Strive for freedom in Glass city
Available to download, this action and adventure title from Electronic Arts is full of high-velocity excitement. Affording state of the art three dimensional graphics, the game allows players to run and leap their way to liberty whilst exploring a huge playing area in the form of Glass City. It is designed for several platforms, but the download version is for PC gamers.
Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst in overview
Based on a popular parcour-style game that was launched in 2008, this first person platform-based version is visually stunning. Set in the near future, Faith Connors is the name of the main character that players control. She and her friends are able to get out of the watching eyes of the stringent authorities by running over Glass City’s buildings and urban environment. In a dystopian setting that is reminiscent of George Orwell’s 1984, the Big Brother culture is all encompassing, but you can help Connors to overcome the shackles of control and ultimately set herself free. Not all of the gaming area is available when you first play, but as you progress more and more of it is accessible, helping you to get to know your way around the city in a manageable way. Soon you’ll be stringing together moves in order to outrun opponents or explore new neighborhoods undetected.
Gameplay, action and requirements
There is a great deal going on, visually speaking, in Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst, but the game works perfectly well without any hint of a glitch with either the graphics or the gameplay. The control of Connors can be fine at times, but exhilarating and free-flowing the next moment. Her movements offer an incredible level freedom of movement. You can make her climb up walls, zip down wires or makes huge jumps from one glazed building to the next. Given the huge amount of area that you can explore in this version of the Mirror’s Edge saga, just controlling Connors’ movements makes this a compelling game in its own right. Moreover, when it comes to conflict she as some punishing martial arts skills to pack a punch. Together with her in-depth knowledge of her surroundings, she’s usually able to take out or avoid anything that blocks her path.
In the game, there is plenty to get on with to destroy the authorities’ stranglehold. To help, there are some handy gadgets to locate and make use of. Some help you to avoid capture or get from one location to another without being seen. Others will help you destroy the city’s infrastructure. The game also allows you to interact with other gamers, create time trials or set up leader boards. Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst requires Windows 7 or higher and at least 16 GB worth of disk space. Although it will run on slower processors, it is recommended that you have an Intel Core i7-3770 at 3.4 GHz or something equivalent.
To conclude
This game is visually appealing and there’s plenty for experienced gamers to get excited about. However, the seriousness of the mission that the characters are on does mean that some of the fun factor of simulating parcour is lost. Nevertheless, this is a game with a strong female lead character which many people will enjoy playing.
