At their E3 2013 press conference, Electronic Arts had plenty of surprises in store for gamers. While many of their more high profile announcements had been teased in one way or another, two announcements sent the crowd into a frenzy: Battlefront 3 and Mirror's Edge 2.
Earlier today, we talked a little bit about DICE's approach to Battlefront 3 and our hopes for the game, and now it's time to talk Mirror's Edge. It's been a long time coming for Faith, and apparently that has been for good reason.
According to EA's Patrick Soderlund, Mirror's Edge 2 went through several phases of development, with concepts that looked promising, but eventually the team at DICE decided to stop their work. Then, thanks to the vision of Senior Producer Sara Jansson, the sequel found new life and slowly formed into the product teased during the EA press conference.
This new Mirror's Edge 2 is a next-gen title that takes players back to Faith's roots, and shows her evolution into the character seen in the first game. In part, that means reintroducing the game's free-running mechanics, but it also means a decidedly decreased focus on shooting, which should please fans of the franchise.
As far as the title's next-gen aspirations are concerned, Soderlund reveals that Mirror's Edge 2 would only work on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC, at least without altering the game's core concept. We had actually heard the same thing about next-gen consoles back in June, with EA and DICE saying Mirror's Edge 2 will take the franchise to the "next level," and Soderlund reaffirms it saying:
"It just happened to be a game design that I don't think you can build on an old-gen machine. It doesn't work the way it's designed. And that also appeals to me. We could maybe get it to work on one, but we would have to compromise on too many things. With this we didn't have to."
A lot of Mirror's Edge's experience relies on fluid movements, pristine visuals, and a solid frame rate, so it makes sense that DICE would need the best technology available to make that happen. Moreover, we don't have a firm release date, let alone a release window, for Mirror's Edge 2 so it wouldn't make sense for DICE to target current-gen platforms. For now, however, DICE is only willing to talk about Mirror's Edge 2 in nebulous terms until they decide to show more.
Do you think Mirror's Edge 2 should release on both current-gen and next-gen platforms? Do you like the origin story approach DICE is employing for the game?
Mirror's Edge 2 has no release date, but will be out on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
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Source: Polygon