It's damned hard work living in the future. Sure the buildings are snappy (if a little pointy) but what's with all the power-hungry conglomerates? Not toeing the line? Prepare to be beaten with a stick. It's a tall price to pay for presumably nifty healthcare, I suppose.

So the sequel to 2008's Mirror's Edge throws in your face a wodge more of the same, if a little snazzier thanks to the current generation's whizzy consoles.

If you're the type who goes weak at the knee for parkour (and unsymmetrical eyeshadow), Catalyst serves up some splendidly tasty pie. Our hero Faith can belt about the city of Glass like a Spandex-clad mountain goat, helped in no small way by red-illuminated structures which whip her skyward.

Of course, because this society has adopted the distopian attitude which frequents many future-set titles, The Man needs taking down with violence. Parkour-assisted violence. Faith can breeze up a wall and bring her angry punching hands down on enemies with alarming effectiveness. If you get the button combos right. By its very nature, running and fighting relies heavily on remembering button combos, and in the heat of a punch-up these aren't recalled easily and being beaten about the face is commonplace early doors. Thankfully some combat can be avoided altogether, which also makes the level flow a lot cleaner.

Of course, Faith has a colourful past (doesn't play well with authority - who'd have thought) which fleshes out her pouty-resting-face persona nicely, albeit with no small amount of cliche. The voice acting sandwich is also a little heavy on the ham, and the story could have done with a touch more seasoning (big companies are bad, mmkay?).

Glass's open world, multi-path play is to its credit. The at-a-button-request recommended path is not always the quickest, encouraging Faith to go off-piste. The roofs and interiors of Glass are not the most detailed and come across like a hospital room without the furniture, but hey, it's the future right? Who needs comfy sofas and champagne-coloured fridge-freezers? And if you've had a gutsful of the story for a few minutes, Glass is stuffed full of the usual runny-jumpy side missions, collectables and races.

Once you've belted through a few hours of missions, the novelty smears off - variety isn't Catalyst's strong point. Where similar climbing-based titles such as Assassin's Creed have marvellously detailed models and realistic, chatty citizens, we're not so blessed here.

But while Catalyst has a handful of little gripes, there's nothing serious on its report card. She's a well-behaved, bright child who contributes willingly to class.