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| Game Details | Released
05 December 2008 | | Format
Xbox 360, PS3 | | Developer
Ubisoft |
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Prince Of Persia
 Review
In these predictable console days – where imagination and innovation play second fiddle to genre and cliché – even the most stunning games can be tainted by the curse of the sequel, where publishers lose sight of what made a title so enticing in their haste to deliver something bigger, bolder and more complex. Yet while recent Prince Of Persias fell foul of the follow-up jinx and became increasingly befuddled and gloomy, this stripped down reworking of the agile aristocrat’s adroit antics is an exquisite return to form.
Ditching the capricious prince from the Sands Of Time in favour of a nomad who reluctantly stumbles into this magical quest, the new Persia offers the same heady blend of perilous platforming, swashbuckling swordplay and placid puzzle solving as its predecessors, but is firmly focused on giving players a more intuitive and thrilling experience where less is definitely more.
The most obvious benefit of this simplified approach is in the combat. While previous editions have seen players surrounded by squads of scimitar-wielding goons in pantaloons, all the combat in this latest edition is one-on-one, encouraging players to get to grips with the prince’s moves and chain attacks, rather than randomly hammering the buttons and hoping for the best. Reducing the size of the battles also makes for more cinematic altercations, the in-game camera rushing in to frame the action and highlight exciting moments, subsequently cranking up the drama to snapping point. An instinctive battle system where you can blend attacks rather than following patterns predetermined by the coders also makes for more engaging blade play, and the condensed clashes also allow for smarter villains and more challenging duels, making victories more rewarding as it takes genuine skill and timing to stab up the bad guys.
But while the combat is exhilarating, the role of violence has been dimished in favour of what Prince Of Persia does best: acrobatics. This time skirmishes are only used to punctuate the lithe hero’s jumping, swinging and tumbling, the game world constructed in a way that pushes players to search for the most efficient path forward and string together breathtaking stunts to reach their goal. The hero’s new metal glove, which allows him to slide down vertical surfaces, also adds new possibilities to the gymnastics, but what’s most striking is the fluidity of the action; using streamlined controls where outrageous moves are unleashed with the simplest of button strokes, players can run along vertical walls, work with their computer-controlled companion to cross impossible gaps or swing from poles without becoming bogged-down in a mire of special moves, realising the game’s potential for spine-tingling set-pieces and making Prince Of Persia one of 2008’s most exhilarating adventures.
Without doubt, Sands Of Time fans will decry Persia’s new structure where it’s impossible to die, the action instead reverting to an earlier save point and forcing gamers to play through certain sections again and again until they get it right. The game’s unique presentation – a fresh take on the cel-shading made famous by The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker, but looking more like an animated watercolour than stylised computer graphics – will also pique players more accustomed to the series’ more traditional art style, but for intoxicating action and dramatic feats of daring-do that make you feel like a character from The Matrix, Prince Of Persia is hard to beat.
Reviewer: David McComb
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Average user rating for Prince Of Persia
| Prince of Persia | | | Beautiful game, great story, and the shift in focus from 1-on-many to 1-on-1 makes the fight sequences more engaging. A nice change of pace from other games, and certainly there's not many games like it available at the moment. ... Read More
| | | jncorbett About me | | 11:41, 08 August 2009 | Report This Post | |
| | | | Beautiful... But that's all | | | Yes this is a true beautiful game. Well, except if you look up and see the crappy mapped sphere of the sky, which is a bit annoying in such a nice graphic environment.
But after that... You just spend your time doing the same moves again and again, and fighting the same ennemies.
And the fact that you cannot die... Well it ruins the pleasure of playing.
Boring is a great qualification for this game, and disappointing is a better word for it if you have already played any of the other Prince... Read More
| | | Sethfarah About me | | 15:19, 02 February 2009 | Report This Post | |
| | | | Beautiful... But that's all | | | Yes this is a true beautiful game. Well, except if you look up and see the crappy mapped sphere of the sky, which is a bit annoying in such a nice graphic environment.
But after that... You just spend your time doing the same moves again and again, and fighting the same ennemies.
And the fact that you cannot die... Well it ruins the pleasure of playing.
Boring is a great qualification for this game, and disappointing is a better word for it if you have already played any of the other Prince... Read More
| | | Sethfarah About me | | 14:49, 02 February 2009 | Report This Post | |
| | | | Average | | | Gorgeous watercolour visuals and great acrobatics, spoiled by terrible combat and an irritating central character. Add a sequel bait anti-climax ending and you have a very average overall game, Worth playing, but this is no big return for the franchise. ... Read More
| | | rich About me | | 21:08, 20 January 2009 | Report This Post | |
| | | | Loved Every Second. | | | I got Prince Of Persia for a Christmas present after begging my mum to let me rent it and play it but when I got it on the day, I just couldn't wait any more and put it in my machine. I couldn't believe how much my breath was taken by the jaw-dropping scenery, the heart-stopping running on walls and climbing up the poles trying not to make a mistake. The good thing about this that you don't die, after playing the three Prince Of Persia games on PS2 dying was a frustating thing if you have done a... Read More
| | | joanna likes films About me | | 09:29, 19 January 2009 | Report This Post | |
| | | | Bored to tears | | | This appears to be the Jessica Simpson of video games, it looks great but has absolutely no substance. I borrowed this for a week from Blockbusters and was instantly impressed by the incredible visuals. However, once the surface had be scratched and the controls had been mastered I found it lacking a bit in addictive gameplay and within a matter of hours I was bored to tears. Apart from the breathtaking graphics (they really are) I found this pretty disappointing overall. ... Read More
| | | blaarts About me | | 18:13, 03 January 2009 | Report This Post | |
| | | | Bored to tears | | | This appears to be the Jessica Simpson of video games, it looks great but has absolutely no substance. I borrowed this for a week from Blockbusters and was instantly impressed by the incredible visuals. However, once the surface had be scratched and the controls had been mastered I found it lacking a bit in addictive gameplay and within a matter of hours I was bored to tears. Apart from the breathtaking graphics (they really are) I found this pretty disappointing overall. ... Read More
| | | blaarts About me | | 18:13, 03 January 2009 | Report This Post | |
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