Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Mirror's Edge, less shooting, more running

"The latest issue of Edge has the scoop on DICE's upcoming first-person action...jumping...thing, Mirror's Edge. First up, it's not a shooter. Instead, influenced heavily by parkour, they're calling it a first-person action adventure. Huge levels will allow you the same kind of free-form exploration and athletic tomfoolery as a game like Tony Hawks or even Crackdown, but with much finer control. Don't think the lumbering cops of Crackdown, think Prince of Persia.

But in first-person. Instead of your character being just a floating camera, like most other FPS games, your whole body is an object in Mirror's Edge. Your legs, arms and torso are visible, allowing you to judge your leaps, handholds and shimmys. Your body will also behave accurately - if you're running at full-speed you'll be able to see your feet taking larger steps and your arms pumping, and this will affect your momentum.

Other bits revealed: you'll play a "runner", member of an overground resistance movement fighting against an oppressive government (over- because the man controls the streets, see). It's coming to PS3, 360 and PC. Guns will play only a minor role. You'll be encouraged to run, not fight. And Edge, having played some early code, feel the simulation of a real, human weight to your character's movements "feels vividly realised in a way that firstperson games commonly don't". All of which sounds pretty great, so let's you and me keep an eye on this one.

Leap of Faith - Edge 178"
Mirror's Edge Sounds Pretty Great
Mirror's Edge being a cyberpunk parkour game?

No comments: