Bag of Games

Year 2010 might be a good year for Prince of Persia. There is the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time movie coming at May 28th and, also in May, the release of Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands which is the next chapter in the fan-favorite Sands of Time universe. Since we still have to wait for a while for the next Prince of Persia experience, Endless Bag of Games gives you a review of the previous Prince of Persia game released in 2008 by Ubisoft. Besides, you can propably get the game with about 15€ by now which makes it a real bargain.

The game concentrates around the new Prince who is actually prince in name alone. He is a arrogant and cocky drifter and a bandid who accidently falls into aiding Elika, the princess, who is saving the world from dark god Ahriman. The dark god is threatening to escape from his prison and unleash his fury upon the world. The Prince and Elika travel together throughout the land bringing life back to fertile grounds which function as seals that binds Ahriman to his cell. In short, you’ll be traveling in semi-open lands collecting light-seeds, solving some puzzles and beating some Ahriman’s cronies: Exactly what to expect from Prince of Persia!!

The prince and Elika are a good pair and dynamics between the characters are actually quite good. I especially liked Elika, who is not your typical female co-star stereotype, but instead a more believable and interesting character who adds balance and interest to the story. The dialogue between the characters is fun and entertaining. In fact, Elika turns out to be somewhat more interesting than the Prince itself. In game terms Elika has vital role to play. When Prince does something awry (like miss-times a jump or is struck down) Elika will interject and save the prince. This somewhat correlates with the “time adjustment” fuction in Sands of Time and prevents the Prince from dying and thus release the game from death/try again type of sh*t. Elika also has some magical powers which will aid the Prince overcoming many obstacles and enrichen’s the experience between the two main characters.

Then there is the combat which has been carried out in a entertaining way. In combat, you’ll be controlling the prince, but Elika is actually working with you together in combos you execute. When the combos are performed correctly, enemies are quickly beaten. In Prince of Persia, button mashing can end up in long dances which will turn frustrating in the end. So patience and good choices are the winners here.

Prince of Persia has always had strong points in jumping and moving through the scenes. The visuals in this setting are excellent and fluent, but on that excuse jumping and dashing are actually more or less responding to on-screen cues with specific button to be pressed at the right time. Press the wrong button and you’ll be facing death. Player himself can decide is it a good thing or not, but still the outcome is enjoyable enough since as soon as players get into the system, it is an utter pleasure to watch the Prince flow across the canvas of the world.

The world of Prince of Persia is astonishing. It is vast and very beautiful even in very different environments. The areas are distinct and beautiful as a whole and you’ll be getting the Prince of Persia mythical feeling from them. Enough said, visuals are definetely a strong point to this game.

As a summary, Prince of Persia is a enjoyable game that you should not miss if you haven’t played it already. It is a solid title with stunning art direction and game world to enjoy from. It isn’t perfect, but will definetely please you by delivering what the game promises in the cover. Plus, by now you can get it real cheap so it’s worth a try.