Review
Played on: Xbox OneReleased: 2016
It's been a while since we all ran about the clean, minimalist, city rooftops of Mirror's Edge. Over eight years ago in fact. Developed by Swedish DICE, of Battlefield fame, the original game gained a lot of publicity for it's innovative gameplay and creative setting back in 2008. A running game if you like, born out of the growing parkour popularity from YouTube. Taking what Assassin's Creed was early to deliver, a step or five further.
While it mostly received positive reviews in general and praise for delivering something else in the first person genre than just shooting and commercially did strong with over two million copies sold, it did not start spark the beginning of a huge new IP for Electronic Arts. Busy with their various Battlefield developments, DICE put the franchise on hold for years.
Last year though, Mirror's Edge resurfaced and at the same time rebooted itself. Nothing lost as such, since the original story was a weak and forgettable offering. Catalyst is the title for the new Mirror's Edge and it retains it's main character Faith. Judging by it's rapid fall in price and the fact I bought it the same year with 75% off, maybe gives an indication that the franchise never will become massive.
I really enjoyed the first game, it's one of the best ones to come out of the last generation of consoles. However, it's one of those games that left me with the question: "Do I really need more of this?". It sort of started something new and fantastic and ended it at the same time. Along with lots of other titles to play, Catalyst ended up falling to the back of my wishlist and out of my memory.
Just before Christmas last year I spotted it on sale and finally decided to give it a chance. I had loved the original after all.
What struck me immediately with Catalyst is how little has changed, yet there's a fundamental difference to the game world. The whole concept has been modernised into something brand new. The gameplay is very much alike: you use the shoulder buttons to jump and slide, while combinations with other buttons let you turn mid-air, land softly etc.
Incorporated is a leveling system which at first gives you a fairly limited set of moves. Upgrading your moveset lets you traverse the world in a more advanced fashion and reach areas previously inaccessible. This unlocking system is perfect for newcomers as they're slowly introduced to new moves. It's also works as an incentive to complete side missions and collect XP orbs scattered around challenging places to reach.
While visually it's far more diverse this time around, with real time lighting shifting beautifully from day to night, the actual open world sandbox setting is where Catalyst shines technically. It fits perfectly with the old Mirror's Edge style.
Sure, the first game had a few varied settings it threw you into, but each level was basically a linear route from A to B. This time, you can choose the route that suits your style the best. Allowing the player to become far more creative with their parkour traversal. There's also buildings to go inside, either to pass through or to explore on your way to a destination, giving the city a more believable volume.
Running on the Frostbite 3 engine to DICE, Catalyst holds a fairly steady 60fps, with some minor stuttering occurring when new areas are loaded in. The high framerate helps the controls and movement responsive and faster. It's nice to see DICE focusing on delivering 60fps as a priority over resolution this generation.
Running on the Frostbite 3 engine to DICE, Catalyst holds a fairly steady 60fps, with some minor stuttering occurring when new areas are loaded in. The high framerate helps the controls and movement responsive and faster. It's nice to see DICE focusing on delivering 60fps as a priority over resolution this generation.
Sadly though, the Xbox One version I played runs at a quite blurry dynamic 720p to 900p image, I suspect it mostly is 720p. Hiding a lot for the finer details from distance. I could imagine running this on a high spec PC in higher resolutipon will really make it shine.
Update: The Xbox Series S/X will run this title at 120fps, and mostly max it's dynamic resolution at 900p at all time!
Just like the first game, I'm glad to see Catalyst distancing itself from shooting. Focusing on giving the player only melee fighting as an option. Although fights were avoidable in the first game, the fighting in Catalyst is forced within story encounters, with some boss battles being really tricky. The key to succeed these hand-to-hand combat segments, is moving around consistently, never standing still for long.
Just like the first game, I'm glad to see Catalyst distancing itself from shooting. Focusing on giving the player only melee fighting as an option. Although fights were avoidable in the first game, the fighting in Catalyst is forced within story encounters, with some boss battles being really tricky. The key to succeed these hand-to-hand combat segments, is moving around consistently, never standing still for long.
It's about avoiding being shot and delivering some hard hitting attacks combined with jumps. The upgrade system, I mentioned earlier, lets you increase your combat skills and tolerate more damage. At times though, the combat can be frustratingly hard, be warned.
Sure, Catalyst has it's issues. Firstly, there's nothing fundamentally game changing here. It's basically the original Mirror's Edge gameplay set in an open world with a few new moves and a vastly upgraded combat system thrown in. Yet, this type of gameplay isn't really utilised in other titles, so it still manages to feel fresh. Secondly, while the presentation in cutscenes looks fantastic and the voice acting is great, the actual story is incredibly bland, once again.
I really didn't care for it's generic "evil corporation meets rebel group" scenario, the world simply didn't pull me in enough to care for it or the people within. Perhaps here lies the ultimate problem, carried over from the previous release: without an incentive to return to it's story and learn more of it's lore, once again, I'm left lacking an incentive for hope of a sequel. At least this time there's quite a bit of open world stuff to collect and keep you playing after the story ends.
If you're new to Mirror's Edge then this is where to start. Unless you're really wanting to dig in, you can simply skip the original and have almost the exact same experience in a modernised and larger package. I'd wager to say though, even after numerous years, the Mirror's Edge gameplay is still unique and unlike most other titles. If you're more a linearity fan and want a more straightforward approach, consider the original game though.
I went into Catalyst thinking it was just more of the same, and in a way it was, but it showed actually how good the original was. Catalyst modernises that fond memory of the original into something larger and modern. I enjoyed the gameplay once again, was underwhelmed by the story once again, but left a happy gamer at the end of the day.
Recommended as a different gameplay experience, but it may not be everyone's cup of tea.
Sure, Catalyst has it's issues. Firstly, there's nothing fundamentally game changing here. It's basically the original Mirror's Edge gameplay set in an open world with a few new moves and a vastly upgraded combat system thrown in. Yet, this type of gameplay isn't really utilised in other titles, so it still manages to feel fresh. Secondly, while the presentation in cutscenes looks fantastic and the voice acting is great, the actual story is incredibly bland, once again.
I really didn't care for it's generic "evil corporation meets rebel group" scenario, the world simply didn't pull me in enough to care for it or the people within. Perhaps here lies the ultimate problem, carried over from the previous release: without an incentive to return to it's story and learn more of it's lore, once again, I'm left lacking an incentive for hope of a sequel. At least this time there's quite a bit of open world stuff to collect and keep you playing after the story ends.
If you're new to Mirror's Edge then this is where to start. Unless you're really wanting to dig in, you can simply skip the original and have almost the exact same experience in a modernised and larger package. I'd wager to say though, even after numerous years, the Mirror's Edge gameplay is still unique and unlike most other titles. If you're more a linearity fan and want a more straightforward approach, consider the original game though.
I went into Catalyst thinking it was just more of the same, and in a way it was, but it showed actually how good the original was. Catalyst modernises that fond memory of the original into something larger and modern. I enjoyed the gameplay once again, was underwhelmed by the story once again, but left a happy gamer at the end of the day.
Recommended as a different gameplay experience, but it may not be everyone's cup of tea.
