It’s long been rumored that Nokia exclusive games and apps are just timed exclusives and will eventually become available to all Windows Phone users. We’ve been working behind the scenes to get the exact details behind the exclusivity window, but today a happy occurrence has answered one question for us. Former Nokia-exclusive Xbox game Mirror’s Edge is now available to all Windows Phone 7 and 8 users, just over six months after its original release!
Dysfunction is a function
Mirror’s Edge takes place in a futuristic dystopian setting. An unnamed metropolis’ steps towards preventing crime have also turned it into a place where there is no freedom of information and citizens are monitored at all times. Sort of like working at Microsoft! Anyway, a group of parkour-practicing couriers called the Runners evolved to help spread information without interference from the government. Now the powers that be want to stamp out those Runners…
Some kind of genius
Players control Faith Connors, a lithesome Runner as she struggles to complete missions and evade capture. Unlike the 1st-person console versions, the smartphone game takes place from a 2D perspective (with 3D graphics). The visuals look fairly sharp even on Windows Phone 8 devices, and the music (surely borrowed from the big screen version) is unparalleled on our platform.
Mirror’s Edge is essentially a fast-moving platformer, but it controls unlike any other mobile title I’ve played. All of Faith’s actions are controlled with a single finger. Swipe left or right to run, down to slide, and up to jump or climb. It’s a very intuitive system that hardcore and casual gamers alike should appreciate.
The game boasts 14 levels of free-running and lots of collectibles to find along the way. Challenging Speed Runs extend the replay value while also offering the requisite Achievements. Speaking of which, the full 200 GamerScore can be earned in a fairly short while if you’re good enough. Check out Arsenic17’s Achievement Guide for tips.
Mirror’s Edge costs $2.99 and there is a free trial. Get it here at the Windows Phone Store, everybody.
HTC and Samsung owners breathe a sigh of relief
It’s important to understand that most or all of the exclusives from Electronic Arts and Chillingo would never have made it to Windows Phone without Nokia’s financing. In the first two years of Windows Phone’s existence, those two publishers created 9 Xbox games for all to play. That’s 4 or 5 games per year.
Since the exclusivity deal kicked in, we now have 10 exclusive games from them in less than a year (11 before Mirror’s Edge switched over). As we’ve said on multiple occasions, the Windows Phone market is too small for major publishers to fully support of their own accord. It’s the funding from Nokia that made those games possible and will continue to produce quality exclusives.
Now that we know these games really are timed exclusives, that puts Nokia Collection games in a new light. Windows Phone users who want the greatest number of games to play (and as quickly as possible) are still best advised to buy a Lumia phone. But the general Windows Phone ecosystem will still benefit from Nokia’s partnership with EA and Chillingo as well. Non-Lumia owners just have to wait a little longer… Much better than never getting these games at all!
