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PRINCE OF PERSIA Posted by Joe Anderson on Dec 7, 2008 15:46 (Dec 7, 2008 15:46) |
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It’s been a busy year for game releases and thankfully for the sake of everyone’s wallets it’s now coming to an end, however not without one more major game release in the shape of Prince of Persia. Based on a modified version of the Assassin’s Creed engine, Ubisoft are hoping that they can reinvent the game to bring in new players as well as fans of the series, but have they pulled this off?
The story begins with the Prince meeting Elika, who is part of a clan sworn to guard the prison of the evil god Ahriman. The Prince, who was looking for his donkey Farah, just happens to meet her at the wrong time though as she is being chased by guards, and once the Prince gets talking to her it isn’t long before he is mixed up in something big. Soon into the game and once the pair escape the guards, they make their way to the prison of Ahriman, unfortunately though Elika’s father decides it would be a good idea to free the evil god, which results in most of the world being corrupted by his evil. This then leaves the Prince and Elika to heal the infected land before the corruption spreads, which is really where the main part of the game begins.
 Elika is a pretty handy person to have around as you travel through the vast environments in order to reach your destination, you see Elika’s main skill is magic, this can be used to heal the land, attack enemies and also save your skin on numerous occasions as you fall to your death. Before you begin your adventure you must choose your destination on the map, this is limited at first until you unlock other areas, however once you get into the game it doesn’t really take too long to unlock the other areas. Once you have selected the area you wish to travel too. Elika’s powers come into use straight away, this is due to her handy built in compass, since all the areas surrounding the prison are hard to distinguish from each other, simply activating Elika’s power will send a bolt of magic in the direction in which you should be travelling, you can make use of these powers anytime you have selected a destination on the map.
Most of your adventure will be spent travelling to and from your destination and this is where the comparisons with Assassins Creed will no doubt be made. Throughout your travels you will be jumping over large gaps, running along walls, climbing up vines and running upside down on roofs, Elika’s powers are useful here in two ways, for one should you fall she will always catch you, meaning that you never die, also if you try a jump but aren’t quite making it you can also call on Elika to give you a boost, allowing you to get to the other side. The controls are very easy to pick up when it comes to running, jumping etc thanks to the game prompting you at each hurdle, this will see you pick up what you need to do very quickly. The levels also seem very well designed in this part of the game, while you general only have one way to go when you are heading to your destination it doesn’t really feel like you are on a one way path as such due to the excellent and well thought out environments.
Once you reach the infected land you are generally met with a large guardian who is pretty determined to stop you, and it’s not always a case of beating them with your sword in order to go about your task, for example, one of the larger enemies will have you utilising a mix of the Princes swordsmanship and Elika’s powers in order to push him over the edge of the platform to his demise. The bosses also have corruption traps to set free into the world, these each vary in what guise they take by releasing bats or evil black slime to make your life more difficult, these traps certainly add more tension to the levels. Once you have taken care of the guardian you are then tasked with healing the land, this is simple as it only requires a press and tap of the Y button, with the results turning the land into a greener, more pleasant place to be, rather than the dark, evil and dismal place that previously held it’s grip over the area. Once you have healed the land you will then be required to collect the light seeds that appear, collecting these then allows you to unlock any of Elika’s four powers, which can be done in any order. The more light seeds you collect the greater the rewards will be, although there are a lot to collect and not all of them are easy to get too.
 The developer have certainly gone out of their way to ensure that the player is engrossed in the story, to do this they have integrated optional dialogue into the game, therefore with a press of the left trigger the Prince will stop and chat with Elika in order to find out more about the land and the predicament they find themselves in, in fact there are even quite a few achievements built into the game for those who go out of their way to chat to Elika and get to know her.
Graphically the game is pretty stunning, the cell shaded graphics are amazing to look at and the environments are all very well designed, sometimes it is quite easy to get lost in the atmosphere of it all since there is only the Prince, Elika and the occasional enemy to keep you occupied. The interaction scenes between the Prince and Elika are also pretty impressive, the Prince has a very unique sense of humour while Elika is a serious yet pretty sweet individual.
Prince of Persia is a really fun game to play, sure the main premise may be quite repetitive due to the go there, heal the land, come back and go there nature of the game, however the fact that adventuring is the most enjoyable part of the game will probably mean that you will forgive the repetitiveness. Prince of Persia tries to be different and it succeeds, it looks stunning and plays the same way, it may not be the biggest game this Christmas but anyone who does buy it won’t regret the purchase.
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Dec 12, 2008 16:12:58 (Dec 12, 2008 16:13)
