One of my favorite game series has been the "Prince of Persia". I played the so called original on a SNES. I remember how good I felt when I finished that game, learning to control the Prince back then was difficult. Due to the animation style, you had to press the jump button almost an entire second before you jumped. To me, the controls became second nature after a slight learning curve.
Shocking to find out that all these years later, I had to relearn the controls to a Prince of Persia game. Not because the timing was difficult, but because they were too easy.
The control in the new POP are perfect for the casual gamer. They respond to one press of the button, running along walls, hopping up a wall, almost everything requires one simple button press. But for me, ever time I would run along a wall and jump to another, I tend to hit the button twice, once to jump to the next wall the second time to run along it. This is the problem, the game recognizes that second press as an indication that you want to jump "off" the wall. Everything in the game is done this way. And its frustrating until you just "get it".
Another thing about this game is that you cant die. Your AI partner will save you in a moments notice by a quick press of the Y button. In actuality this is more of a checkpoint system then an actual "save from death". Basically if you fall after 9 or 10 jumps, you will go all the way back to the beginning, so the traditional POP trial and error game play is there with out the Sands of time.
The story is interesting, you meet a princess who is running away from some guards. Being the Han Solo-like Thief you are decide that the pretty lady is a more interesting catch than a Donkey laden with gold that you lost in the desert. Most of the story after this point is told by being prompted by an icon in the corner telling you to press LT. I was so intrigued by the character interactions, but sometimes they chatted on to long. You cant move from your spot whie the conversation goes on, and usually after you solve a puzzle, or bring a fertile ground back to life, the icon appears. This can be annoying when you just did something and are ready to see what has opened to you. So you can ignore it, or listen, but sometimes I just wish it would have been less chatty.
The graphics in the game are gorgeous cell shaded. The environments spread out in front of you, during the first half of the level they are usually dark and gritty, until you heal the land. Then it looks like a water painting come to life. However the only annoying part is the characters of Elika and you are strange. The characters are outlined in black, giving it an odd disjointed look.
The game seems longer than it should be, you get to a fertile ground, defeat one of the bosses, then go around the newly healed level and look for glowing light seeds. These are the keys to unlocking Elika's powers, and with these, unlock new areas and fertile grounds. Its just collecting the seems less like fun, and more like busy work.
Combat is handled different than previous games. It become mono-e-mono, you press different face buttons that correspond to a different attack. And then your right trigger blocks. Combat can be fun when you nail a decent combo, however boss fights can be frustrating as occasional a Quick time event pops up, and you are not prepared and you fail because you were doing something else. Also when Elika misses an attack and gets thrown away, you have to walk over to her, to get her back on her bare feet. If an enemy knocks you to the floor, he will go in for a death move. Which is counter by the easiest quick time event ever. You have time to make a sandwich in between the time it takes for you to se the button and have to press it. If you somehow fail, Elika swoops in and saves you, however your attacker will get a portion of health back.
This game is good, but I can not say it is a purchase. Its easy, and frustrating wrapped in one package. However the ending alone is worth the rental. I think its one of the best endings I have seen this year.
I give it a 4 out of 5
Feeling Robbed Moment: The Boss called the Warrior. Pain in my butt.
