Wednesday 19th November 2008

VIDEO: PC version of Mirror’s Edge features hardware PhysX

Posted at: 2:40pm 19th November 2008 by Ben Hardwidge

This time there’s a reason why the PC version has been delayed over the console versions

If you’ve become an envious green-eyed monster after seeing the shelves full of Mirror’s Edge boxes for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in the shops, knowing that the PC version won’t be out until next year, then we’ve got some news that might ease your pain. Rather than making a poor man’s port from the console versions for the PC game, DICE has decided to massively improve the PC version of Mirror’s Edge, which will include hardware PhysX acceleration.

Owen O’Brien, senior producer at DICE, explained the move, saying that 'PhysX technology affords us the ability to bring a totally new level of immersion to the game, and by doing so, gamers can truly become part of the world.' Nvidia’s vice president of its GeForce desktop business, Ujesh Desai, added that the PC version will feature ‘greater freedom of movement, including sliding under barriers, tumbling, wall-running, and shimmying across ledges—all within an environment that is dynamic and immersive, delivered in part by our PhysX technology.’

As such, owners of GeForce 8-series cards and above will be able to enable the PhysX effects in the game with hardware acceleration. Nvidia says the PhysX will include ‘real affects of wind, weapons impact, and in-game movements.’ As well as this, Nvidia claims that ‘everyday objects within the game become part of the overall experience. Cloth, flags, and banners can now impact weapons and players; ground fog interacts with the player’s footsteps; explosions fill the air with smoke and debris; and weapon impacts are enhanced with interactive particles.’

It sounds as though PhysX is going to change the way in which the game works quite a lot, and that we’re not just talking about eye candy. Hence, we’re not entirely sure how this will affect gamers with non-PhysX hardware. We put the question to Nvidia, who pointed out that you can still enable PhysX in software, but it will be slower because it will run on the CPU. We’ll let you know more details about this when we have them.

Penned by British games journo (and former Custom PC hack), Rhianna Pratchett, Mirror’s Edge tells the story of Faith; an acrobatic courier who delivers confidential information via the city rooftops and aerial skyways to avoid being detected. Nvidia describes the PC version as ‘eye-popping’ and we’re looking forward to having a play on it. In the meantime, check out the new trailer for the PC version below, which shows some of the PhysX effects in action.

More images for this article:

Mirror's Edge PhysX screenshot

Submit to:

Slashdot | Digg | Stumbleupon | Del.icio.us
Reddit | Technorati

Print-friendly version

Comments

I managed to source from a frend the mirrors edge game for pc due to be released on the 13th. it runs verry smooth on 2X 280 gfx, and is great with ma 360 controller. but its a tad bit short. i thought it wud be longer. but dont let that stop u buying it, its a great 1st person adventure, but not 1 for shoot em ups.

Comment by Trikadoc at 3:30pm 6th January 2009

Report comment

ugh

yeah, the graphics look pretty rectilinear (always wanted to use that outside of work), the only thing that shows this isn't a 90's game is the lighting... when you look down on the street, there's some pretty impressive variation and subtlety in the shadows.

Comment by NewParadigm at 6:15pm 24th November 2008

Report comment

I really like Mirror's Edge. It's something original for a change, feels more like a racing game on foot than an FPS or platformer. Will be interesting to see what the PC version adds, they certainly have scope to up the ante with the graphics given the available hardware.

Comment by Grotmonkey at 3:18am 21st November 2008

Report comment

Isn't this being released by EA? does anyone know the crack with the DRM this time around? http://www.electronicarts.co.uk/games/14444,ps3/

Comment by mi1ez at 8:22am 20th November 2008

Report comment

@vulcan

Ya that's what I thought, the graphics look nice but all the shapes look a little bit too 'square' and uniform. I'll save my opinions on the gameplay itself until I get more of a look at it.

Comment by TWeaKoR at 6:56pm 19th November 2008

Report comment

PhysX Hardware

Doh PhysX isnt that Software (Cuda Joke) not Hardware I wanted hardware, but cant get it now.

Comment by moose19721 at 5:57pm 19th November 2008

Report comment

this game looks rather jaggy on ps3, all the straight edged architecture doesnt help. its innovative i suppose, but i didnt get much enjoyment out of it. i doubt anti aliasing and physics improvements will transform it into a great game sadly

Comment by vulcanproject at 4:28pm 19th November 2008

Report comment

360 PhysX

PhysX can be supported by pretty much anything in software, including the PS3 and teh Xbox 360, but you need a PhysX card or a CUDA GPU to do it in hardware - none of the current consoles can do this.

Comment by hardwidge at 4:17pm 19th November 2008

Report comment

Doesnt the 360 support physX anyway? (maybe only software). One thing that worries me with 8-series cards performing hardware physX is how much you lose in terms of raw graphics fps?

Comment by pveater at 3:32pm 19th November 2008

Report comment

PC or PS3 ...

This game is on my xmas list for the PS3, but I wonder now if it will play better on the PC because essentially it is a first person game ...

Comment by CSQuake at 3:02pm 19th November 2008

Report comment

Make a Comment

These are the most popular news articles over the past seven days.

Mobile Broadband

Compare prices

Fastest, cheapest 3G mobile broadband dongles from 3, Vodafone, T-Mobile and Orange
from just £10/month