“The Sands Of Time” - Review Of Prince Of Persia

GENERAL    By TSSCrew on December 29, 2008 at 2:10 pm

Words By S. Cadet

Pics Property Of Gamespot

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when I popped in Prince of Persia for the first time. I played some of the previous games on Xbox and even messed around with the OG version back in the day. Over time, the series has seen a lot of changes so I knew I was going to be in for something different.

Now that I completed the game I can say that I had fun with it. I had some gripes with it here and there but the game maintained my interest. There is a questionable design choice that has a few who bought or played the game buzzing. This could make or break the game for you. With that said let me break down the story quickly.

Basically the game stars an unlikely protagonist (The Prince) that stumbles in on a power struggle between Ahriman (the antagonist) and Elika (the female supporting role throughout the game.) Her father, The King, grieved Elika’s death and cut a deal with Ahriman to bring her back to life. Thing is, the King agreed to bring Ahriman, an evil god, back to life and ruin his kingdom. So the player spends the game reversing all of the damage Ahriman did throughout the land.

As mentioned, gameplay is pivotal and you’ll never see a game over screen in this game. You know why? You can’t die. When Elika was revived she was given “magical powers” that aid you in your quest. One of those powers is the ability to always save the Prince whenever he faces death. If you misjudge a jump she brings you back to the last checkpoint. If an enemy or boss is about to kill you she reverses time to save you. Thing is they regain their health every time she does this.

This aspect of the game may make or break the experience for some people. It makes the game a whole lot easier for one. Sure there are tricky platforming and exploration elements throughout; many of which are fun to complete. With that said some potential for suspense is lost when you come to grips with the fact that Elika can save you at any time. Honestly the game’s design was made with Elika’s ability in mind. There are plenty of jumping sections where you’ll face death from the slightest misstep. Some these segments can be long as well. Point is, the game would’ve been more challenging, if not more frustrating, without this new element.

Elika’s powers go beyond saving your ass when you screw up though. She can teleport, let the prince run on walls, and even fly. These powers are unlocked by collecting orbs after you unlock each world. Unlocking the worlds involving beating the same boss within the world. These battles can get repetitive since you face the same boss five teams each: four for each quadrant, one for each of their “final encounters.”

Moving on, the Prince puts up his dukes sparingly in the game. The combo system is pretty robust. With that said the game doesn’t encourage you to explore it since the enemies and bosses aren’t too difficult for the most part. They’ll have stance changes which force you to start a combo with a different attack. Add in some quick time events and that’s about as complicated as the fighting gets. Combat can be more entertaining if you choose to finesse the fighting system though.

The game looks great, incredible at times if you’re on an HDTV. There is a kaleidoscope colors with great contrast. The game’s animation is well done and rarely misses a beat. The aforementioned combo system features tons of stylized maneuvers that look impressive. The cel-shaded look (think Futurama’s 3D sequences) makes it seem like you’re controlling a cartoon.

Sadly, there isn’t much to go back to once you beat it. You can collect all the orbs or unlock extra character skins if you choose. There are no unlockable difficulty settings though so the adventure stays the same on the second play through. Dropping $60 on the game now may be a tough pill to swallow if you run through games quickly. The game is enjoyable but it’s pretty short. Plus the game saving feature makes it more of a matter of when, not if, you’ll beat it. Best bet is to rent it for now or wait till the price drops if your pockets are hurting.

Posted in GENERAL, Gadgets, REVIEWS, SMOKE BREAK — Tags: Prince Of Persia, REVIEWS, XBox