It'd be surprising if the objectives started branching out after a few hours of play, but Catalyst's opening hours don't do much to excite. Sadly, the objectives don't seem to help much: most of the early game is spent running around and picking up keys. Mirror's Edge was always about running from one objective to the next in the quickest way possible, and the level design of the original game complemented that perfectly.Ĭreating an open world that does something similar isn't impossible, but it's not an easy task, either - and, from what the beta showed, there are definitely some rough spots in Catalyst's design. The world itself is gorgeous, with tons of tiny details and places to explore, but this design also goes against the nature of the gameplay. The open world also feels like a strange mechanic. Granted, some of the upgrades do look like they'll be a lot of fun to play around with, but most gamers would probably want fewer upgrades that change the game in interesting ways, rather than dozens of superfluous unlockables. However, there are upgrades in Mirror's Edge: Catalyst that feel entirely arbitrary. Look, there's nothing wrong with RPG-esque progression systems in games - they're basically everywhere these days. In other games, defensive rolling is a way to avoid taking damage, but in Mirror's Edge, rolling is essential to keeping your momentum going. The sense of momentum and movement in Mirror's Edge: Catalyst is as good, if not better than that of the original game - but it's a shame that the game throws some unnecessary roadblocks in the way.Īnyone who played the original game will know how important rolling was. Faith's new moves, like swinging around corners, feel like natural extensions of the first game's mechanics. Combat still slows things down a bit too much, but much like the first game, almost every single encounter can be skipped. The controls have been slightly tweaked since the first game, allowing for more maneuvers with fewer buttons to worry about - and, once you get a handle on them, running through Mirror's Edge: Catalyst's beautifully dystopian world is just as fun as it was on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.Īs was the case with the first game, there's simply nothing else like Mirror's Edge: the thrill of running along a wall, reaching for a handhold and barely clearing a gap is something that's still woefully underrepresented in the industry. Most of the gameplay carries over from the original game, with a few enhancements thrown in for good measure - but, with a new open-world structure and optional mission objectives, EA has created some entirely new problems that could end up slowing the game down.įirst things first: the most important aspect of the game, parkour, is still an absolute blast to mess around with. Thankfully, Mirror's Edge: Catalyst largely feels like a step in the right direction.