NBC's 'Life' investigates Prince of Persia

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Nov 13th 2007 at 1:46PM }

Writers -- the unsung heroes of television detective work! Sprinkling logic crumbs throughout the investigation and frequently bending reality to ensure those pesky crooks get captured, the behind-the-scenes scribes are the ones doing the real dirty work. Witness the investigative team of NBC "Life" being given a bona fide boon in the improbable decision of a drug dealer to hide incriminating files inside his console, which we're helpfully informed is "just a hard drive with games on it." Accessing the evidence requires an embarrassing plot device yanked straight from the zeitgeist: The detectives must dramatically reach "Level 10" in Ubisoft's Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, preferably with the aid of a stealth gurrrl gamer.

[Thanks, Hashbrown_Hunter]

Tags: Life, PoP, Prince-of-Persia, PrinceofPersia, television, Ubisoft

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Eric @ Nov 13th 2007 1:56PM

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You have got to be kidding me, and these are the writers that are on strike right now? That was the worst piece of tv i have ever seen.

h2c @ Nov 13th 2007 2:44PM

I cringed the whole time I was watching this clip. The whole time.

How the hell is this on television and Arrested Development isn't. Such a shame.

Danners @ Nov 13th 2007 3:33PM

I'm a big fan of the show because it has been so well written...until this particular episode (which was last week). Such a shame they did this to what has been such a great show. Hopefully this weeks episode is much better.

lexx0 @ Nov 13th 2007 3:36PM

how is this on TV and firefly is not :\

rv @ Nov 13th 2007 3:58PM

Damn, now everyone will know how to find my hidden pr0n. :(

gonk @ Nov 13th 2007 5:28PM

this is why i hate cop dramas. they're all terrible bullshit

gimmie back cop shows from the 70's and 80's with lots of car chases and explosions and jokes, i'd watch those

E.J. @ Nov 13th 2007 1:57PM

Dude's Xbox is modded.

He'll get investigated for that next.

You win!
You advance to ... jail!

Do not pass Go, Do not collect $200.

Umgawa @ Nov 13th 2007 2:44PM

Oh, let's not forget that he probably didn't pay for that copy of Excel that miraculously opened on his Xbox after hitting level 10. Forget the cops, Microsoft's gonna be on this guy like white on rice.

Predatorian234 @ Nov 13th 2007 1:58PM

I love how intense they look.

And someone who sits there and pretends to have a controller in their hand while watching someone else play...plays to many video games.

rivaldi22 @ Nov 13th 2007 2:10PM

I do that when I'm watching someone play Guitar Hero.

It's a legitimate form of practice for something like that (a rhythm game in which you do the same patterns every time), but it doesn't work for most games because people are likely to make different decisions than you would while playing, so you can't "follow along" per se.

So yeah, someone who does that (to a game like PoP) is usually an actor whose writer/director doesn't play games, because they would understand how ridiculous it is to do so.

Predatorian234 @ Nov 13th 2007 2:19PM

lol well yeah, I agree with you there. I also strum along when playing guitar hero.

GamrGirl87 @ Nov 15th 2007 5:10PM

First off, I thought It was funny how they referenced gamers as low lifes, he made comments such as I live with my mother Im 30 years old, I have some costume in his closet. I thought it was really lame how the girl was playing in the background. First off, who would do that to that kind of game to where anyones moves could be different. its nothing like Guitar Hero or something where you could do the same move as them. I feel sorry for the writers that they would think that something like this would be worth getting more money to make. They Suck!!

Hi Predatorian234.. you make a great point!

Predatorian234 @ Nov 15th 2007 5:18PM

Hmmm...Gamergrl87....

snaggels87....

Stars for an avatar...

Sarah love...get off my interwebs!!!

Jechtshot78 @ Nov 13th 2007 1:59PM

Wow if these writers are still on strike, Let them starve. Dumb fucks...

NoHitHair @ Nov 13th 2007 3:40PM

I was actually thinking exactly the same thing.

What do we really lose with the writer's strike? Do people still actually watch television anymore?

The Purveyor of Justice @ Nov 13th 2007 8:34PM

Maybe this was written by some hacks they got to sub for the striking writers....but if not.....starving's too good a death for them!!!

Mal F4cti0n @ Nov 13th 2007 8:54PM

This was probably a half written story and the writers planned to go back and rework the holes in the story.

The producers/directors and studios probaly shot with a half finished script; that is what you get when you don't have good writers.

WiNG @ Nov 13th 2007 1:59PM

The files are IN the computer.

GRANTED @ Nov 13th 2007 2:16PM

zoolander SMASH

NaeemTHM @ Nov 13th 2007 1:59PM

Daaaaaamn...that chick is hardcore. I never made it past level 1 in Prince of Persia.

