Prince of Persia is the latest game in the long running Prince of Persia series. The story follows the new Prince (time control not included) as he tries to restore the land to its former glory after being corrupted by Ahriman, the god of darkness. He does this with the help Elika, a magical princess who's father was the one who released Ahriman from his prison. When you do heal the lands, it's kind of a Flower effect. The scenery goes from these colorless, bland places to bright, vibrant landscapes, and these environments look amazing. In fact, everything in this game looks amazing. The characters have this cool outlined look that really makes them stand out from the rest of whatever is on screen at the time. This goes double for the Hunter, Concubine, Alchemist and Warrior. These are the only major boss characters in the game. Each one has its own look and characterization, but they kind of fight the same way. They have quick time attacks which can only be countered by pressing or tapping the right button fast enough, and in the later parts of the game they change states, making them vulnerable to only one kind of attack. The combat system has been changed in the game, relying less on mashing and more timing and combos. There are four basic attacks in the game: sword attacks, gauntlet attacks, acrobatic attacks, and Elika attacks. These attacks and combos for the most felt good. They chained together well and the end results looked awesome. However, the game was not super specific on what moves could be used during a combo. I sometimes found myself in the middle of a combo hitting three of the four buttons on the controller before dropping out of a combo. Also, sometimes getting the attacks to connect to start a combo was a bit of a task. Enemies have to be relatively close for Elika attacks to connect, and if they are too far out she drops back and you have to wait a second or two before attacking again with any attack. This can be very unfortunate for you if the enemy was on the edge of your attack range. The gauntlet attacks can be bothersome as well. Most times your enemy begins an attack when you do, but they attack faster. This can inevitably lead to your not-death. When you are about to die, whether in combat or while platforming, the environment goes black and white and Elika jumps in and saves you. If your platforming Elika will grab your hand and drops you onto the last solid ground you were standing on. If your in combat, Elika pushes the enemy back, you stand back up and the enemy gets some of their health back. As expected from a PoP game, there is insane platforming action. The Prince has the usual wall-run, pole climb and traversal maneuvers, but this time around he can run along the ceiling, use rings to extend his wall-runs, and use Elika for a co-op double jump. However, double jumping is not the only thing Elika can do. She also has a few magical powers that let her fly, swing in mid-air, super jump and let the Prince run along walls and ceilings at any angle for as long as needed. These powers are activated by power plates located throughout areas. These powers are unlocked through light seeds that you collect in the different areas, and the cost to unlock these powers is pretty high. I have not played many (or any, really) of the previous PoP trilogy, but from what I understand those games were very linear. This game is much more open, with a node map and a compass-esque move that Elika uses. Navigation between these different areas is not the best. Elika's compass move had me running back and forth for like 10 minutes trying to get to the next area. Since this is a new restart for the series, the Prince is recast. The new guy is a rogue, in it for money doesn't care how he gets it. He's actually introduced trying to find his donkey which had sacks of gold on it. I found him similar to Lonestar from Mel Brook's Spaceballs (I think he actually kinda looks like him). He delivers the occasional one-liners during his dialogue with Elika, but they don't really have much punch to them and fit better into our world than theirs. Elika is more like Princess Leia, bearing the weight of the world on her shoulders. Most of the story is told through these button activated dialogue scenes, which is basically just them talking in circles and occasionally revealing something about the past of the 4 corrupted beings. I found this to be really annoying and ended skipping the last half of them.
Overall, this game is quite good. The platforming is a little frustrating at times but holds its own in the end. The Elika powers are really cool to watch but the light seed cost is a little too high. The combat is really interesting and looks amazing (just like the game itself) but can be less than ideal at some points. I suggest you grab your lucky scarf, gear up your donkey, brave the sandstorm and pick up this game.
