Prince of Persia - A Good Video Game
The new Prince of Persia is a good, mainstream video game released in 2008. Considering how many components there are in a contemporary big budget game this is an impressive feat, and understandably rare..
The game doesn't do anything revolutionary (unless you count the fact that you can not die). It meets the requirements of a contemporary, mainstream video game: beautiful polygon based graphics, competent (sometimes charming) voice work, good character design and development, good sound design, and it does a good job of delivering the narrative alongside the gameplay.
What sets Prince of Persia apart from most other big budget video games is that it manages to assemble these pieces into a coherent and polished single player experience. The game's overall design is simple and streamlined, starting with its set up:
A Han Solo-esque protagonist is lost in a desert sand storm searching for his donkey laden with stolen treasure. He runs into a magical princess on a quest who is pursued by her father and decides to help for no particular reason.
(Note that he is not a prince, and there is no mention of Persia in the game)
The game's mechanics are similarly simple: you jump, climb, and run along walls to get from point A to B. if you fall, the princess saves you and you end up on the last safe platform you were on.
On rare occasions you fight an enemy, just one, and the enemies are nearly identical. You can't die here either, but if the princess has to step in to save you it prolongs the fight.
There are boss fights, and those fights are basically the same as the regular fights.
Sound boring? It would be if not for the simple and compelling story told mostly through the dialogue between the two main characters (there are no villagers, inn keepers, or anonymous npcs to speak to). The dialogue is divided nicely into either banter that drives character development or setting/background information about the princess' quest. Almost all of the dialogue is optional, requiring the player to trigger each individual exchange that make up a larger conversation. This is an elegant solution to the issues of cut scenes that disrupt the gameplay; the player gets to dictate the pace, either stopping to listen to an entire conversation at once, or continuing to run through a level, pausing on safe platforms to activate another exchange.
the game lasts anywhere from 5-10 hours. My play through took about 10, I was shooting for all the achievements in the game.
That's about it. Prince of Persia is a well done video game. If you don't like video games, this won't change your mind, but you are looking for a good action adventure game you can pick it up for $20 new.
