- Joined
- Jan 2, 2007
- Messages
- 1,067
Okay, I know this game was released YONKS ago, but I was out quite a bit of money when it first came out and when I rekindled my interest in it, I still didn't have much money to buy a new game and so I added it to my gamefly account but it took forever to get here due to an issue, so yes I know I'm late but I don't think that should matter.
Story
In the new subtitleless Prince of Persia (Seriously, it's supposedly a remake, but it has little to do with the original... besides, wasn't "Sands of Time" a remake in the first place!?) you play as.. well, none other than the Prince of Persia. At the start of the game, you are lost in the desert, simply looking for Farah, who is apparently no longer the Princess of India and rather your donkey. Suddenly, you see a mysterious woman being chased by guards and decide to randomly follow her. This woman happens to be Elika, who, in my opinion, should've been the star of this game. Sure, they would have had to change the name to "Princess of Persia," but Elika is a much more interesting character than the new Prince, I'm afraid. Not only does she save your arse about a gajillion times, she's not nearly as annoying as the Prince, who sounds like he belongs in the modern days and spouts annoying one liners. I think he even uses the term "Dude" a few times. Anywho, the rest of the games plot deals with an evil magic being known as Arihman being released from his seal and taking over the land. Delving deeper would be spoiler territory. The plot here is OK. The setting is what steals the show, truly, and the mythology is what makes the story somewhat compelling, along with Elika. The prince though seems to contribute absolutely nothing to the plot, and even though you control him, I still can't help but feel that he's the sidekick.. not Elika.
7.0/10
Graphics/Audio
Truly, this is the department the game is going to get most of its merits from. The game is GORGEOUS in EVERY aspect. The art style is poignant and pronounced and flows with every motion, the animation is some of the best I've ever seen in a game, and it manages to draw you in. The details on everything are amazing, and the framerate never stutters. This is eye candy on the highest level, especially from the artistic standpoint. Everything is vibrant and similar to Okami, it feels as if everything was painted with the elegance of a brush.
The game sounds incredible too, while I may have to dock a few points for the princes annoying voice, the music is just as pronounced as the visuals and plays an important part in setting the mood. It's easily one of the best soundtracks I've heard in awhile. The sound effects work great too, but the music is the showstopper in the auditory department.
9.5/10
Design
Save for the introduction, the game is Non-Linear and you get to explore the game world, although you will have to fight the spread of Ahrimans various minions as not every area is safe, and then contain the area. The disappointing part here is that a non-linear world just doesn't feel... right in a Prince of Persia game. Certain elements are pulled off well enough, and exploring the land is neat for a bit, but this is one of the less involving or inspiring game worlds which is sad because its nice on the eyes, but you'll soon find it too thinly populated. I actually did not play the last two games of the Sands of Time trilogy, I think I remember hearing that the last one was non-linear (Can someone confirm?) but I still don't feel its at home here. What also makes it feel out of place is that there are few side missions, let alone missions at all. It's basically "Go to this area, cleanse it, go to another area, cleanse it, go to another area.." and so on. Each area is designed fairly well and work great for the platforming elements, but its so oddly jumbled it doesn't feel cohesive to me. Maybe if there were more objectives, side quests, etc. it might work out a bit more.