Gangsta Smurf @ Nov 13th 2007 2:50PM

LOL of the day thanks to you.

darkeyez @ Nov 13th 2007 2:03PM

lol, I love how they embedded the "You died" text in there, it's not even in the real game, and it's the same font they used for the "Levels." Oh gosh, LEVELS!! You're telling me none of those geeks ever played a PoP game? Or couldn't they at least play one before writing or filming such a dumb and cringe-worthy scene?
I'm glad I stopped watching this show after the first ep.

loungemonkey @ Nov 13th 2007 2:11PM

They have to dumb it down terribly for people who dont play videogames....this isnt catering to us, it is catering to the masses.

Ethan @ Nov 13th 2007 2:54PM

Yeah, but the dumbed-down presentation is based on an outsider's perspective. I want to write an episode of 'life' where they spend the whole episode on a bus, a 'village for tramps' where they have to discover whether woman is merely fat or actually pregnant. Key line - 'don't all look at once, guys.' They do.

But I digress. The writers should know what they're talking about, then simplify it (see any generally accurate medical show), so that they might call it a 'limited computer' or something. That girl does deserve credit for her amazing ability to advance through cutscreens, though.

WiNG @ Nov 13th 2007 3:03PM

what I don't get is if they have to "dumb it down" I understand, but why not use a simpler game then? Like a game that actually HAS LEVELS. They could have just made it Pac Man for God's sake. Everyone understands Pac Man.

Luka M. @ Nov 13th 2007 2:06PM

Worst graphic designers those criminals. Putting that ugly colored font over that beautiful game. And reprogramming the game so that the game plays by itself just by mashing that one single button. Embarrassing.

rivaldi22 @ Nov 13th 2007 2:11PM

Seriously, Papyrus is one of the ugliest fonts used (poorly) in production today, after Comic Sans.

p-diddy @ Nov 14th 2007 2:59AM

Thank you. Ban comic sans!!

http://bancomicsans.com/home.html

Mazy @ Nov 13th 2007 2:10PM

AWESOME!!!

natureboy46 @ Nov 13th 2007 2:12PM

Holy Crap - that's 1000 times worse than the hot coffee mod.

The evil files are in the game! Your children are in danger.

aristokrat @ Nov 13th 2007 2:13PM

Um, I don't recall there being levels in PoP. Additionally, it looks like they used graphics from the Wii version, given the replacement of blood with sand, even though they are playing on an Xbox. Is the Wii too family friendly to be portrayed as the tool of an evildoer?

rivaldi22 @ Nov 13th 2007 2:30PM

All of the monsters were made of sand. In every version ever.

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Nov 13th 2007 2:40PM

smooth

aristokrat @ Nov 13th 2007 2:49PM

The Wii version was toned down in "adultness," as per ign's review: "You're also going discover that the bloody sequences in the M-rated Two Thrones (same game, different name, remember) have been toned down so that sliced and diced enemies now bleed sand." Having only played the Wii version, I don't know how the Xbox version differed, but it would make sense for them to air the less mature version.

It's a shame they didn't use the Wii in the show though. It would have been hilarious to see the guy flailing around trying to beat the game, and even better to see the girl in the corner trying to waggle discreetly along with the action.

rivaldi22 @ Nov 13th 2007 2:53PM

I played the PS2 version, and as memory serves, the monsters bled sand. Though I might be wrong, and may be thinking of another PoP.

I kind of just blazed through Warrior Within and Two Thrones and never thought about them again. They were so much worse than Sands of Time.

So if I was mistaken, I apologize. But I'm pretty sure they were still sand monsters. But whatevs.

aristokrat @ Nov 13th 2007 2:58PM

Fair enough. I was confused by the review as well, since I'd recalled the same thing with the previous games as well. Perhaps there was blood and sand? Regardless, I gave up on the final Vizier battle because the motion controls lacked the precision to do all the jumping from wall to block, etc, which was a shame because I wanted to see how it all ended.

TheKingInYellow @ Nov 13th 2007 2:19PM

Wow, I hope the writers of 'Cloak and Dagger' are firing up their lawsuit machine.

nobodysleeps @ Nov 13th 2007 2:20PM

This has to be the most embarrassing thing I've ever seen in my life.

Markster @ Nov 13th 2007 2:23PM

Wow, the reveal of the files as they triumphantly reach 'level 10' hurts my brain.

pasht @ Nov 13th 2007 2:31PM

Wow, they found the super-secret spreadsheet Easter Egg! I thought I was the only one that found it after Winning and Advancing to Level 10...

Ateo Fiel @ Nov 13th 2007 2:31PM

The KingInYellow nailed this one. This is a plot device ripped right out of Cloak and Dagger, but it worked much better in the movie.

Why couldn't the file just be hidden on the PSP you saw the girl playing with earlier in the episode.

I mean if a drug dealer can rewrite Prince of Persia to display excel files, surely he could make a bit of money legitimately.