Leading up to Electronic Arts' E3 2015 Press Conference, there had been tons of rumors and speculation about what kind of gameplay could be expected from Mirror's Edge Catalyst. While many of us had known that the developers wanted to create a much larger world and refine the combat system, there wasn't much to go on other than the game's title. And in lieu of actual gameplay, EA showed off an announcement trailer with a glimpse into the life of the free-running Faith prior to the initial installment in the series, Mirror's Edge.

After watching the footage, fans noticed that Faith didn't shoot a gun once during the trailer. While it's an interesting detail, the absence of her firing a weapon isn't too surprising, as the first Mirror's Edge dissuaded players from foraying into gunplay. However, the game did actually allow the use of guns, albeit sparingly. Bearing that in mind, fans were curious if the prequel would be firearm-free, or if it would transition more into the style of a first-person shooter. Now, DICE's senior producer Sara Jansson has confirmed that gun combat will be removed from Mirror's Edge Catalyst entirely.

While discussing the abolition of firearms in the game, Jansson has declared, "In Mirror's Edge Catalyst, you won't be using any guns at all. We've completely removed that aspect of the game. You can't even pick them up.” Nonetheless, Faith will still need to defend herself against a lot of enemies wielding rifles and sidearms, so EA and developer DICE has come up with a fighting method that focuses on melee combat. Regarding the new battle system, Jansson says:

“Faith will fight, but she doesn't kill. Now the fighting is more of an extension of the movement. It builds on the flow. . . . When Faith is in flow, when she stitches together move after move without failing and keeps her momentum going, she's actually invulnerable to bullets.”

With news of the combo-chaining momentum feature being included, it seems as if the developers at Electronic Arts and DICE are turning Faith into some sort of a superhero via her mastery of free-running. Yet despite the fact that she can't run as fast as The Flash, her evasive maneuvers are certainly going to be quick enough to dodge a bullet.

Although a lot of gamers would agree that Mirror's Edge was nowhere near perfect, its parkour-centric gameplay was certainly distinct, and if anything, the feature gave the game a unique advantage over its competitors. And be that as it may, even the title's co-story designer and writer Rhianna Pratchett has admitted to game flaws. With any luck, Electronic Arts and DICE have honed in on the previous entry's problems, and have fine-tuned them in order to make Mirror's Edge Catalyst truly soar.

Will the absence of the ability to fire a gun in Mirror's Edge Catalyst discourage you from buying the game? If so, do you believe that it might not be possible for a game's combat system to rely on melee alone?

Mirror's Edge Catalyst launches into action February 26, 2015.

Source: Polygon