A video game that has been building buzz of late on the web is MIRROR’S EDGE, an action adventure title from developer EA Digital Illusion CE (DICE) that minimizes standard shooter action within a first-person perspective while emphasizing physical motion and environmental interaction through immersive free-running, acrobatics and martial arts.
The graphics, powered by Epic’s Unreal Engine 3, are stunning but the gameplay may be the real selling point. The player assumes the role of Faith, a female character out to free her sister from a corrupt government. Although she can disarm opponents and wield their weapons, Faith’s real skill is being a “runner” for the criminal underworld. Taught not to trust modern devices, she relies on her physical attributes, chiefly the ability to maneuver through a modern urban landscape using parkour and free-running.
To create a more immersive experience, the game has ditched the standard HUD, with the exception of a small reticule to reduce motion sickness, while tying the camera to Faith’s movements. As she moves in a free-form environment, the camera bobs and even spins through flips. Subtle red visual cues from the game’s “Runner Vision” system tips the player off to possible routes while the player is left to control the necessary momentum in order to successfully navigate through them.
DICE is well known for their popular BATTLEFIELD series of online, first-person shooters but in MIRROR’S EDGE they seek to break out of the first person mold with some more innovative. It looks as though they are well on their way.
MIRROR’S EDGE is being developed for PS3, Xbox 360 and Windows and it set for release by Electronic Arts towards the end of 2008.
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