With parallels to the original and awesome XBox 360 game, Mirror's Edge on the iPad is a whole new gaming experience that is more about timing and rhythm as opposed to the frustration which unfortunately plagued the higher end console to some extent.

In Mirror's Edge on the iPad, gamers play the role of Faith, a nubile and attractive young lady who takes the art of Parkour to a whole new extreme level as she jumps, rolls and kicks her way to victory. Unfortunately in this future world, society is controlled by a totalitarian government who frown upon those who do not conform.

This government also uses undue force to keep its citizens under control but thankfully there is a small resistance who oppose them. This is where Faith comes into the picture, a courier who has been hired to transport secret information throughout the city in order undermine the government as you race against the clock, jumping across buildings, running up walls as you use the innovative functionality of the iPad.

As opposed to the first person shooter style of the original game, Mirror's Edge on the iPad is side scrolling arcade platform game that actually works quite well with this premise. The control system of the game is simplicity at its best as you swipe up to jump or swipe down to duck and slide. By swiping more, it forces Faith to jump further and some levels require you to tilt the iPad in order to gain more speed or to retain your balance.

Apart from navigating the environment, you also need to fight a variety of police/government foes which requires some timing as you knock them over via kicks or slides with a touch of Matrix bullet time thrown into the mix. Thankfully the gameplay starts quite slow and there is a great tutorial in the initial parts of the game to teach you the ins and outs. Then you have helicopters who try to shoot you down. If you do happen to die, there are plenty of checkpoints to restart and as you progress, some levels do become quite tricky such as double jumps up walls and the like... frustration also plays a part of the iPad version, albeit a healthy one.

Once you have completed the single-player game or require a breather, there are some fun multiplayer modes that include Race and Rivals. Race basically forces you and a friend through a particular environment and you need to beat the other person's time, whereas Rivals requires you to find hidden items in the environment in a first in best dressed type of fair. It's fun but not as entertaining as the single-player mode. And then add the ability to play with another person using one iPad and that's a pretty cool game for a long flight.

Graphically, Mirror's Edge is a great looking game on the iPad with some very well made environments... city looks fantastic. Faith is well animated and is quite realistic at times as she rolls, jumps and takes out her enemies. There is a real sense of vertigo as you race atop roof tops which actually makes you feel like you are high above the city. The soundtrack is a little lacklustre as are the sound effects but fortunately the gameplay and graphics more than makes up for this.

In the end, Mirror's Edge is a addictive arcade romp as you roll, jump and tilt your iPad as you get drawn into the intuitive and fun gameplay.  It's a perfectly designed game from the bottom up with impressive graphics and if EA continues to create games like this, than iPad users are in for a whole world of entertainment.

Brilliant!