*You should in no way buy this
DLC if you did not finish the game. It begins after the ending of the
retail release, and will spoil everything for you. Be warned.
*Included in the DLC: Two more hours of playtime, 250 achievement points,and a new costume for both the Prince and Elika. Prince costume is a "prototype" version and he finally fits in the setting of the game. The Elika costume isn't as great, her final design is better.
I really liked the first installment of the Prince of Persia for the 360. Despite some issues I had, I still found the game to be a great experience. I was really excited for the DLC to release, but kind of wish it wasn't after sitting down with it. It's about two hours worth of content. Considering the game was only about eight hours or so to begin with, $10 for two hours isn't unreasonable. However, with how frustrating this DLC is, I wish I could get my money back.
The DLC starts right from the end of the game, and pretty much ruins the unhappy cliffhanger ending that we were left with. I was one of the few who loved the original ending, so this was annoying to me. I feel like Ubisoft only listened to the whiny fans crying about it and changed it to make them happy. Anyways, you won't see much differing scenery throughout your playtime, because you are going through one final area to finally make your escape. I did get really bored not seeing anything new, but the DLC ended quick enough to not make it a huge problem. Another thing Ubisoft changed was the difficulty. Instead of making this content super easy like the retail release, you are left with the same platforming concepts, only they are harder and more frustrating. Checkpoints bring you farther back and dodging the first obstacle on a wall no longer means you are clear the whole way. There is a large emphasis on timing and the game no longer holds your hand to show you the way. It's both good and bad, but it makes the faults of the platforming design stand out far more than they did before.
You will fight three of the bosses from the original release AGAIN. This is outrageous and I ended up losing count of how many times you fight these bosses in total. I believe it's nine or ten at this point, and somebody at Ubisoft needs to be fired for not having any originality whatsoever. You fight them too much in the game to begin with, and the fact that I have to do it again just shows that not enough effort was put into this DLC at all. The fights are marginally different, because a new mechanic was added to the battle system. You can now rush at enemies and a quick time button press can get an extra hit in. It is noticeable, but it wasn't a huge change. The DLC also ends on another cliffhanger ending, only not nearly as good as the original. Like the core game, this DLC is still fun to play, it's just a large step back from where the game was when it released.
Positives
+ Battle system tweaks do make it more cinematic and engaging
+ Prototype Prince costume is far better than any other option and should have been the standard from the start.
+ Difficulty is finally present...
Negatives
- ...but it did make the game more frustrating.
- MORE OF THE SAME BOSS FIGHTS.
- Another cliffhanger ending, and not nearly as good as the original.
Grade - C
*Included in the DLC: Two more hours of playtime, 250 achievement points,and a new costume for both the Prince and Elika. Prince costume is a "prototype" version and he finally fits in the setting of the game. The Elika costume isn't as great, her final design is better.
I really liked the first installment of the Prince of Persia for the 360. Despite some issues I had, I still found the game to be a great experience. I was really excited for the DLC to release, but kind of wish it wasn't after sitting down with it. It's about two hours worth of content. Considering the game was only about eight hours or so to begin with, $10 for two hours isn't unreasonable. However, with how frustrating this DLC is, I wish I could get my money back.
The DLC starts right from the end of the game, and pretty much ruins the unhappy cliffhanger ending that we were left with. I was one of the few who loved the original ending, so this was annoying to me. I feel like Ubisoft only listened to the whiny fans crying about it and changed it to make them happy. Anyways, you won't see much differing scenery throughout your playtime, because you are going through one final area to finally make your escape. I did get really bored not seeing anything new, but the DLC ended quick enough to not make it a huge problem. Another thing Ubisoft changed was the difficulty. Instead of making this content super easy like the retail release, you are left with the same platforming concepts, only they are harder and more frustrating. Checkpoints bring you farther back and dodging the first obstacle on a wall no longer means you are clear the whole way. There is a large emphasis on timing and the game no longer holds your hand to show you the way. It's both good and bad, but it makes the faults of the platforming design stand out far more than they did before.
You will fight three of the bosses from the original release AGAIN. This is outrageous and I ended up losing count of how many times you fight these bosses in total. I believe it's nine or ten at this point, and somebody at Ubisoft needs to be fired for not having any originality whatsoever. You fight them too much in the game to begin with, and the fact that I have to do it again just shows that not enough effort was put into this DLC at all. The fights are marginally different, because a new mechanic was added to the battle system. You can now rush at enemies and a quick time button press can get an extra hit in. It is noticeable, but it wasn't a huge change. The DLC also ends on another cliffhanger ending, only not nearly as good as the original. Like the core game, this DLC is still fun to play, it's just a large step back from where the game was when it released.
Positives
+ Battle system tweaks do make it more cinematic and engaging
+ Prototype Prince costume is far better than any other option and should have been the standard from the start.
+ Difficulty is finally present...
Negatives
- ...but it did make the game more frustrating.
- MORE OF THE SAME BOSS FIGHTS.
- Another cliffhanger ending, and not nearly as good as the original.
Grade - C