Arabian Nights with the Sights! (Prince of Persia (PS3))

Member Name: MrsLim

Product:	Prince of Persia (PS3)
Date:	05/06/09 (14 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful sound and visuals

Disadvantages: Repetitive and might be too simple to play

People may remember the original Prince of Persia ("POP") games as intriguing Platform/Puzzle games that came out around 20 years ago. Then came along Prince of Persia 'The sands of time' and its sequels which injected a heavy dose of action and combat which brought aging POP into the 21st Century and gave the PS2 some of its best ever titles. Now for the PS3 we have the latest version and straight from the off I must say that I can see how this game has divided people as much as Marmite.

Graphically the game is superb with awesome 3D landscapes and characters given a cell shaded look. What also makes the game look so amazing is just how well conceived and designed the world you explore is. You really do get an authentic feeling of the ancient Middle East that you can almost smell the shisha pipes. You get an idea of how much hard work went into the design of the game as designer sketches and ideas are unlockable as bonus content, this game really is a work of art. It must also be said the music in POP is as beautiful as the visuals and I did find myself humming the tunes of POP to myself without realising it.

Story wise you are the Prince (in name only), an adventurer/thief living from day to day searching for his donkey who comes to the rescue of Elika (a real Princess). Due to certain events The Dark God Ahriman is released from his prison and corrupts Elika's kingdom. Together they must travel around this kingdom in order that Elika with her magic powers may heal the lands which will help to imprison Ahriman once more.

Now down to the game play which is where the problems may or may not start.

POP is essentially a platform game with a few combat scenarios thrown in at certain points. The Prince who you control is a very agile fellow able to jump, swing, climb and slide. In order to progress through the game you will need to utilize all these skills and more. Frequently you must use these skills in quick succession to traverse obstacles and here I feel the game starts to edge into puzzle game even dance mat game territory! For example the Prince must run up a wall, swing from a hook and then jump in order to get to across a gaping chasm, this requires you to press X then O then X again whilst moving the control pad in the general direction you want to go, and though this looks impressive on screen and someone watching may marvel at your game play skills you kind of feel like all you did was enter a few button combinations and the game did the rest. The same can be said of the combat which for some maybe too few and far between. When facing an enemy you are trapped in an invisible arena (so you must kill the enemy to progress) and all the Princes regular controls are switched to fighting moves like slash (with sword), claw (with gauntlet), jump (acrobatic attack) and throw. Against the Bosses fights can end up being nothing more than long periods of entering button combinations in order to slowly sap away the life of said Boss. Everything looks amazing and yes the game is incredibly fun to play however for hardcore platform gamers POP is a little too forgiving of mistakes and you sometimes feel like a spectator. Regarding combat the fights though ingenious are really nothing more than a series of button combination exercises. It must also be pointed out that you can never be killed, as the Princess will always come to your rescue if you are about to fall to your death or be skewered like a meat kebab by an enemy. This either takes away the thrill of the risk factor or prevents the annoyance of having to start again.

Overall:
To sum up POP is a beautiful game on eyes and ears and very fun to play, it is also very charming with the Prince and Elika having some amusing conversations/arguments along the way. However the game isn't as free roaming as you would think and is not a pure platform/action game. POP is a unique title that should be experienced by everyone, if you can get your hands on it for below £20 then I would highly recommend it.

Graphics: 9/10

Sound: 9/10

Game play: 8/10

Game life: 7/10

Overall: 8/10

Summary: Try before you buy unless you can get it for minus £20