It is a known fact that there is an RPG deficit for the PS3; however, the same could be said of the platformer deficit for the Xbox 360. The reason I tell you this is because Prince of Persia, one of the best platformers of this generation, is now available on PS3, PC, and Xbox 360. This is the chance for console owners to play one of the few incredible platforming titles on your system.
The story of this game is simple yet effective: you play the part of The Prince, a typical thief who just so happens to run into Elika, a not-so-typical princess. Ahriman’s corruption is spreading throughout this world and together you must destroy the darkness. In order to do this you will need to heal all of the fertile grounds and defeat the four corrupted bosses.
The first thing you will notice is that this game looks different — very different. The characters are cell-shaded but the levels are not. In this world there are four main areas with each having a unique feel from the others. All of the characters are highly detailed and look great. The artistic direction of this game is what really sets itself apart from other next-gen titles. You will not find a game that looks like this.
The voice acting is on par with games such as GTA 4 and Bioshock. The soundtrack fits the mood and setting of this game perfectly. It truly enhances the overall experience as you traverse this world. The sound effects that are heard when the Prince performs an action while on or off of an object can make a world of difference in what makes this game realistic as atmospheric as it is.
The major components of the gameplay are platforming and combat. Platforming is approximately 70% of this game with combat filling in the remaining 30%. The Prince can run, jump, wall-run, roof-run, grip-fall, and drop to reach various ledges, poles, slides, vines, rings and ring switches, and beams. As the Prince progresses through the game he will unlock the spectacular powers of Ormazd: rebound, dash, fly, and grapple. The Prince must use all of the basic acrobatic moves and Ormazd’s powers to traverse the world and collect the light seeds. The motion and environment are incredibly fluid, making this game one of the best platformers on any system, next gen or not.
The combat system in this game is unlike anything we’ve experienced. Every battle is designed one-on-two to the player’s advantage. To make it even easier the player cannot die, inside or outside of combat. Elika will simply reach out her hand and the Prince will be revived. In combat each of the four face buttons represents an attack, with the right triggers used for blocking and deflecting. The square button is melee attack, triangle is magic attack, circle is grapple/throw, and X is acrobatic attack. It should be clarified that Elika’s actions are mapped to the triangle button as she is a major component of the combat. The button attacks can all be chained in a wide variety of ways to make for some pretty amazing combos. The fluidity of the combat combined with spectacular camera angles makes for an amazing combat experience.
This game will take approximately twelve hours to finish if completed doing the bare minimum. If you take your time to collect all 1001 light seeds you could be looking at approximately twenty hours. Personally, unlockable alternate costumes and absolutely no online component will not justify more than one or two playthroughs.
With all that has been said my only complaint is that there isn’t much replay value aside from achievements/trophies, but this is to be expected from a single player game. Prince of Persia has an artistic look all to its own coupled with fluid game play mechanics and an intriguing combat system. What more could we want?
Contributed Review by: Evan Zinser
All images courtesy Ubisoft.
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