another playing mode by collecting all your courier bags.

And while the browser version of Mirror's Edge undoubtedly has less sophisticated graphics, the amazing adrenaline rush is still there.

Just chillin' up by a skyscraper.

For those not familiar with the Mirror's Edge premise—your PC is one Faith Conners, one of many "runners" employed by various divisions and groups in the general anti-government resistance movement to deliver the only communications unmonitored by the police: good ol' snail mail. While the game's plot—recovering evidence to prove the accused innocent—is interesting enough, the main parkour action is obviously the game's main appeal. The momentum is thrilling. Once you get running, you can't stop at the edge of a building and expect to not fly off into infinity. The most ideal way to play is in a constant state of motion. Running leaps, wall-walking, and sliding are commonly required moves that require a physically realistic amount of conserved energy. If the story doesn't interest you in the least, the valid world physics will more than grab your attention.

Additionally, the multi-layered platform landscape and fast-paced techno melodies revive some Sonic-the-Hedgehog nostalgia for anyone who's played the classic games of that particular franchise. You know the routine: arriba-arriba-Ándale-Ándale and get all the things. It's a tried and true meme of 2D platform games.

Appropriately enough, parkour and free-running activities have a liberating connotation that nicely fits with the whole resistance theme. So it's a great political metaphor, for, like, being a rebel teenager and following your own crowd by flying over roofs and evading guards with lasers.

But honestly, I picked this game because it's just... so... fun. Unequivocally and simply fun.

Checkpoints are absolutely invaluable.

Friday preview: What would xkcd look like if it met an MMORPG?