Prince of Persia
Review
It's all about the donkey...
by Chris Davis
reviewed on X360
Seeds
Besides putting a stop to Ahriman, the prince and Elika are also tasked with healing The Fertile Grounds, twenty unique locations throughout the kingdom that have been corrupted by the evil god. A mini boss protects the Mr Evil's interests and the only way to heal the Grounds is by defeating it. In contrast to their name, Fertile Ground are usually located anywhere but on the ground. They provide an entertaining romp to get to but once healed leave very little incentive for the player to return to.
After having healed a Fertile Ground, the path the player took to get to it becomes covered in Light Seeds. The Light Seeds are the necessary collectable in Prince of Persia and they are with absolute certainty the most tedious part of the game. It requires you to engage in a lot of boring, yet mandatory backtracking. Unfortunately the Seeds are required to acquire new powers and to gain access to other levels throughout the world. Elika and the Prince must collect specific amounts of Light Seeds, though the order in which you unlock powers is entirely up to the player. It is understandable that Ubisoft wanted to expand the play time by incorporating the backtracking but it would have been more enjoyable if Light Seeds were more common.
Sting like a bee
Combat is by far the most enjoyable part of Prince of Persia, though it couldn’t be any more different from Sands of Time. Steering away from frequent fights against dozens upon dozens of enemies, the new Prince of Persia offers few fights against but a handful of enemies during each level. Players can even prevent fights by attacking the enemy’s spawn point before they arrive on the scene.
Perhaps it would have been more desirable to have fights come more often since the combat system, while simple, is quite entertaining. Built entirely around a simple combo system, each face button corresponds to a different type of attack. The control system involves easy to remember combos, though it isn’t very accommodating to button mashers. Instead, it is all about timing, making it challenging to keep the combo from breaking. If you get your timing right with what you see happening on your screen, you are going to win every single battle you come upon.
Company
One new addition to Prince of Persia is something the series has never really considered: a full time partner. Elika serves more than just a plot motivator; she helps out in almost every aspect of the game. When traversing the world, she uses her powers in various ways and is for example able to giving the Prince extra air time while leaping and can activate magical pads that wouldn’t be available for use otherwise.
8.0
fun score
No Pros and Cons at this time
