

As the game wears on, you'll get to know about the backstory of Faith and her allies. You'll infiltrate hidden research labs, sneak into communications networks, and indulge in all manner of skullduggery that comes with the territory of being a protagonist with murky past. This sense of variety extends to the missions on hand. If you want to get past most of Mirror's Edge: Catalyst's encounters, varying your approach is most helpful. If you keep mashing the same buttons, you'll soon realise that your attacks are blocked or countered, and that you'll be greeted by a game over screen. Despite a somewhat minimal set of options, it's interesting how varied combat can get thanks to AI that's responsive to every move. Furthermore, you can use your own momentum as well, what with the force of springboarding off a ledge to hit a security guard allowing you to do more damage. You can dodge incoming strikes, move backwards to avoid getting hit, and use heavy and light attacks to even the odds. This is combined with a basic combat system. The controls are every bit responsive as they should be and are flawless, to the point where most deaths are usually due to you not following runner vision (if you have it on) or simply not pressing the right button at the right time. From sliding beneath pipes to scaling walls, it's all enjoyable. Not only does it provide incentive to complete the game's narrative-based levels, but it also introduces you to several nuances as you play along.Īs for the traversal itself - it's pretty smooth. There's a steady stream of unlockable skills as you take on story missions such as being able to turn quickly (or quickturn as its called) or swing between gigantic chasms. What's more is that you'll end up exploring most areas of Glass by the time you're done, which allays our early thoughts that runner vision - the game's navigation feature - would lead you on the straight and narrow, with little else. The story barely drops a beat and there's always something going on. Some of these early segments aren't clearly explained and you will probably fail them a couple of times before you realise what's needed of you, such as an early mission wherein you have to maintain your momentum while running and hitting foes in your way to a location to drop off a delivery.īut once that's over, things pick up quite a bit.

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These include learning how to kick guards into railings, run across many a gap, and simply come to terms with the game world. There's a prolonged cut-scene and some annoying banter along with some necessary tutorialisation that teaches you the basics. Does this change much after an extended playthrough? Well, somewhat.įor one, Mirror's Edge Catalyst's pace picks up quite well after stumbling at the opening. In our preview of the game we noted how its open-world isn't up to scratch and its characters, cringe-worthy.

You don the role of Faith as you traverse the skyline of the city of Glass, dealing with all manner of obstacles and enemies in your path. Mirror's Edge Catalyst is a reboot of Mirror's Edge. It was however, plagued with concerns ranging from a so-so plot to flat out poor navigation where you never quite knew where to go. Taking place in first-person, you'd run and jump across the roof tops and all manner of corridors as Faith, a courier tasked with delivering not so legal goods in a near dystopian future. The first game merged parkour with a uniquely clean aesthetic. After almost a decade, the fine folks at EA have decided that we're ready for another game in the Mirror's Edge franchise.
