Hands-On: Mirror's Edge (PS3)

Few games in recent memory have brought out a really awesome game mechanic that changes an ordinary puzzle or adventure title to something unique and innovative. Last year's Portal comes to mind. We got a chance to see Mirror's Edge in action, and while it's too early place bets, we're thinking it might just be the next big hardcore brain-twister.

On the surface, Mirror's Edge is a puzzle game. Your goal is to get from point A to point B, navigating factories, avoiding snipers, and making your way to the end of the level. One analog stick is movement, the other is camera. The L1 and L2 makes Faith jump/climb or slide/roll depending on context. Looks simple? Read on.

The killer feature in Mirror's Edge is momentum. Building up momentum enables Faith - a government-wanted runner who delivers messages between some very questionable people - to perform physics-defying stunts such as leaping across gigantic gaps and running across vertical walls for short distances. This Matrix-like mechanic forces players to look at their surroundings in a whole new way. The building you see across the street? Good luck making that jump in any other first-person game. In Mirror's Edge however, you can take a running start that will actually give you enough momentum to leap across.

In fact, if you time your actions well enough, you can leap across to that building, ground-slide underneath a set of pipes, and use a set of solar panels as a launching point onto a rooftop entrance in one swift go, no stopping involved. We've seen it happen.

The game isn't all about skirting around at the speed of Sonic the Hedgehog, however. Certain areas require more precise control - walking across a thin pipe at 10 stories high, for example. Since Mirror's Edge is presented with no heads-up display, no health bars or maps, it uses the color red to help guide you in the right direction.

The developers explained that they are showing the player what Faith sees - as a runner, she can detect certain platforms or railings that are reachable and thus, helpful in progressing through the levels. Those platforms and railings are highlighted in red for the player (although you have the ability to turn off the coloring if you prefer relying on your own intuition). It's a sleek way of guiding the player through the environment.

Players are also able to slow down time for short bursts, which allows for more accurate maneuvers, giving you a few seconds while you're jumping midair to aim for that red pipe across the alleyway, for example.

In the spirit of keeping the screen free from game icons and status bars, Mirror's Edge also employs automatic health regeneration as in other first person games such as Call of Duty 4. There's no health bar - if Faith is injured, the colors on the screen fade until she is able to 'rest' and regenerate.

This brings us to combat. Since Faith is essentially a fugitive, you'll encounter armed guards and snipers through your missions. Although you can't stock up on guns and ammunition, you can attack an enemy and use their weapon until you run out of bullets. The key is to isolate a guard and then disarm them by kicking or punching them (hint: you can slow down time here to execute really sweet attacks), after which you can grab their gun. Being able to shoot has a price, however - Faith can't run as fast while she's armed.

Which is fine - this game isn't about getting awesome weapons and tracking down enemies. In fact, the game's developer says you can make it through the entire game without killing a single guard. Rumor has it they're making it an actual achievement.

From what we've seen, Mirror's Edge has fairly large world to explore, and the gameplay is a breath of fresh air that promises that we'll have a good time exploring. The game is due out later this year - make sure you check back on GameDaily for more on this slick game.