Well...look who's back...Prince of Persia (Prince of Persia (PS3))

Member Name: stevewilliams

Product:	Prince of Persia (PS3)
Date:	17/03/09 (57 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: stunning visuals, easy and accessible for newcomers but intriguing enough for diehard fans

Disadvantages: the combat system is lessened, arguably less challenging

Prince of Persia (PS3)

The new Prince of Persia - as you may have noticed this title's been hyped over the last few months but is it up to the praise and bestselling status it's been enjoying? Adding onto one of the most iconic, memorable games ever made, Ubisoft have a sensitive fan base to appease. I'm one of those fans, so how do I think they've done?

I'm going to keep in mind the old school POP players during this review as I regard myself as one to an extent; I played the recent trilogy and I remember playing the ancient original 2D versions when I was little. It's interesting to see how the franchise has developed, although even then the notion of POP as a franchise at all always seemed slightly flawed to me. In my eyes the prince's quest was always a closed one-adventure affair, fairy tale-esque with a happy ending, not a string of sequels. The plot would generally concern a particular evildoer with magical powers doing a lot of evil, and taking a stunning local princess hostage for good measure. The kingdom and the girl's only hope is the dashing prince, an adeptly skilled fighter and acrobat who endeavours to scale walls of a fantastic grand palace, fighting guards and minions of the antagonist all the way to the same evil character in question, defeating him, saving the girl and the kingdom in question. Honour, glory, a good workout and no doubt some serious playtime shall be his for the taking, provided he doesn't succumb to his death in a spike trap.

The original prince started in a 2D era of gaming, when the player's imagination made up for where the older graphics couldn't and subtitled text had yet to give way to speech. Whether intentional or not the player's creativity played a part in a game's story, the character, the villains, the overall adventure. Appealing to the natural storytelling capacity in all of us, to take over where the graphics were ambiguous or left space for interpretation. So the Prince was a character with many possible variables in his 2D origin, a "tabla rasa" or blank state in a way, you make up what he is.

Now that technology has brought the ability to create incredibly defined and detailed characters and worlds than ever, some of that story-making freedom is potentially lost since everything you see and do is prescribed for you; today's developers now have to carve out a specific personality to avoid clichés or too plain a characterisation. The trilogy is the perfect example of just how many ways he can be interpreted, pulled apart and reincarnated: from the noble prince, a little bit too squeaky clean, in Sands of Time to a precarious renegade in Warrior Within and The Two Thrones, diving into a darker aggressive and vengeful side of the character.

Why am I analysing this into the floor?

Well, the prince is a thoroughly deep and intriguing character and I always felt this would be the main issue for this newest POP title with the possible danger of having too many personalities to consider and choose between. On one side you've got the royal, noble connotations, but from what's we've seen he's also rebellious, notably a bachelor too; he can be charismatic yet corny; reserved yet daring; highly trained and practised and yet a reckless decision maker. An honest fighter of evil, portrayed as intrinsically good, and yet the trilogy just gone has probed into depicting the prince as a potentially dark figure.

He's academic's dream in terms of studying masculinity; with so many angles and with a lineage of remakes and revisions it's inevitable that the prince we have now is a complex bloke, in fact... dare I say it, in this newest reincarnation we have a goddamn postmodern prince. Really, just look at his new hair, the female lead character Elika's three-quarter length trousers and the modernised dialogue between the two...POP purists might scoff at that, but then again mind you those are pretty much the most extreme examples. All things considered the new take on POP actually blends well, really well.

So what's so special about that?

The potential for disaster and blighting the icon was huge. With so many variables in the hero's characterisation someone is always bound to be disappointed, appealing to the majority fan base was crucial for Ubisoft after the trilogy's latter titles were met with distain from purist fans.

Thankfully they have recognised and acknowledged this and have done a good job of listening; their thought and effort into both the tiny details and the whole scope of the game is impressive. There is definitely not a lack of respect to the original concept, something most have feared in the wake of those two disappointing sequels in that trilogy I just can't seem to stop referring to. I'll shut up about it, suffice to say I enjoyed the trilogy most of all for the combat side which even then arguably became repetitious. But hey you can't please everyone, there are always two sides to a coin, the grass is always greener... etc [insert your own adage here].

So, finally, onto this newest POP game.

