It's no great mystery that this generation's Prince of Persia has no relation to the trilogy that landed on the original Xbox. This generation's Prince is a whole new character with a whole new backstory. After releasing a near perfect product in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Ubisoft was in the driver seat of a franchise that seemed infallible.
Unfortunately, sequels to Sands of Time did nothing but underwhelm and under perform as the series was stripped of its charm in favor of pop culture influenced drivel. Loud metal music, a Prince who sounded like a Brooklyn thug and gameplay that did away with a focus on puzzle solving for seemingly deeper combat, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within and Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones felt like they were conceived out of marketing meetings rather than the creative process that gave us The Sands of Time.
We don't mean to use Warrior Within and The Two Thrones as whipping boys but the preceding facts are important to outline how this generation's Prince of Persia has now set the bar for other franchises that have lost their luster over time. The new Prince of Persia is a re-imagined universe that has completely recaptured what we loved about Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.
Prince of Persia (Xbox 360, PS3, PC) from developer Ubisoft Montreal isn't just special because it does so much right but because it maintains a high level of quality throughout the experience without changing much from start to finish. The Prince in this generation's adventure doesn't learn any new abilities, remaining the same throughout the entire 8-12 hour campaign. That may be a cause for alarm to some players but the core experience is so well developed that Prince of Persia will continuously surprise you.
Apart from its beautiful look and precise control, Prince of Persia brings charm back to the series that only Sands of Time was able to do. The relationship between the Prince and his mysterious A.I. controlled ally Elika grows over time through a well developed narrative and in character development rarely seen in such an isolated world.
In fact, isolation and loneliness is a common thread weaved throughout the story from start to finish. The Prince, as you will discover within the first five minutes, is a thief in search of missing treasures strapped to his trusty donkey. Elika is a princess on the run from a dark secret. The world itself has been invaded by darkness destroying all life around it. Enemies attack individually, again showcasing that the world, while vast and beautiful, has been completely overcome by isolation and loneliness. This theme drives the main story, its secrets and the game's beautifully constructed ending.
Since the world includes such a limited amount of personalities the most daunting task for Ubisoft was to create an interesting dynamic between the characters onscreen, and they succeeded. The relationship of the Prince and Elika works extremely well. In the beginning Elika is wary of the Prince's motives but both characters warm up to each other over time in a natural way through dialogue and through their overall experiences.
While, as mentioned before, the writing is solid the dialogue does have a tendency to muddle some of its charm in favor of sexual innuendo. Some points in the story left us thinking, "We can see a relationship forming, we don't need to be slapped in the back of the head with winks and nudges." It's an obvious and unfortunate flaw found throughout some of the dialogue.
As for the gameplay itself, there has been a blanket fear in the community that because Elika's purpose is to help the Prince throughout his adventure the experience would be too easy. Fall to your death and Elika saves you, need a helping hand for a double-jump and Elika is there to throw you to safety. The experience, overall, is quite simple. From opening cut scene to final achievement, Prince of Persia maintains a steady challenge level -- that is to say, it isn't much of a challenge at all.
This may be a deal breaker for some but it shouldn't be. Prince of Persia is easily one of the most enjoyable titles released this holiday season despite this supposed flaw. The challenge is how the game forces players to use all of the Prince's resources in new ways to navigate the world. The Prince performs similar acrobatic moves as his predecessor but this generation's protagonist is able to fluidly move throughout the environment in ways the time-bending Prince could not. From jump to wall run entire sections of the world can be traversed in one continuous motion. It's a flow that, when perfected, becomes extremely rewarding.
Prince of Persia is a great game with flaws that will vary in size depending on your personal preferences. The sum of its parts make Prince of Persia one of the most entertaining and enjoyable experiences of the year. In our opinion this generation's Prince has put Ubisoft back in the drivers seat of a beautiful and charming franchise. Our hope now is that Ubisoft doesn't drive this car off the road in future installments.
