Mirror’s Edge back in the running for a spring release, now boasting Facebook support

As part of EA’s recent showcase in a swanky East London venue, we were extremely pleased to be able to go hands on with the latest build of Mirror’s Edge for iPhone.

The game itself has changed very little from the time of our last preview, so I won’t repeat myself here. Suffice to say that everything I said then holds true now. It’s still shaping up to be a very interesting game indeed.

So if it hasn’t changed much, why the delay? As we reported, it was originally intended for a January release.

Facebook seems to be blamed for a lot of things these days, and now we can add the delay of Mirror’s Edge on iPhone to the list.

You see, as it became apparent to the development team that Speed Run was the mode of choice for your average time-strapped iPhone gamer (as opposed to the fully fleshed out Story mode), they realised that a competitive element would enhance the game considerably.

Now, with Facebook connectivity included, you’ll be able to upload your best runs and challenge your friends to beat them.

Developer IronMonkey has also taken the extra time afforded it to iron out any lingering bugs and to add even more polish to an already handsome game. This is most noticeable when playing on a 3GS handset - as we did - for which the game has been optimised.

Owners of the high-end iPhone will be able to enjoy new lighting and reflection effects, faster loading times and an even smoother frame rate.

Hopefully, come the game’s Spring release, we’ll be able to reflect on the decision to delay Mirror’s Edge as having been a sharp idea.