The title, just Prince of Persia, at first suggests a standalone prequel. Having completed the game I'm now expecting another release in a few years' time due to a very interesting and surprising ending that has left me (and I observe a lot of other fans) with mixed emotions and reactions. But I'll leave the ending for the end with a few spoiler warnings to boot; there's quite a few shameless online reviews out there who just give the game away without second thought and I wouldn't wish to ruin the experience for the potential buyer, as it is quite a good one.

First off Prince of Persia is not a 5-star game. It's incredibly close though, the highest 4-stars you can give, 4½ if that satisfies you but I can't quite call it a classic, timeless masterpiece. I can certainly recommend it with confidence that this game will age well. Naturally there are pros and cons, whether newcomer or long-time fan, the biggest impression you'll notice are the graphics. The artwork alone is beautiful but the landscapes you're presented inside the game are stunning. Many a time I found myself just looking around marvelling at the detail from close up and the horizon surrounding in foreign crumbling cities. The incorporation of "cel-shading" of the characters is an artistic twist that adds to the visual entertainment. Alongside the music score it makes for a very atmospheric gaming experience as you climb, swing and jump around the scenery; it definitely feels like a world you're playing in rather than large levels.

So what's our new prince like?

Much more endearing than the darker prince that came about the former titles, a much more playful adventurous twist has been grounded in him by removing (or at least hushing down) the royal associations. We discover our hero lost in a sandstorm looking for his lost donkey (named Farah, a knowing nod to previous endeavours). He's more of a thief, he's a "prince" here in the sense that he embodies the Persia about him, borderline cheeky scamp almost but that sword he's carrying is one he knows how to use. He also has a new tool, a gauntlet, a kind of claw glove giving him new acrobatic abilities, notably wall dragging and on specific sections ceiling climbing via use of hooks. They tie-in well with the platforming genre, for newcomers it'll be another feature that'll dazzle you, and purists I think will be satisfied; I was, the wall dragging ability particularly made sense to me. Some may not like the new prince's reckless swashbuckling manner but for the most part it works in my opinion. Weighing up the possible disasters Ubisoft have nailed an interesting dynamic about the prince here.

The plot kicks off with new female lead Princess Elika landing into your lap (literally) being chased by guards of her father, fighting off a few and following her to a palace structure built into the innards of a gigantic tree. (I know, stay with me, the build up is more plausible than it sounds). Her father's followed you and her to the centre where a magical seal in the form of a smaller tree imprisons Ahriman, a god of darkness. After tumbling swords against her father he shatters the tree which partially releases the dark deity and plagues the land around you; it is now your task to "cleanse" the lands via Elika's abilities to prevent Ahriman from fully escaping.

Elika and the prince make more remarkable pairing, the voice dialogue and script between the two has been heavily perfected to come across naturally. Details on both are kept thin and optionally pressing the L2 button during gameplay provides dialogue between them that fleshes out the characterisation, allowing the user to probe deeper into their growing relationship as they warm towards to each other and grow closer. It's fantastic to see such time and care taken over this element, considering the fact that this is optional is quite impressive too.

Princess Elika's got magical abilities, tying in with the aforementioned tree imprisoning Ahriman. She cleanses the plagued lands from special points located around each of the four main areas you explore but her abilities don't end there; Elika can help you across gaps too wide with an ethereal intervention acting as a double jump. When you fall to a supposed death the screen drains colour and a new twist is added to POP - she saves you, bringing you back to the nearest platform you were standing on rather than you having to begin that level or that segment of the level again; ironic set up there with a princess coming to save a prince. But point still remains: you don't die. In fact you can't actually die in this game, a feature that has split opinions amongst the fan base.

This comes as a shocking decision to many, but it is actually a fairly decent alternative to the former sands of time. (For those of you who don't know the trilogy's sands of time was a feature that let the player rewind the last moments they'd played before they ultimately failed to have a second go, before the game otherwise declared you dead and started you from the beginning again.) The problem with the original 2D adventures of POP even the likes of Super Mario or Sonic the Hedgehog were they were unforgiving with huge levels, you die once, you do it all over again, leaving you to memorise what's ahead, somewhat killing the platform "adventure". Here the adventure is allowed to carry on, albeit slightly artificially I'd argue. The old prince wouldn't have had this lucky option. And it does feel lucky, although it'll only mar your experience if you focus on it, and between that and starting all over again it's not as outrageous as it initially sounds. Nevertheless it does mean that the prince is not doing this of his own accord, relying on Elika to transport him, which does detract from the feeling of your own skill being fully rewarded playing through his perspective.

