Xbox Gaming in South Africa

I've finally had a chance to play Mirror's Edge with the release of the demo on Xbox Live Marketplace, and I have to say it's living up to the hype. At first, the sound of a game based on jumping around roof tops didn't have that much appeal, but Mirror's Edge not only succeeds in making it fun and enjoyable, it does it in style.

You play as Faith, a runner for the criminal world, whose goal is to save her little sister from a totalitarian regime. It's all about taking in amazing visuals, while gracefully completing aerial maneuvers and delivering your packages in a given time frame. Although the demo was short, it gives you the opportunity to become accustomed to the controls and do a short mission. At first you stumble around while completing the tutorial, but the simple controls, along with a flexible timing mechanism, allows players to quickly and easily get the hang of Faith's abilities. You soon become aware that this is not a shooter, but rather a stealth/evasion game. There's nothing stopping you from disarming your enemy and firing off a few rounds, but it's not easy to down someone with a weapon, not to mention the aiming reticle is there to address simulation sickness rather than to help you rack up kills.

It's a great feeling when pull off a difficult jump, and the time-trial mode will surely be a fun way to challenge your friends. A small concern is whether or not the gameplay will become frustrating after many hours of play. The all important spawn points will play a big role as it's easy to lose your footing, and well, that ain't good when you're on a 50 story building. However, playing through the demo I found the spawn points forgiving, which will cut down on lengthy repetition. The story will also play a big role in its success, but they seem to have their bases covered with the addition of Rhianna Pratchett, who has written scripts for Dungeon Hero, Overlord and Heavenly Sword to name a few.

All in all, it looks like EA has produced a winner from the dullest sounding game ever. But seriously though, this game has some great potential to be one of the best of 2008. Another pre-order coming up!