Prince of Persia
Reincarnation of Sands of Time for a New Generation
Posted January 8, 2009
Mirroring the challenges that lay ahead of reworked installments like Final Fantasy XII, Resident Evil 4, and even the Prince of Persia series itself, Ubisoft have set out to do something unique with this new run at the Prince series -- make it completely different, yet keep most of its core elements largely similar. That's exactly what they've done with their simply titled Price of Persia; from the smooth Spider Man-esque/parkour mechanics to the narrative flow, we feel like we're playing a direct installment from the Prince's series. But the revamped combat, visual presentation, and brand new protagonist make Prince of Persia a different experience in other veins -- and, outside of the game's undeniably easy difficulty level and mildly sluggish fight sequences, this new Prince nails all his landings.
Introduction and Storyline:
With Warrior Within and The Two Thrones, Ubisoft tried to do a few different things with the formula successfully cemented within Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Namely, that consisted of tailoring the tone towards different groups, going so far as to take the melancholy-infused second installment into M-rating territory with its brutality and gritty disposition. But, even then, it always seemed to echo back to the light-hearted, whimsical tone of the original -- which is exactly why this new Prince finds its footing smack dab in a world constructed with two key elements: complete separation from the universe created by those experimental sequels, and a demeanor rooted in the same sort of fantastical playfulness as Sands of Time.
Also, the fact that Ubisoft has released a more reality-bound series with similar properties -- Assassin's Creed, a stellar series in its own right awaiting a forthcoming trilogy -- undoubtedly has something to do with it. Instead of trying to work in realism within both, they went the opposite direction and separated them with a clean partition; tossing tangibility, open-world properties, and adult tones towards their historically-infused assassin killing his way through the history books, Prince of Persia has elected to lean towards its whimsical Sands of Time roots and stay fairytale-like -- especially while encompassed in its stellar, colorfully cel-shaded world.
Needless to say, Price of Persia still becomes all about saving the world, helping the girl, and delivering a death blow to the evil powers lurking within many difficult-to-reach corners. This time, our new hero (nameless, of course) has stumbled upon princess Elika as she tries to fend off a cluster of evil guards and creatures controlled by her "possessed" father. He's powered by the brooding omnipresence of Ahriman, an evil god uncorked from his hiding place due to the efforts from Elika's father. As his infection spreads, Elika pleads with our Prince to seek out the darkened areas of her father's land and purge the deity-infused sickness from each location -- followed promptly by soaking in the power of the areas, known as light seeds, to heighten her magical powers -- to give her enough strength to push Ahriman back into oblivion. Think about the quests to purge and ensnare power from the lands in Okami and Zelda: Twilight Princess, and you'll get the idea.
Gameplay Nuts and Bolts:
Actually, that connection between Prince of Persia and these two past games grow even more similar as the game progresses. Just like Issun and Midna, the full-sized human princess Elika accompanies the Prince to all of his points of interest. Gamers' groans could be heard everywhere when this became apparent in the early stages of development, especially from those who have tried to keep partial non-playable characters alive in other games. But here's the kicker: Elika is, questionably, the best thing to happen to this new Prince of Persia, even though she doesn't really do much to impress. She's not an entity that you have to sweat over keeping alive, though it's a wise idea to watch how you utilize her talent and fragility as the combat grows more complex later on. Instead of a hindrance, she hovers behind you and latches onto your back in a way that becomes integral and, in many ways, one of the healthier boosts in power to occur within the three-dimensional Prince of Persia series.