Elika also has other abilities in combat which I'll address later and also with the new incorporation of magical "plates", temporarily allowing the prince to utilise her supernatural skills to boost the duo around the levels in very inspired ways. However much as they are a great idea they serve only to reach spots the Prince clearly can't himself. Lofty heights from previous games and the achievement you feel climbing to them are still there, but while the double jump in mid-air will be enticing for newcomers, for me they felt like a cheat. I felt twinges of nostalgia, wanting to explore and get around using just the Prince's abilities, but much like the story the adventure is not wholly his, this setting isn't his territory and this fight is one he's obliging to help Elika with. One result of all this is it brilliantly displaces you and makes you eager to face what's coming up next, and more daring to try new and different things considering the reassuring safety net should you make a fatal move. On the other hand it takes away the risk and challenge slightly to the extent where you could almost do it half asleep.

For example, at one point seeing a series of predictable steps ahead I tried playing using only the prince's acrobatics, to find half way through my experiment that it just wasn't viable. Hastily (and hesitantly) I found myself having to call upon Elika's double-jump cop-out to transport me over an ominous gap to the wall I needed to get to, climb up and propel the prince off onto a suspended pole. Turns out I hadn't climbed high enough up the wall and threw him hurtling miles from the pole into an oblivion. Fail...or not, as it were

It felt a shame that I'd later grown to automatically rely on Elika. I then started realising little features I could've done myself; I was mortified at myself hearing a suggestive comment from the Prince "too easy..." in one of these moments when I double-jumped as default, I argued for considerable few moments there, what's a purist fan to do? I still scolded myself. You can't get away from using Elika's abilities but it's not as if the prince is being led by the hand; in fact where Elika helps you out there's usually no logical alternative, and usually you find this from trail and error in the first place. In short it's controversial but an adequate replacement for the sands of time; considering the plot it's appropriate.

When I sent the Prince plummeting to death it was usually because I was intending to do something else, but notably the gameplay controls seemed one step behind. By this I mean your control over his actions can feel locked into miniature timed sequences of pre-scripted animations; pressing an action button triggers a sort of animated queue which can't be cancelled once started, if you press anything while this is happening, it'll push those commands until after current action has been performed. These pre-scripted animations are brilliantly smooth and detailed; the prince's bodily movements really come alive as he climbs around the environment and are complimented well by the cel-shading graphics.

The game somewhat ensures the Prince jumps in the correct direction too; I got a "gear stick" feel to it all rather than actually aiming and jumping towards something fully using 360 degrees of freedom. Must stress I am nitpicking here, but for the purists that may leave a loss in your sense of freedom and achievement, for gamers new to POP you likely won't notice. It seems like a lot of features in the new POP have been designed with the newcomer, and a generally younger generation included in that category, in mind. A fussy point though.

A POP title wouldn't be complete without it's fighting. This POP differs to its former titles' characteristic button bashing for a more time-focused attacks creating some incredible mid-battle combo sequences. New elemental "states" in the opponents require different responses in your attacks to repel them (i.e. sword, acrobatics, gauntlet and magical via Elika), it very much keeps you thinking and provides some entertaining cinematic moments. Also with Ahriman's black corruption plaguing the edges of grounds the prince fights on, the player has the added task of avoiding that too and being aware of their position; not so much different to thinking about your surroundings while battling off a troop of guards from the older games. But in that comparison lies the biggest change of all with this title; all the combat is duel-based, purely 1-on-1, and I have to say that's a shame; I really missed diving in and tackling up to three or four opponents at once.

An enemy boss is assigned to each of the four realms of the game providing sequential battles until a final one ridding them from the land. Besides the enemy bosses the fights with Ahriman's soldiers are rare and, shockingly, avoidable. The game actually encourages you to try and prevent Ahriman's soldiers from emerging in the first place by swinging your blade into the black twisting columns before the opponent spawns from it. That particular feature strikes me as plain wrong. They still provide some excellent graphic displays though. I can't say I liked having hardly any battles, but I guess this fits with the ruined deserted environment. There is enough platforming to keep you occupied from the fact that apart from Ahriman's forces the only people in the whole kingdom are Elika and the prince; the game focuses on the platforming than combat.

