The Immortal Imperial – Prince of Persia Reviewed

                                                    The Prince defies gravity and fashion in his latest adventure.

In 2003, Ubisoft managed to revitalize the Prince of Persia franchise, taking the game from its two dimensional roots on Apple II computers, and bringing the Prince into the third dimension for the Playstation 2, Xbox and Gamecube consoles. This reinvisioning, subtitled Sands of Time, was successful enough to warrant two sequels, The Warrior Within and The Two Thrones. Unfortunately, the sequels emphasized combat as much as the exhilaration of movement, and subsequently failed to improve upon the original game.

Five years later, Ubisoft has rejuvenated the series once again with a gorgeous, high definition reboot, which shows the power of our now-gen systems. However, even more remarkable that the exhibition of graphical finesse, is the title’s shift in fundamental gameplay concepts. This Prince of Persia seeks the admiration of a kingdom of casual gamers; the game forgoes any of the frustration found in most modern platformers. PoP is a game to be experienced and enjoyed, and offers little in the way of traditional game challenge.

                                                   “Eat sword, you top-hat wearing freak.”

As the game opens, our protagonist is pursuing a lost donkey carrying a king’s ransom in gold. While in the desert, a vicious sandstorm erupts, plunging the young Prince into the path of Elika, a mysterious princess who is fleeing from her father’s guards. It seems Elika’s father had destroyed the Tree of Life, thus releasing the malicious deity, Ahriman. It becomes the newly formed duo’s quest to restore the kingdom and subdue the spiteful god.

As with previous games, the Prince moves with both fluidity and grace as he traverses the game’s environments. For series veterans, the first half hour may seem peculiar. Accustomed to the multitude of button-presses required to scale walls, we were initially taken back by the simplified control scheme. Within minutes we readjusted to the input method, realizing that Ubisoft sought clarity and ease in the player control scheme. Periodically, the sensation of control was removed altogether, as we felt like we were watching, not directing the Prince’s actions.

As Elika accompanies the Prince throughout the adventure, she’ll be saving his royal posterior repeatedly (Although there is an achievement/trophy offered for finishing the game with less than a 100 saves). Miss a jump, and she’ll wisk you back to the nearest platform. Get lost, and she’ll offer a beam of light to illuminate the direction you should be heading.  With her assistance, Elika allows you to cross vast chasms via a double jump. We’ve never seen a cohort as useful Elika before, and as such the player develops an emotional attachment to the character stronger than any of the relationships with sidekicks seen in Fable II or Fallout 3.

                                              “Alright, who let the kids use the pool, again?”

One interesting design decision centers on character development. Most games force the player to sit through cinemas when the designers decide it’s time to move the plot along. However, in PoP, Elika will request the Prince’s attention by an on-screen button prompt. If players want to converse with Elika, they may, or they may simply choose to ignore her request. It’s a thoughtful option that we haven’t seen successfully employed since the narrative tidbits scattered throughout Bioshock’s environment.

Inon Zur’s and Stuart Chatwood’s score is reminiscent of the work of Hans Zimmer, and accompanies the game superbly. Graphically, Prince of Persia is dreamlike, lush, and varied; with locales so picturesque, they may briefly detract you from your objective. More than a few times we stopped to admire the beauty shown by the game. Sadly, some of the Prince’s dialogue is painfully anachronistic; he sounds more modern day Californian, than ancient Middle Eastern royalty. His arrogance and ignorance prohibit the Prince from being a likable character, and impede any hopes for idenification with the player.