Instead of reaching an especially difficult point and rushing to save your progress before attempting its complexity, Elika almost operates as her own omnipresent "save point" as she magically lifts the Prince to the last patch of solid ground that he'd stepped foot on. This becomes a very important element since, at its heart, Prince of Persia works best as a sprawling three-dimensional puzzle game than an action-adventure vehicle. Working your way from corner to corner of this rather large universe to collect Light Seeds for level advancement becomes the big challenge, as to be expected; since the series has become renowned for its frustration fests in connecting landings, Ubisoft placed that element of gameplay firmly at the core. Running along walls and scaling grapple hook after grapple hook along a ceiling becomes second nature, usually only after about twenty (20) minutes of acclimation to the easy-to-grasp mechanics. Needless to say, movement from Point A to Point B on the elegantly-designed map feels every ounce as familiar to the rest of the Prince of Persia series. And as an added dash, with a quick tap of a button, Elika will also light the path towards the selected destination with a glowing stream of blue magic that guides the Prince along the proper path.
Ubisoft couldn't have done a more thorough job at streamlining the controls, which can be both an blessing and a mild annoyance. It's clear that they're leaving control complexity to its more adult big brother, Assassin's Creed. Utilizing the standard analog movement/camera adjustment scheme used in other series, only without full 360-degree viewing in some positions, it attached simple movements to each button option (for the PS3, keeping the jump/vault upwards button at X, grabbing a wall ring with the O, etc). Stringing together the big complex movements across massive landscapes really hasn't ever been easier, especially considering the liberality that Ubisoft has injected into the Prince's luck.
Taking the place of screaming at the top of your lungs with each missed plank or footing -- something I did more times than I can count in Warrior Within or recently with Mirror's Edge -- Prince of Persia rarely lets you stumble from point to point, which is an element completely rectified by Elika's presence if the Prince happens to jump in the wrong direction. In short, you can't die; you might get frustrated at missing a ring or zigging when you should've zagged, but Elika won't let you plummet to your demise. That's actually a great relief, and an element that keeps Prince of Persia's acrobatic flow going at an immensely enjoyable speed.
She also won't let you die in battle, which addresses the least-satisfying element in Prince of Persia: the stale, heavy combat. Equally as streamlined as the wall-climbing, the fighting mechanics are digestible and can easily be grasped, but never become an enriching experience. The Prince alternates between three styles of combat -- blade swipes, blunt "launch" attacks, and magic blasts from Elika -- to connect into chains that can be seen as rudimentary combination trees. Maybe it's because faster-paced combo systems like Kratos' blitzed blades in God of War or Dante's flailing weaponry in Devil May Cry stand at forefront, but the sluggish rhythm and limited connectivity breadth make the experience a lot less enthralling than even Ubisoft's other Prince efforts. Something else that adds to the combat style's heavy nature is the health bar, which will never -- ever -- reach zero as long as Elika has something to say about it. This bar instead ping-pongs back and forth between empty and full, which denotes the Prince's progress in defeating his enemy.
Collecting the Light Seeds -- a necessary "diversion" -- doesn't open up combat refinement for the Prince or new powers to integrate into Elika's everyday movements, but instead unlocks the availability to use magic "plates" that take the pair to new points on the map in some oddly-placed magical scenarios. As the Light Seed collecting progresses, the two flock back to the temple to unlock new abilities like flying along a set path, run alongside walls ... in a set path, etc. That lack of any new, compelling talents to infuse life into the mundane actions of the two protagonists in Prince of Persia can be a bit of a downer, but the kinetic movement driving our nameless hero from place to place gets you so wrapped up in the flow that the unwavering progress matters less and less.
But once you've mastered this limited range of combat techniques, it becomes clear that Prince of Persia has reached its limit for magical and physical advancement -- which means that its got to rely on enemy variance and storytelling. The Prince fights the same menacingly-designed dripping black creatures over and over again, which can get a bit repetitive, not to mention the countless times that he fights mini boss battles along the way to the final big "purge" point. Also, be prepared for some frustrating "breaking of the fourth wall", as the screen gets sprayed with this black goo several times and, in effect, blocks the entirety of combat for a good five or six seconds. Still, the four larger boss battles can be lengthy, satisfying challenges -- even considering the lack of immediacy in the Prince's death meter and the heavily-grounded battle schematics.
