Preview: Mirror's Edge (PS3, Xbox 360)

Out this week for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 is another all new IP from EA called Mirror's Edge.  Mirror's Edge is made by EA's DICE studio, which last made a great impression with Battlefield: Bad Company, so I have high hopes for this game.   The game takes place in the future where information has become possibly the most valuable commodity.  Communication in this world is heavily monitored by some sort of totalitarian regime so the only way to get information for one person to another without it being compromised is by what they call "runners".  Runners carry this information and bring it to the people who require it by travelling on foot.  This might not sound very exciting until you see that most of the time, you are travelling by rooftops.  In the game, you play as a runner named Faith (see pic below).  The game's most unique selling point would be the gameplay itself.  The camera is at first person, but it definitely wouldn't be labeled a first person shooter.  This is a first person action adventure.  

A demo version of the game has already been released on both the Playstation Network and Xbox Live.  If you haven't tried it out yet, I highly recommend it.  The demo starts out with you as Faith, recovering from an accident that you had the last time you had a mission.  This is the demo's excuse for teaching you the unique controls scheme.  My biggest surprise is how well the controls actually work.  After an obstacle course or sorts, you head out with a fellow runner and do a sort mission and then the demo ends.  Enemy interactions are quite unique in this game as the most important aspect isn't killing them (though if you acquire a gun you can), but is disarming them.

In the end, I am personally anxious to see the final product of this game.  It is unique and can turn out to be great, but through the demo you can see many areas where the game could POSSIBLY fail.  Let's hope DICE thought all of those areas through and EA can get two great new IPs out in one year (this and Dead Space).  Here is the official trailer.

-CA