Like the safety net from falling you can't die in battles either; once you take too many hits Elika intervenes and resets you back on your feet again, albeit with your enemy's health replenished a little as a penalty. It makes sense but a sense of achievement based on your own skill is somewhat lost. In the old games I failed because I wasn't quick enough in my combat, I needed to use my wits and the reward was there. Here I could only fail at because of the timing. I found it strange that one-on-one battles (one-on-two really considering Elika with you) prove so long.

After every enemy boss has finally been defeated and Elika heals the realm, you find your surroundings scattered with glowing blue orbs called "light seeds" that need to be collected in large numbers to unlock the other realms of the game. A nice idea with more emphasis on the game's platforming again however towards the end I felt quite disillusioned with this process. You don't need to collect all of them to proceed to the next area and it does give you the incentive to explore the level further, offering some incredible views. But it's a time consuming process and involves retracing the steps you've made journeying to the respective boss' final platform and then other reaches around the level which didn't need exploring in the first place. I generally liked it, it allows you to take in the scenery and other visual delights but by the end it felt hollow. Ultimately the average player is unlikely to remain to collect the rest; after collecting enough I just wanted to move the plot forward. Strangely, remaining felt like I was stalling but moving on felt like I was rushing ahead. Closure didn't come comfortably to each of the game's four areas. collecting all 1001 light seeds would take a lot of time, patience and boredom and even then [**SPOILER**] you only get new skins for the characters, it doesn't affect the ending. Frankly I didn't think it was worth it. I never felt the urge to replay the game to achieve this.

There's none of the mechanised traps that characterised POP old palaces if you're pining for that sort of thing, there are puzzles yes but the nearest you get to the swinging blades and spike pits are the corruption tendrils, an arguably worthy replacement, but just like the combat, they're more time-focused than skill-based. In the new setting's defence though, this kingdom of Elika's is deserted and it is crumbling, can purist fans really argue for all the features of the old games when it's clearly a different environment? The magic plates make sense as the prince definitely would not be able to logically reach anywhere in the kingdom without Elika's help in the ruins.

(**NEXT PARAGRAPH = MAJOR SPOILERS **)
The ending is controversial to say the least, tearing quite a nerve with the fan base but at the same time evoking a lot of discussion, and getting people talking is probably the best result Ubisoft could want. You don't need to collect all those light seeds to complete the game thank god, and I didn't, the ending involves returning to seal Ahriman back in but after Elika swaps her life to imprison him (as it turns out her magical abilities come from previous links to the deity), the game give you an option that is something quite extraordinary, you're urged to play on after the credits to release Ahriman in order to save Elika, you do so, quite against your will, The final scene shows the prince walking out with her revived in his arms and Ahriman consuming the screen as he's released upon the world. It's a shock ending and a very interesting decision; I've not really felt many games that force you to undo all your work without a cheesy result and ultimately there is no way Ubisoft could just end this tale here, it's the beginning of a new saga and as of yet I'm unsure of what to make of that.
(**END OF SPOILERS**)

With so much thought gone into the game it almost feels like the developers have purposefully spent the latter half of the game trying to wind you up, only for a conflicting close to the game, making you hunger for more. Ubisoft have announced Prince of Persia DLC ('downloadable content') and at this moment in time (Mar 09) it sounds on the horizon, whether it's downloadable for PS3 I can't say, PC definitely but I would imagine so seeing as the console has the ability, I would surprised if it was kept PC-only. They have already mentioned that they plan it to be as significant as a sequel or prequel, just type the title in on google and search around. It's very exciting where they're taking this new saga of the prince.

I should close by saying that I may sound like I'm warning potential buyers from potential disappointment, but I would only say that's really only possible if you're expecting the new title to be the same as what's gone before; every POP title has changed and varied from it's formers and rightly so. Despite all the point I pulled out and especially the combat side, I still really enjoyed it. 4 stars, 4.5 if you want. I certainly recommended it. Buy.

Summary: You'd be a fool not to try it. Recommended.