Prince of Persia

Combat has also been changed, with a focus on one-on-two (the Prince and Elika combat. Elika is able to perform combos seamlessy with the Prince. The design philosophy driving the new combat system is to make each battle both more intense and cinematic. Fights are not as common as they were in the previous games, but aim to keep the player on the edge of their seat using intense, cinematic imagery. The combat system assigns attacks to four main buttons. Elika, the Prince's sword, and the gauntlet are all assigned to their own button, as well as one button reserved for 'acrobatic' attacks. The player can initiate a combo with any of the four choices, then continue with another. Both timing and attack selection are key to creating larger combos. If the player hesitates, they miss the opportunity to attack. Visual cues in the on screen action will make the player aware of the attack they should next perform on some occasions, and any other attempts will end the combo. These are usually reserved for combo finishers, however, as the first few choices are generally up to the player. The Prince can also block attacks and counter blows. Holding the block button will guard most attacks, but pressing it strategically will create an opportunity to counter. The player must beware, however, as enemies can also counter. The combat system also employs quick time events at various times throughout a battle. The player will need to repeatedly press buttons to push the enemy  away or quickly press a prompted button to avoid a final blow. Throughout the game, the player will encounter a variety of enemies which require creative thinking to take down, such as "The Warrior," who cannot be harmed by the sword, gauntlet, or magic.

Development

Prince of Persia's development team began conception right as Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones was released, however, tangible proof of the game was found when, on September 21, 2006 a leaked concept art hit the net. Ubisoft remained silent and made no comment. On January 23, 2008 some more screen shots from the gamewere leaked onto the internet, while the game was in it's conception phase. Once again, Ubisoft did not comment.

In May 2008, Ubisoft finally released two videos of a concept artist designing the Prince and Elika confirming the existence of the game officially under the Prince of Persia title. One video shows a full-bodied new Prince being speed drawn using Photoshop. The other art drawing video detailed Elika and finally the third speed concept art emerged in July, 2008, this time depicting a prime enemy; The Hunter.

Downloadable Content

Ben Mattes, lead developer on Prince of Persia has stated numerous times that Ubisoft is indeed interested in having downloadable content for Prince of Persia. They however said that if they do release it, that they wish for it to be something meaningful, and not something like a new costume. They are aiming for the The Prince of Persia downloadable content to include new areas, new enemies, new magical powers and new fighting moves.

Levels

The Levels are as follows:

The Hunter, who stalks his prey in The Citadel.

The Citadel

The long abandoned guardpost of the city, the Citadel is currently where The Hunter resides.

The Warrior, who rules over the City of Light.

The City of Light 

The City of Light was once a place of wonders, but once it came into The Warrior's hands, it is now a place of destruction. The city was once a place where travellers would come to trade, scholars would gather to learn, and filled with beauty and life.

The Concubine, who dwells within the royal palace!

The Royal Palace

In the Royal Palace, The Prince will encounter The Councubine. The Royal Palace contains a cavern,  the Royal Gardens, the Royal Spire, the Spire of Dreams, the Coronation Chamber, and the Palace rooms.  The Royal Palace is an area which holds many memories for Elika, and many important areas for the kingdom. The Royal Spire serves as the seat of power in the land, and was where Elika's father sat on his throne, and the hall of cornoation, where the king receives his crown. The king and queen were wed in the Spire of Dreams, a place that was said to make one's dreams come true. Once upon a time, the Royal Palace was a place of wonder. Actors filled the cavern, and the lush gardens were truly a sight to behold. After Elika's mother died, the Royal Palace began to lose beauty. The gardens withered away along with the king's sanity, and the Royal Palace is now merely a fraction of its former glory.

The Alchemist, who resides in The Vale.

The Vale

The Alchemist claims the Vale as his home, dwelling within the Observatory, where he brings terror to The Vale. The Vale is characterized by many different, wonderous machines, which the Alchemist invented when Ahriman was free.

Bosses

The Hunter:

The Hunter was once a Prince, who lived only for the hunt. He would travel lands, far and wide in an attempt to face off against the most exotic and powerful beasts. After a certain amount of time had passed, and a certain amount of animals had been slain, the Hunter felt that there was no longer any creature alive that would give him the thrill of the chase. This is when Ahriman's voice crept in and offered him a solution to his dilemma. The Hunter was to offer his soul to Ahriman, and in exchange would be allowed to hunt for all eternity, the one creature that could pose any sort of challenge: man.

The Concubine:

The Concubine used to be a beautiful women, who had the ability to trick any man she wanted into doing whatever she desired. She used her beauty and gift and became political. One day however she fell in love with a handsome noble man, and they were to be married. However a jealous women, came and attacked her, disfiguring her, and her face. With no way to return to her former beauty, the Concubine fled, and sold her soul to Ahriman, and exchange, she would have the ability to control all men.

The Warrior:

Once a King of a great nation, the Warrior was forced into becoming a corrupted being. His Kingdom was facing great problems and were constantly at war, and so Ahiman came to the Warrior and offered him great power in exchange for his soul and servitude. To protect his people, the Warrior accepted, and he was suddenly transformed into a great and powerful being. However when his enemies were defeated his people were scared and shunned him, and he realized that he had become the very thing he had fought. Thus, to protect his people and fulfill his duty, he left and became a warrior at Ahriman's side.