Foremost, the core elements that build a great Prince game are epic storytelling facets and that enthralling wall-climbing flow, which Ubisoft orchestrates with surprising fluidity in this next-gen Prince of Persia. From top to bottom, it's a blast to follow the somewhat obnoxious nameless hero and Elika's banter (remember to converse with her often, trophy pursuer) while revealing more about the darker and lighter tones intermingling between them as you move from location to location. The narrative's not so much about progression of story than about reflection on Elika's past, illustrated by her passionate recollection of memories -- from moments with her mother in the royal garden and the emptiness she felt in the palace. That's what Prince of Persia as an experience becomes all about; it's not so much about the destination, but the ways in which the pair of protagonists get there. Amid all the kinetic movement, enjoyable quips of dialogue, and lush beauty of the landscapes, this is certainly a Prince of Persia well worth the tagalong for an inspired adventure.
Graphics, Sound, and Longevity:
It's a visually impressive adventure too, as Prince of Persia really works the corners of the 720-1080p spectrum with its beautifully orchestrated cel-shading. When screenshots first started to trickle onto the scene, skepticism ran a little rampant since the series was taking a step away from some of its tangible roots established during the PS2/Xbox era. Thankfully, the ways in which Ubisoft have conducted their cel-shaded games have been raging successes. Prince of Persia looks absolutely stellar, spanning a color palette that stretches to highly saturated oranges and yellows present during the disinfected times to a plethora of cold blues and purples during some of the darker, evil-cloaked locales. Minor detail work on clothing textures and facial mannerisms are handles with surprising grace, as are the nearly immaculate depth-of-field conceptualizations and close-quartered textures. Some jagged lines leak in at places, as well as a few patches of wonky shadow rendering behind the characters during conversations and movement, but this adventure is a largely beautiful one -- and a fantasy-inspired one where you won't be dissatisfied with the lack of realism in the rendering.
There's a lot to admire in Prince of Persia's sound design as well, as it stretches its legs out well across the surround stage. A few scant moments really ramp up the audible activity, but most of its signature sound element come in the musical accompaniment, vocal styling, and gentle sound effects as the nameless hero clanks and charges his way along the walls. Especially in these moments, the clarity present in its design does worlds for the atmosphere. Prince of Persia also boasts great musical cues, which chime in at equal points of clarity with the sound effects. Though the jury's still out as to whether the nameless hero's voice really matches his demeanor and frame, Elika's vocal match works out perfectly. Though not quite as awe-inspiring as the graphics, the sound effects and beautifully orchestrated score keep up with the visual design well.
Prince of Persia's length will largely depend on individual desires to mess around with scaling the walls, going from location to location, and map design. Using a direct path and going strictly by the numbers, it can probably wrap up in around 12-14 hours. However, if you're having a blast wall-climbing to grasp Light Seeds, many more hours could sink into the experience. If experimentation and acrobatic shenanigans are your forte, it's completely possible to sink in around 20 hours of gameplay into Prince of Persia. Trophy collecting flows along with the storyline's rhythm, as collecting Light Seeds and conversing with Elika for story revelation earn you certain "benchmark" style trophies -- like Conversation Master, etc. Though it's unavoidable to challenge yourself in collecting the Light Seeds, at least you receive some trophies along the way in a similar benchmark form. Plowing through Prince of Persia will certainly net quite a few trophies.
Final Thoughts:
In the end, Ubisoft have pieced together an engrossing, intricately designed fantasy experience with Prince of Persia, one with a smooth and decadent sensibility that reflects on both its visual sumptuousness and meticulous framework. It's a casual experience, one more focused on keeping a larger audience swimming inside of its whimsically-hinged universe, but it's unquestionably one of the year's more memorable efforts that offers both a solid narrative and a thoroughly-involving wallclimber experience. Fans of the series will also feel comfortably at home with this Prince's plank jumps and wall runs, even though newcomers will be able to pick up the action without having to worry with much controller complexity or story backwash. Make no mistake about it: this is still Prince of Persia, and it debuts in grand fashion for a newer generation.