Prince of Persia

The new Prince of Persia for the PS3, PC and 360 is quite different from the previous instalments of the series in almost every way. No longer does the prince quest on his own: now he has a female sidekick(Elika) to assist him on his journey to defeat Ahriman, the evildoer of the game who, in a burst of emoness or possibly fueled by the Rolling Stones song, decided to paint the world black. The Prince himself is noticeably different from the one we last saw in Two Thrones(instead of a dark "emo" Prince, we are greeted with a Prince that is much more on the light side cracking jokes and one-liners whenever he gets the chance, voiced by the guy who voiced Drake in Uncharted), the graphics are also less somber since they step away from realism to portray the game's world and characters as if they were in a watercolor painting.This artstyle is definetely the game's strong point. The characters and the settings look marvelous and I found myself stopping just to admire the scenery. These two changes which I've mentioned are two of the three changes that have been made to the core elements of Prince of Persia. I saved the changes in gameplay for last because these were the only changes that were for the worse, in my opinion. The Prince of Persia games have always been games that have been mostly about challenging platforming. This game still features platforming as the key component of the game but it's too easy. Trust me on this one folks, I play most of my games on Easy mode(or Casual or Novice or whatever you'll call it) and I found this game to be too easy! There was not one moment where I had to stop and think," Hmm, what do I do know" or "Where should I go next?". This might be excelent for some people, but I like being challenged(it's one of the reasons I like Zelda so much). Not only do you don't have to stop and think, but Prince of Persia is a game where you simply cannot die. If you jump into a hole or dive into a blob of darkness "jelly", Elika will use her magic to transport you to the last ledge you were on. Even in combat, if you die, which is impossible since you have a block button that will endure a nuclear missile and 3 easy combos to memorize(e.g. Square x3, X or Square x3 Circle or Square x3 Triangle) Elika will revive you with the penalty of your enemy regaining a little bit of health. Another change in gameplay is that in this game you have to backtrack through levels since you have to rid a level from darkness(by defeating a boss and then press Triangle repeatedly as you watch Elika use her magic to transform the level into a lush, green oasis) and then return to the level to collect these glowing orbs called "Light Seeds" which will be used to unlock new powers to unlock new levels. Even though the levels change color and tone and you can explore some new areas, the truth is you will have to play through the same level at least twice, if not more, to collect the amount of Light Seeds necessary to unlock new levels. Besides, one thing is backtracking in a game where the gameplay is challenging and varied- it sucks to backtrack in this game since you have markings on the walls,ledges and metal rings to guide you on your way. It's riddiculously easy...
As for the story, it's pretty straightforward and its only use is to justify the action. Prince meets Elika. Elika's dad frees Ahriman, god of Darkness. Ahriman paints the land black. Elika and Prince purify the land. Done.
Other than the extremely easy level of difficulty, I enjoyed this game. It's a beautiful game with amazing graphics both artistically and technically, featuring magnificent watercolor-esque graphics and amazing draw-distances. However, I never for once felt satisfied for reaching a certain area or for killing a certain enemy because it was all really easy. The only reason this reviewer doesn't give the game a lower score is definetely due to its graphics so if you're a person who enjoys challenging games like DMC or Ninja Gaiden avoid this game at all costs.
-HardcoreBunni