14 DAY TRIAL // Innovation is a tough thing to achieve, especially in games. Most developers resort to the same old clichés when it comes to various types of genres, but every once in a while, a game that stuns and dazzles everyone with a very simple approach arrives. Such is Mirror's Edge, which takes platforming and free running, combines them with a first-person view and attracts by its crisp and vibrant surroundings.
After the console versions appeared before the holiday season, the game didn't really register the high sales that Electronic Arts was hoping for, as people preferred the sequels to already popular games over this new and very different one. Now, with the PC version already launched, it seems that the franchise might manage to make a profit, as it comes with a lot of interesting features, like PhysX support, enabling a lot of new graphical improvements to be made.
But is this good enough for your money? Here's our one hour spent with the PC version of Mirror's Edge. Those who want to can check out our impressions of the console version here.
13:00 I start up the game and anticipate quite a lot of trial and error and the sound of Faith being splattered on the asphalt, as I didn't get used to the console version very well.
13:10 Things are going extremely well up until now, as the controls are very well configured, enabling you to do almost all of Faith's moves quite fluidly. Let's see if I can just get through the rest of the tutorial without ending up falling off a building.
13:20 Well, it seems that although I haven't met the asphalt just yet, the guns of the law enforcers are quite damaging to Faith, the small Asian woman that I control. It does seem that the time in which you can grab a weapon from one of your enemies has been decreased, as it takes a few tries to manage to disarm him.
13:30 The combos are quite effective, although I sometimes prefer to have a gun when facing a large number of enemies that I cannot escape from. Let's not forget that this game emphasizes running, not fighting.
13:40 It seems that Faith's life isn't without interesting events, as she must now go and help her sister who, ironically, is a member of the law enforcement. Time to start going around the city again.
13:50 After a few encounters with the “Blues,” I finally arrive in a closed environment. This is where you can truly see the Physx features brought into force, as banners and glass shatter when they are fired upon or slowly move when the wind picks up its pace.
14:00 I finally arrive at Faith’s sister, but it seems that things will get a lot more complicated from now on. There had to be a catch or this game wouldn't have had much of a plot. Without spoiling anything, it seems that Faith has a pretty tough mission ahead of her and it's up to you to guide her to her final goal.
All in all, Mirror's Edge handles very well on the PC, and it seems that the mouse and keyboard setup is much more enjoyable than a console controller. Until the full review will appear soon, happy running with Faith!