When I first saw Mirror's Edge I was instantly taken by it's 'true' FPS nature. Everything is done through the eyes of the the game's lead named Faith, which can be a little disorientating at times. The more I heard of this game however the more I was put off. It seemed less and less like a FPS and more like a wall running simulator. I was still optimistic and downloaded the demo from PSN last night. After playing that, I once again and very excited about the game.

Read more to find out why...
The game looks great. Not just because the graphics are nice and crisp but because there is a certain quality about the art style. The fact that everything does look clean, white and crisp really emphasizes certain elements that make the game work so well. Like the red highlighted indicators of what can be grabbed, climbed on etc. The intro movie is simplified even further to a vector style animation which looks and animates really well. I would have actually preferred the whole game be done in this style as it would have made it more unique and possibly further it from the FPS confusion.

The first person view is very effective and does a great job of making you feel as if you are Faith, running, jumping and fighting (a little) through this futuristic urban landscape. It reminds me a little of Crackdown when jumping from one object to the next in order to reach a higher objective. I think that's what this game is all about – platforming. To me, I'd say this game is a first person platformer and a pretty good – if unforgiving – one at that.

fWhich brings me onto my 'annoyances' with the gameplay. The very first jump I had to do led to my demise because I didn't judge the space properly and know when exactly to jump. This happened a lot and at one stage I kept repeating a jump because the angle of which I approach wasn't quite right. It's unfortunate that it needs to be so specific as I think it could put a lot of people off. It reminded me a little to the first Turok for the N64. That had areas where you had to make very accurate jumps and caused gamers a lot of grief! But it is worth persevering with the controls of Mirror's Edge as when you do get it right, it's a great feeling.

The combat is a very basic punch or kick to your foe. Seeing as the game is based around the idea of 'high things and low things' you can either high punch and kick or low punch and kick. This can be done when either running or jumping of walls etc to add more elements to the fighting system. You can also disarm the enemies and use their weapons against them but you are encouraged to run away from a fight – another nice touch as it allows you to use the environment more to avoid battles rather than running head first into them.

The UI is equally slick and faux-futurism with some nice use of typography. Just after the tutorial you have an in-game cut scene where you're running across rooftops giving you a good look at the city from above. Much like GTA4, the type for the intro credits is presented next to buildings etc forming its own landscape (being a designer that impresses me!).

Over all the demo shows real promise. What we're playing now is a good indication of how the game will be when complete. My interest and excitement has been restored for Mirror's Edge and personally can't wait for 14th November when it will be appearing in our stores.