The Alchemist:

The Alchemist was once, as his name implies, an alchemist. A doctor of sorts, that attempted to create things using a mixture of science and magic. He would stay in his quarters for many hours pouring over books, and studying. Eventually he became fascinated by Ahriman's corruption and strived to study it, with hopes that he would eventually be able to control and manipulate it. He used the Ahura as slaves, and he built great machines that would allow him to hold vast amounts of corruption. As he became older, he started practicing further dark arts in attempt to figure out how to live forever, so that he could continue his studies. At this Point the Ahura imprisoned the Alchemist and he was to die. This is when Ahriman appeared to the Alchemist. In exchange for his soul, Ahriman would allow the Alchemist to have eternal life. The Alchemist accepted.

The Mourning King:

Elika's father, he cuts down the Tree of Life, sealing Ahriman. The Prince of Persia attempts to stop him, and battles ensue.

Ahriman:

Evil God of corruption. He has a brother named Ormazd and these two God's were meant to balance out the universe. Ahriman became greedy and attempted to take Ormazd's domain thus Ormazd sealed him away into the Tree of Life, and entrusted the Ahura to protect the tree.

Music

The musical score for Prince of Persia is being composed two veteran video game composers, Inon Zur and Stuart Chatwood. Zur worked on previous Prince of Persia titles as well as the soundtrack for Fallout 3. Chatwood has composed music for seven other Prince of Persia titles.  Stuart Chatwood comes from the Canadian rock band The Tea Party.  There is different music for each of the four lands that you visit throughout the game as well as new themes for each combat scneario you encounter.  The music blends melodies with eastern european touches combined with guitars and cinematic overtones.

Music supervisor for Prince of Persia, Simon Landry, says this about the games score: “The musical challenge for the Prince of Persia soundtrack was to further push the interactivity, the diversity and the emotional complexity.  The colossal achievement of Inon and Stuart’s work is to have composed such a powerful and impressive interactive musical odyssey. The complementary approach of these two skilled composers pushes musical boundaries and creates a fascinating and authentic world."

Limited Edition Offer

Ubisoft announced that people who pre-ordered Prince of Persia would get a free upgrade to a Limited Edition. The Limited Edition can only be gotten if you pre-ordered the game and it won't be sold alongside the regular edition. Those who register the game with the publisher at Ubisoft.com will be able to download 2 free playable models: Altair from Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed and the Prince from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.   The PS3 version of the special features came packed with the game on a separate blu-ray disc.  The limited edition cover shown came as a slip case with the games original artwork mainted on the real packaging.  The Limited Edition package will also include the following extras:

• An exclusive look at the making of Prince of Persia.

• A Prima digital mini-strategy guide filled with developer secrets.
• A digital art book chronicling the game’s journey.
• Original soundtrack scored by master composer Inon Zur and Stuart Chatwood.
• Collectible Limited Edition packaging.

Alternate Skins

Ubisoft has confirmed that there will be alternate skins for both the Prince and Elika available that can be used to play the entire adventure. Currently, Ubisoft has announced the Classic Prince costume and Altair costume (Assassin's Creed for the Prince.  There will also be a Farah costume (Sands of Time trilogy and a Jade costume (Beyond Good and Evil for Elika.


- The Altair skin can be obtained via linking your Xbox 360 Gamertag or your PSN ID to an account on Ubisoft.com,
   and can be unlocked in the PC version by placing in the code 13372805









- Skin for Elika designed to make her look like Jade from Ubisoft's game, Beyond Good and Evil.








-Prototype skins for both Prince and Elika are unlocked by completing the game with 1001 lightseeds in the PC version.  It is currently unknown how to unlock them in the console versions.

Penny Arcade Story Book

The popular webcomic site Penny Arcade was commisioned to make a online story book for the Prince of Persia.  The images are done in the style of the site's other cartoon's with a more paint like and sytlized approach.  The book has 16 pages of artwork, each accompanied with a page of text.  The story details one of the four bosses encounted in the game, The Hunter.  The story tells how a Prince, having killed all worthy prey, becomes bored with the act of hunting.  He sells his soul to Ahriman, the evil God in order to bring excitment to the hunt.  Ahriman makes him a monster that is now being hunted by people, allowing him to hunt them back.  Tycho (who writes the posts and comicsfor PA) wrote the story while Gabe (who draws the comics) made the illustrations.

Gabe from Penny Arcade commented how he wanted to learn all new techniques for this story book to bring something truley original to the table.  He found inspriation in his childrens story books and picture books.  Gabe had this to say about the process:

"For my part I wanted this story book to feel authentic. So I raided my son's book shelf and I also pulled out a box of baby stuff my Mom had given me. It had some awesome Little Golden Books that I had read as a kid. With all these great books around as inspiration I sat down to use Photoshop in a way that I never had before. I wanted to really "paint" with it and that meant learning all new techniques."

The full story book can be found here: http://prince-of-persia.us.ubi.com/PA/html/index.php