I have never played a Prince of Persia game before this recent installment, which is no small feat considering the series has spanned nearly 20 years. I decided to rent this game based on the reviews it was getting. All in all, I enjoyed the game a lot. It has its annoyances, all of which are typically noted in most of the big site reviews… but it is put together well, like most of Ubisoft’s Montreal’s recent work. The feature that stood out most to me was the cel shaded graphics, a unique look for games these days.

One major criticism in many reviews is the lack of a death penalty in Prince of Persia. Whenever you take too much damage, fall off a cliff, etc, your female cohort instantly revives you back to the nearest solid ground. This tends to make the game extraordinarily easy, especially since the game has very few enemies. Even though the game is easy by today’s standards (and the series, which is notoriously difficult), it is long enough that you won’t find yourself blowing through it in one sitting. I actually appreciated the revive system in the game: it felt realistic for the setting (considering that your companion can teleport anywhere, it makes sense that she can catch you if you fall), and helps the flow of the game: no disjointed loading screens between deaths, etc.

The structure of Prince of Persia is interesting, because it is essentially built on activities within four zones, each housing a different mini boss. While I can tell the developers were trying to create a very unique experience for each boss, the combat system is fairly generic each time, and all but one of the bosses are best dealt with in the same combo patterns. The combat system is visually flashy, but leaves something to be desired, especially compared to the multitude of platforming/adventure games these days. Luckily the focus of the game is not combat, but platforming, a system which Prince of Persia handles flawlessly. Literally, one of the best platforming mechanics in recent memory.  There are a few caveats, but in most cases the system feels extremely fluid.

The story, convoluted at times, accomplishes its purpose, and I mentioned in a previous post how much I enjoyed the voice acting of the prince. The prince character is actually a lot like Nathan Drake from Uncharted (not to mention that they share the same voice actor): a mysterious, suave adventurer with a taste for leaping over tall objects. In any case, I haven’t played another Prince of Persia game, so I do not know how the Prince is typically portrayed.

While Prince of Persia may not live up to its predecessors, I feel like it stands out among other recent adventure games, and is absolutely worth a play through.

I have Call of Duty: World at War coming in the mail through gamefly, and I also recently bought a copy of Motorstorm Pacific Rift, so I will post my impressions on these games soon. Happy Holidays!