The ambiance makes it worth playing, but it overstays its welcome
I have to admit that I didn't expect much out of Prince of Persia before the game was released. However, after surprisingly positive reviews and a sale at my local game store, I decided to give it a shot. After taking in the gorgeous graphics, going through a few tutorial battles, and restarting the game due to a glitch that caused the ground to disappear from under my feet, I was not too optimistic. Luckily, the game picks up pretty quickly and becomes quite entertaining. Unfortunately, due to a lack of variety in gameplay and the automated nature of the platforming, gameplay becomes a bit dull before the 10-12 hour story mode is finished.
PoP's merits and demerits are debated by reviewers and fans alike, and with good reason. The one thing that everyone should be able to agree on, however, is that the game is quite stunning to look at. While it may not be as technically impressive as recent releases such as Dead Space or Resistance, it has a style all to its own that looks like a Disney movie come to life. Stellar animations support the excellent graphical style; I haven't seen such fluid movement in a game since Assassin's Creed, and PoP may even top that. The audio package is equally wonderful, with the music especially standing out from the crowd. It is possible to delve deeper into the personalities of both characters, which is cool, but sometimes the dialouge isn't so great and the quality of the voiceovers during these sections varies. Most of the dialouge and voiceovers work out well, though.
It is in the actual gameplay where PoP falters most. Only a few buttons on the controller are actually used during gameplay. The X button handles most acrobatic feats, including jumping and wall running; the O button allows the Prince to extend his wall runs through the use of conveniently placed rings; the triangle button is used to extend the Prince's jumps. That's about all there is to the platforming in PoP, and while new abilities are unlocked later, they are rarely used. Combat is much more in depth than the platforming, and also much more rare. PoP features a very malleable combo system that allocates a certain type of attack to each face button; the square button is used for sword attacks, X for flashy acrobatic attacks, O for gauntlet attacks, and triangle calls in the Prince's partner, Elika, to attack with magic. No matter which buttons are pressed, the results are guaranteed to be sweet looking, but the longer combos are truly things of beauty. It's just a bit unfortunate that the Prince can never actually die. This is perfectly acceptable during the platforming sequences, when the Prince is simply taken back to the last checkpoint instead of seen dying. But in combat, it really is impossible to lose because even if the Prince ends up on the wrong end of a blade, the worst that can happen is the enemy regains some of its health before the battle begins anew. Couple this with some generally easy boss battles (I beat the Concubine boss in about 10-15 seconds one time, although the rest are longer than that) and PoP comes across as kind of a fluff game; a game that you could doze off while playing and still be fine when you wake up. There are no consequences for failure. This is sort of a shame because the bosses themselves are genuinely interesting, and the battles don't really live up to the backstories. The "fluff" feel is more suited to the platforming segments, especially since everything is context sensitive, so the Prince is bound to jump off a cliff when you expect him to wallrun once or twice at least.
Coupled with a generally unchanging gameplay environment, an overall lack of consequences for failure, and a solid length, the simple gameplay can barely support the game all the way through. Sure, watching and listening to the action unfold is cool, and the simple story is pretty satisfying, but at some point you'll realize that all you're really doing is hitting the X button over and over again. In general, the gameplay that's in the game works beautifully, but I still wish it was more varied.
Graphics: 9.5/10: Maybe not as technically impressive as some other games, but I dare you to not be floored by the art direction.
Sound: 10/10: The music complements the game perfectly, and the voice acting is generally solid even when the dialouge isn't.
Gameplay: 7.5/10: Simple and fun, but becomes redundant by the end of the adventure.
Entertainment: 8/10: Very entertaining during the first few hours, but it eventually becomes clear that the Prince needs to learn a few new tricks.
