Prince of Persia

"The Prince is back, but is this game just lost in a sandstorm?"

Prince of Persia, whether you started with the very first retro-style games, or didn't start until the PS2 reboot of the franchise, you'll no doubt agree that the series has revolutionised the platforming genre, what with wall running, swinging, jumping and climbing showing you what platformers are all about, the movement, but can the new Prince keep up with his predecessor?

Story

Since the sands of time on PS2, the Prince of Persia series quickly established a magical and thoughtful adventure style story and the same rings true in this game.

In a whole new story line with no ties to the PS2 series, you play an un-named adventurer (nicknamed The Prince) who's on his way back home from his latest adventure with his donkey, loaded with a king's ransom in gold.

After getting lost in a sandstorm however, the Prince comes across a young girl called Elika being pursued by guards and, being the kind sort he is, leaps to her defense.

But of course things take a turn for the worst as the two witness Elika's father unleash the dark god Ahriman from his prison, who spreads his corruption upon the land, turning it into a dark, lifeless wasteland.

So, with a sharp sword, a powerful gauntlet and a bucket full of witty remarks, it's up to the Prince to help Elika restore the world and capture Ahriman, by healing each corrupted area with her magic, what could possibly go wrong?

The action starts straight from the start, the story is deep enough to make the player want to continue without falling asleep and as characters grow along their journey, the audience can't help but want them to succeed.


Graphics

Let's get one thing straight, Prince of Persia looks gorgeous. Many reviewers have likened it to stepping into a living water painting and they're right.

Though some initially criticized the cartoony cell-shaded style that was chosen over more realistic graphics, when you work your way through a dark decaying world and see it transform into a lush oasis or look across from a tower across the world below, all those worries are blown away.

It's not just the landscapes that look good either, the characters look equally as good, from the Prince's flowing clothes to the slime-like corruption used by your enemies, it's easy to see that a lot of work went into the games visual appeal.


Sound

The voice acting fits the characters well, most players will recognise the voices of the Prince and Elika from some of their favourite games (I'll leave it up to you to guess) and every voice suits every character perfectly.

Background music is also good, from exciting and tense music during the action, to the grand music heard when you witness a healing.

Gameplay

Sands of time gave us the unique ability of rewinding time, warrior within had a tweaked combat system and the two thrones allowed players to try out the dark prince, so what's new this time?

Well, almost everything.

Aside from a few series basics (wall running, swinging from poles etc) everything has been completely re-designed, improving on the original and making it more player friendly.

Navigating the new, open-sandbox style world is as fun, easy and stylish as ever. No doubt based off the work of Ubisoft's other PS3 game Assassins Creed, the Prince can go just about anywhere, it's just figuring out a way to get there. As said, you can run on walls, swing on poles, scale down walls, pull switches, grab onto handles and even defy gravity by momentarily running across the ceiling, it may break the laws of physics, but it all looks perfectly natural.

Combat has also been radically changed, gone are the days of fending off large groups of enemies, desperately trying to absorb their sand before they come back to life, welcome to a new world of one-to-one duels.

A typical fight will go like this, the Prince and Elika will be running along and come across a boss or enemy, the Prince pulls out his sword and goes into combat stance. From there you have a choice of how to dispose of your enemy, you can attack with your sword, grab with your gauntlet, send them into the air, get Elika to do a magic attack, or engage in some sort of button mashing mini-game if you get hit too much or push them near an edge.

Sure, fighting off one guy at a time doesn't sound very exciting, but the use of camera angles, stunning moves and the fact that this Prince is a real person who can only take a few hits, make every fight epic.

And then, there's Elika.

At the mention of a female sidekick, fans may remember the hours of trouble in previous games caused by them. In sands of time, it seemed Farah was more of a hindrance than a help, with the player constantly having to go out of their way to help her, well not here.

Anything the Prince can do, so can Elika, some times even better. There's no opening a path for her, or saving her from enemies, she'll just tag along behind, taking care of herself, and you when the situation calls for it.

If I asked you to think of a video game where you couldn't die, your mind would probably think of those Disney-like 5 year old games with colourful rainbows and big googly eyes. Well trust me, this is different.

Should the player miss a jump, fall off an edge or about to be killed in combat, Elika will automatically fly to the rescue, grabbing the Prince and returning him to solid ground. Whilst this seems like cheating, in actual fact, it's simply a clever way of cutting out the process of "You are dead, continue?" that most players are sick of, it also means that the player is able to freely explore, without worrying too much about the consequences, if only all videogame sidekicks could be so helpful.


Overview

Prince of Persia takes a big step up, both from it's PS2 counterpart and Ubisoft's Assassins Creed, it's a perfect game for those who just enjoy traversing the world, but after healing a few of the corrupted lands, repetition can start to rear it's ugly head, luckily, the ability to unlock new powers to traverse the world in different ways keeps things fresh. No doubt the game takes some risks that not all players will like, but if you yearn for adventure and plenty of climbing, this could be the game for you.

9/10

Buy or Rent: Buy, maybe rent if you're not a fan of platformers

Trophies: Yes

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/05/09

Game Release: Prince of Persia (EU, 12/05/08)