Prince of Persia 2008 Review
Ubisoft Updates The Prince for the Next-Generation
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is considered one of the best platformers of the last generation, blending the genre’s traditional jumping and grabbing with time-based puzzles and mechanics. The two follow-ups, however, failed to recapture any of the series’ magic and charm. The Warrior Within attempted to turn the Prince into a brooding, stubbly anti-hero, replete with rock guitar soundtrack, and The Two Thrones ultimately was mediocre.
Seemingly aware of fans' waning interest in the series, Ubisoft decided to re-imagine the Prince for the next generation of consoles. Whereas previous titles had the Prince leap great distances and solve puzzles on his own, he’s now got a partner, the princess Elika.
A Prince Among Thieves
But perhaps the biggest difference between the previous games and the current PoP is the Prince himself. In fact, he’s not even a prince at all. He’s a thief who merely resembles the eponymous royal. It’s never implied that he’s a distant relative or an ancestor, although he shares the same propensity for acrobatics and swordplay.
Ahriman is Released and Spreads Corruption
The game begins with the new Prince wandering the desert, calling for his lost donkey, Farah. He eventually encounters Elika, on the run from her father the King’s men. The Prince defends Elika, but neither can prevent the King from reaching a sacred temple and releasing the god Ahriman, who spreads oozing Corruption across the land. The Prince and Elika must vanquish Ahriman’s four lieutenants and rid the land of Corruption in order to defeat Ahriman once and for all.
It’s a decent, if conventional, story, and is mostly well-written. The Prince is a likeable lead, and Elika is a well-written character with a dark past. The game rewards being inquisitive, revealing narrative exposition if the Prince chooses to question the knowledgeable Elika.
Why is the Prince of Persia American?
However, there are some problems. For one, the Prince’s American accent is incongruous, considering the obvious Persian backdrop, but then this oddity has been present in the series for a while now. Then there’s the case of Ahriman’s prison; a spindly little tree that requires the lightest of blows to shatter it and release its occupant. These problems can be overlooked, but they do conspire to devalue the narrative at times.
A True Next-Generation Platformer
The Prince of Persia series has a legacy for being one of the finest examples of a platformer, and thankfully this tradition is carried on into the next-generation. Simply put, the platforming is the most enjoyable aspect of PoP, blending stomach-lurching jumps with complex feats of agility. The inclusion of Elika bolsters the Prince’s repertoire, as she can double the distance he can jump, not to mention plucking him from almost certain doom if he makes a mistake.
Is Prince of Persia Too Easy?
And therein lies PoP’s most divisive feature: its difficulty, or lack thereof. Whenever the Prince misses a jump or is mortally wounded, Elika will either return him to where he’d been or heal him instantly. It’s an obvious attempt at making the game more accessible, but hardcore and long-time fans will find it too forgiving. It removes the sense of tension so inherent in platformers, the apprehension before a jump, and the subsequent relief that follows.
Prince of Persia's New One-On-One Combat
The game might be forgiving, but it is by no means easy. Combat, for instance, has had a complete overhaul, focusing on one-on-one duels emphasising timing and combos. The Prince has four options of attack; his sword, his gauntlet, acrobatics and Elika.
Combining these four attributes leads to a spectacular showcase, as the Prince throws an enemy into the air with his gauntlet, leaps up to meet them, strikes them with his sword, and calls on Elika to add the finishing touch.
The four bosses the Prince fights require different methods of attack. Some are too heavily armoured to be hurt by the Prince alone, and require him to make use of the environmental features around him, whereas others can imprison Elika momentarily and force the Prince to rely on only his cunning to succeed.
Encounters are tense, spectacular and hugely rewarding once the basics have been understood, and the game’s forgiving difficulty means players can experiment and not ever have to worry about health or checkpoints.
Prince of Persia New Art Style
Ubisoft have made some pretty bold changes to the Prince of Persia formula with their next-generation instalment, including a complete re-imagining of the world itself. The series has always been slightly stylised, but PoP is now completely covered in exaggerated colours and pencilled outlines.
Some of the spectacles, from a temple mounted by an enormous tree to a lofty view of enormous tethered balloons, are simply amazing and recall the likes of Aladdin and Arabian Nights.
Prince of Persia Review
Overall, the next-generation PoP is a complete departure for the series, eschewing its history in the process. For ardent fans, it might come as something of an unwelcome surprise, but, objectively, Ubisoft haven’t done much wrong with the game. It’s relatively easy and forgiving, but whether these are faults is worthy of debate.
When the Prince is leaping from pole to pole, scraping across sheer drops and defying gravity, it’s a thrilling adventure, replete with wonderful backdrops and ambience. But if players are looking for a challenging, conventional platformer, they might find themselves a little unsatisfied.
8/10
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