Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia is the reboot of the numbering system of the Prince of Persia franchise. This iteration is the 4 in the 3D console action/platforming series. It adopts a new art style, a new gameplay style, and gives you an AI partner, Princess Elika.
Gameplay
The gameplay of PoP is similar to other 3 previous games, Sands of Time, Warrior Within and Two Thrones. It involves jumping around, killing dudes with sword, and jumping around again. It sounds boring, and to be honest, it kind of is. The platforming feels less interactive than the previous three games. This is a major problem with the game, because interactivity makes games different than movies.
The game basically features the four face buttons as a different action. In addition to his mad jumping abilities, the Prince has a clawed gauntlet, a sword, and Elika and her magic. The four face buttons must be pressed at the appropriate time to complete the platforming sections. The platforming is the majority of the game, and sadly, is rather boring.
The main qualm I have with the platforming is how slow, and boring it is. You press the ‘A’ button, watch the Prince jump across to the wall with the “wallrun” texture on it, indicating you can wallrun on it, watch him wall run, and then press another button. This whole process takes about 2 seconds. Granted, the animations are good, and seem very believable. I especially enjoyed the inclusion of the claw, it made the wallruns seem much more plausible- he drags the claw in the wall so he doesn’t fall.
The combat is much faster, but infrequent. As opposed to the previous games, where combat was brawling and hack and slash style, this game takes on a 2 on 1 approach, you and Elika against a rather strong enemy. The combat uses the main four buttons, used to construct combos to do damage. The combat is very strong, the combos are varied enough to make them difficult to master, and doing them over and over doesn’t get repetitive. Quick time events are sometimes used to recover from getting killed. You are lying on the ground, and a button pops up. You press it, and you live. This would be a fun mechanic, but the game honestly gives you a 3 second window to hit it.
Overall, the game is dreadfully easy. Considering you can’t actually die, almost all challenge is removed from the game. Elika uses her magic to save you from death, be it falling, getting stabbed during combat, and the like. This led to me spending most of combat just going at it, without blocking. As I couldn’t be killed, there was honestly no point. Most of the time I did fall during platforming I don’t feel was actually my fault, but the game being glitchy and not properly doing what I tell it to.
The game also drops in a few puzzles here and there, mostly involving a couple cranks and some gears. You spin them until the path through them is clear, which I usually just solved by brute-force. I honestly just kind of got fed up with them, and got bored rather quickly.
Graphics
PoP adopts a strange cartoony, cel-shaded style, that honestly looks a little broken. The animations are great, but the actual game looks a bit strange. It looks decent enough, and the different environments are nice looking, and varied. PoP incorporates the standard ice world, jungle world, and the like.
The textures telegraph what the player has to do during the platforming. The areas on the wall where the player must climb or slide have a worn down, streaky look to it. This, again, makes the game entirely too easy. The textures in general are pretty bland, and rather generic looking.
Sound
I cannot describe how annoying, terrible and stupid the voice acting and writing are for the Prince. They make an attempt at making him sound cocky, and egotistical, but he honestly just comes off sounding forced. Elika’s voice sounds a bit more believable, but still isn’t the best.
The sound effects and music are certainly nothing to speak about. I honestly can’t even remember if the game had music.
Replayability
The game has 1001 light seeds, collectables that advance the game. These are sort of fun to get, as you have to think outside the standard path. After the main story, the game honestly doesn’t give you anything else to do except go collect the rest of the seeds. No multiplayer whatsoever, there honestly much to make you come back to the game.
Value
The game can be finished in about 10 hours, a fairly standard length for a platform/action/adventure game. The game has been discounted in various places, and deals keep appearing online, and in various retail stores. I honestly don’t think the game is worth the new $60 price point, but if you can find it used, or a decent deal on it, I certainly think it is worth playing. A rental would be an excellent choice.
Overall, PoP is certainly a game that I can enjoy. The slow pace and easy combat make the game a little uninteresting. The graphics can be broken at times, and the voice acting is truly cringe-worthy. I would certainly say that going back and playing the first three games of the 3D platformers would be a better, and more economical, use of your game time.