Prince of Persia Review
Prince of Persia is the latest entry into the series. This is a game that basically leaves the Sands of Time mechanics and goes off on its own little spin. You will be running on wall, ceilings, jumping from pillar to pillar, climbing all over the place, and battling demonic bosses.
The graphics in the this game are stunning, there are a couple of glitches when it comes to landing from a huge jump, but that really rarely happens. The levels look amazing as well, and I have to say that I'm a huge fan of the subtle color changes when you purify an area, the changes aren't over the top but it takes you from dark and dreary to light and springy.
The music and sounds fit this game to a T. Now there are some catch phrases that you'll have the privilege to hear over and over again, that you really wish they'd stop saying, but overall the voices are good, the sounds your character makes while moving the a level fit.
The controls seem well tuned to a point. It was a bit frustrating for me when the camera really wanted to be in one place and you were trying to do a wall run, but instead you ended up running up the wall and sliding back to where you were. Also another directional issue comes into play when you are trying to move the levers around in a circle. I felt that the directional controls disoriented themselves, and you were left guess as to what you would have to do to get it to do what you wanted it to.
the gameplay is really simple. You're going to be playing a platformer in which you are going to have to spend a ton of time trying to work out how you're going to move around the level. You will also have frequent encounters with single opponents, and they will all have a health bar that you're going to have to put to zero, or find another way of getting rid of them. The game unfolds with layers of complexity the more you open it up. You're going to be paired with Elika, and she's going to save your ass everytime you are about to die, that's right there is no death for you in the game. She, in my mind, goes from invincible to if you take one wrong step a huge liability. When you are fighting you are going to be relying on combos, and Elika can be an intricate part of it, but as you go further into the game you're going to notice that when you mess up a combo involving her she's going to become injured and you'll be left alone for a bit. Also all enemies are going to gain different states that you're going to have to change your tactics to battle them, as you get further into the game.
My biggest gripe about the game is the bosses, yes they are cool the first time you face off against them, but they keep coming back over and over again, and you feel like you are going through the same steps with them. The originality kind of drains from the game as a result. Another thing is the collection of light seeds, which are needed to open up other areas. You spend a ton of time to get through a level to get to the boss, and then you're going to have to thoroughly recomb through the level to find the seeds required to open up other areas, and there are times where you went through a very difficult part of the level in which you're not going to want to traverse it again.
If you want a game that is forgiving for mistakes, gets more complex as it goes, an action platformer, and has collection elements in it, then this is the game for you. I know that a lot of people out there discount this game upon hearing that you can't die, but I think that it only enhances the game because it allows you not to have to backtrack 3 or 4 hours every single time. I think this game is an almost hit, and if interested in the game you should definitely pick it up. This game gets a 8.1 out of 10.
