Despite seeing it over and over again at E3 I didn’t get a chance to play Mirror’s Edge until PAX. I was starting to become sick of seeing the same level ad nausem, beginning to become annoyed with the environment that made me fall in love with the game originally. The white rooftops, blue skies, and red pipes that originally lured us all in had become old, and it became strange that they never showed off anything else. At PAX I was a little upset to see that it was the only level on display, but when I played it I realized these issues were only temporary, and the game is too fun and cool to worry about redundancy of marketing.

The controls are jarring at first, and it might surprise you to know that there isn’t actually a jump button. That’s right, the parkour title for next-generation is actually without a traditional jumping command. Instead the left buttons are assigned to two simple ideas: up and down. Up will jump, climb, and vault over obstacles while down will slide under pipes and into enemy’s legs. Both can be used in conjunction with the attack button to combat the game’s many enemies, though that isn’t the focus. The focus is speed, running, and finding the best path to get from point-a to point-b.

Original videos frightened me, looking far too linear for the game’s concept to work. Thankfully, these problems don’t actually translate to gameplay issues. There is definitely a path you are supposed to follow, and certain ways that might be the best ways to get there, but there absolutely isn’t just one way. Even if you need to end at a certain point there are dozens of ways to get there, and you can choose to either attack or avoid any guards in your way. The combat is actually a lot better than I thought, and it is fun to slide kick a guard in the groin or disarm someone and take a few pistol shots at them. It isn’t the focal point of the game, obviously, but it isn’t half-assed.

It isn’t finished, but for the first time I feel that it’s possible that the game might actually make its 2008 release date. Bugs and slowdowns were very minimal, and I am more optimistic for the game having actually gotten a hands on. Look forward to more Mirror’s Edge news in the near future as the game’s release date rapidly (maybe) approaches.  

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