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Prince of Persia
Redefining Nostalgia
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I can almost see the conversation at Ubisoft Montreal now: “You guys, the Sands of Time games were awesome, we’re not denying that, but you have to admit that we strayed a bit from what made the original Prince of Persia games so unique. Let’s take this opportunity, now that we are starting a new story, to go back to the roots of this IP that we’ve so luckily adopted.” That seems to be exactly what they’ve done.
What were those things, though? I didn’t really realize it until I played this game. Firstly, and the most obvious, is that you only ever face an opponent in battle one-on-one (unless you don’t count Elika and The Price as one person, then it’s always one on two, I guess). At first I was annoyed by this, as I really enjoyed the hectic battles of the Sands of Time games, but then I noticed what was going on. When in battle I couldn’t move very quickly, and then when I started to block and counter it struck me: This was ORIGINAL Prince of Persia fighting in 3D!!! The slow step forward to get in range, take the chance on being the first to strike, but prepared for a counter, and counter back when they do, sometimes resulting in a half-dozen counters in a row.
The way your character moves about the world is very true to the original as well. Although you have very freeform 3D movement like you would expect in any modern platformer, once you start swinging from things and running along walls the mechanics get much more quantized. What that means is that things happen in distinct steps and separations rather than flowing together perfectly fluidly. In the original Price of Persia you could count the number of steps your character was taking to determine if you were the proper distance for the leap or grab you were trying to make. The new game is very much the same, in that you are swinging, running along walls, running along ceilings, and leaping from column to column in precise and distinct movements.
The game has been praised and condemned for its choice in graphics technology, as either innovative or ugly. I think it is neither. The game is gorgeous and probably one of the more consistently themed games artistically that I’ve seen in some time. It is not anything amazing or innovative, however, as we’ve seen cell-shaded graphics before. The graphics do the trick just fine and I can’t understand why anyone has a problem with them.
Another major complaint people have had about the game is that it is too easy as a result of how Elika saves you anytime you are about to get hurt. I agree that it is too easy, but not for that reason. It’s too easy because the game never really gets much harder than it is at the beginning. Sure the timing of your movements needs to be a little more precise, but not by much. I would have much rather seen more long stretched out sequences in the 2nd half of the game where you are reset back to the beginning if you fall. These really only show up in the final levels and they weren’t very difficult. The game would have been very well served with multiple difficulty levels that required your timing to be much more precise at higher difficulties. As for Elika saving you all the time and never allowing death or checkpoint loading, I think it is an absolutely brilliant move on the part of the developers to do such a thing. Is there really much of a difference between Elika saving you and having to go back to the last time you had your feet on land and falling off a cliff, seeing a death animation, and then reloading a checkpoint? It seems like the exact same thing to me and all the developers did was eliminate the time taken and annoyance of a checkpoint load.
The story is top notch with an awesome reveal in the middle. Is strange, though, because I think by reading the manual you will spoil the big reveal, so I recommend playing the game through without looking at the manual. The tutorial is good enough. A major disappointment of mine was the presentation of an illusion of choice at the end of the game, when really there is only one thing to do. I spent probably 15 minutes running around how to choose the other option, and then I finally read on a message forum that to choose the other option you just turn off your machine. Well how lame is that? If you’re going to make it look like the player has a choice, by going so far as to say “make your choice” then for Christ’s sake let the player make an actual choice. The ending they force you into is awesome though, and is a great cliff-hanger with obvious hints to a sequel. |
Graphics
Gorgeous artwork and design. I'm not sure why some people hate it, or why others think it's so innovative, but it's still beautiful.
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10.0 |
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Sound
Awesome music and sound effects. There were some really good opportunities for surround sound that were passed up, though, especially when fighting the concubine.
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8.5 |
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Gameplay
A solid and perfect return the the feel of the original Prince of Persia. I love everything about the way this game controls and feels. Docked some points for not having a great deal of difference between the 4 magical abilities.
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9.0 |
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Originality
Some very innovative ideas in keeping the flow of the game moving and not reloading checkpoints. Other than that, though, it is some pretty standard platforming fare.
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8.5 |
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Interface
A perfectly designed interface from the main menu on. I didn't have a single complaint with how this game interacted with the player in the real world.
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10.0 |
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Fun
It's a very fun game, but I found towards the end that I just wanted it to be over. Fighting the same 4 bosses over and over got a bit old, as they didn't change too much between incarnations.
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8.5 |
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Lasting Appeal
I'll play this one over and over, revisiting it once or twice a year. I just enjoy the gameplay and story enough that I can play it repeatedly. Already halfway through my 2nd play.
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8.5 |
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Overall
Prince of Persia was very close in consideration for Best Artistic Design in 2008 here at Livesprites. I don’t think you can go wrong with this game.
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9.0 |
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