6.5/10
Gameplay
As always, this is the most important part of the game. If you've played a PoP game before, whether it was in 2D or 3D, you'll know what to expect: Lots of acrobatics, platforming, and death defying leaps of faith and traps.... Oh, wait, scratch the "Death defying" part and the "traps" part. While I know that in the past, making a leap and then dying because you flubbed up could be frustrating some time, I actually find it MORE frustrating that there is no death. Instead, every time you fall or get chopped to ribbons by an enemy (Not that that'll happen very often) Elika comes to save the day. I actually found it more frustrating to NOT die. I found myself desperately running around the game looking for a challenge. I wanted SOMETHING to kill me. Well, lemme tell you, it's impossible.. and I thought it was hard to die in X-Men origins: Wolverine. Another thing thats missing are traps! Sure, I know you aren't going to find traps in the great outdoors, but there are plenty of indoor areas, and I don't know why but traps are cemented into my mind when I think "Prince of Persia." It's the second thing that comes to mind next to acrobatics. Remember all those pitfalls, false floors, and evil spike traps of frustrating death from the original or just about any incarnation since? You won't find 'em. Death is on a holiday here, and for once, I want him back. That's not to say the gameplay sucks, no, it can still be quite exhilarating to perform leaps and insane acrobatics, especially with the fluid controls and equally stunning animations. The game excels at that, but little else. The combat is broken, and just like the rest of the game, its way too bloody easy. Having invulnerability somehow declaws a lot of the aspect of making "death defying" leaps of faith and such, but it completely neuters combat. Why even have combat if it has NO chance AT ALL of harming you? It's this crazy mixed bag, the acrobatics are great as always, the controls are fluid, but a stupid design choice and crappy combat are, for once, enough to kill the game! Every time I started having fun, I would be saved by Elika or a combat section would come up to bore the hell out of me. The boss battles are pathetic too, whats the point of them? There are a few occasions where this picks up because you have to save Elika, but that just feels like the roles are reversed. Shouldn't Elika be saving the prince? It's clear that he's lamer than lame at just about EVERYTHING. In fact, I'm thinking that maybe Elika fakes her few moments of distress just to give you the feel that something is at stake. If the game was just the acrobatics, and nothing else, with more levels to play in, it would work out, but the lack of death makes things utterly pointless and somehow takes the entire rush of excitement from the game. I'm not sure how to score this here, but since only one half of the gameplay is fun, I can only give it a 5.0/10
Overall
There were times I had fun in NewPoP, but its so watered down and the rest of it is so sloppy, I can't help but feel really, REALLY let down. Maybe its a good thing I didn't pay for it at release. It has a great element, but it puts it in the corner way too often and any semblance of challenge is nowhere to be found. Think of it like this: You sit down to play one of your favourite board or card games with a friend. In the past, you've gotten a little frustrated at the game when you lose, but you still had fun with it. But this time, your friend is letting you win. We've all been through that, and the new Prince of Persia game is basically a digital form of it. It may be stunning from the technical standpoint, and it may be fun for a short period of time, but otherwise there's just no point in playing it.
4.9/10
P.S. Ubisoft, seriously, make "Princess of Persia" and let us play as Elika, she was a great character, especially in comparison with the new prince.
Story
In the new subtitleless Prince of Persia (Seriously, it's supposedly a remake, but it has little to do with the original... besides, wasn't "Sands of Time" a remake in the first place!?) you play as.. well, none other than the Prince of Persia. At the start of the game, you are lost in the desert, simply looking for Farah, who is apparently no longer the Princess of India and rather your donkey. Suddenly, you see a mysterious woman being chased by guards and decide to randomly follow her. This woman happens to be Elika, who, in my opinion, should've been the star of this game. Sure, they would have had to change the name to "Princess of Persia," but Elika is a much more interesting character than the new Prince, I'm afraid. Not only does she save your arse about a gajillion times, she's not nearly as annoying as the Prince, who sounds like he belongs in the modern days and spouts annoying one liners. I think he even uses the term "Dude" a few times. Anywho, the rest of the games plot deals with an evil magic being known as Arihman being released from his seal and taking over the land. Delving deeper would be spoiler territory. The plot here is OK. The setting is what steals the show, truly, and the mythology is what makes the story somewhat compelling, along with Elika. The prince though seems to contribute absolutely nothing to the plot, and even though you control him, I still can't help but feel that he's the sidekick.. not Elika.
7.0/10
Graphics/Audio
Truly, this is the department the game is going to get most of its merits from. The game is GORGEOUS in EVERY aspect. The art style is poignant and pronounced and flows with every motion, the animation is some of the best I've ever seen in a game, and it manages to draw you in. The details on everything are amazing, and the framerate never stutters. This is eye candy on the highest level, especially from the artistic standpoint. Everything is vibrant and similar to Okami, it feels as if everything was painted with the elegance of a brush.
The game sounds incredible too, while I may have to dock a few points for the princes annoying voice, the music is just as pronounced as the visuals and plays an important part in setting the mood. It's easily one of the best soundtracks I've heard in awhile. The sound effects work great too, but the music is the showstopper in the auditory department.
9.5/10
Design
Save for the introduction, the game is Non-Linear and you get to explore the game world, although you will have to fight the spread of Ahrimans various minions as not every area is safe, and then contain the area. The disappointing part here is that a non-linear world just doesn't feel... right in a Prince of Persia game. Certain elements are pulled off well enough, and exploring the land is neat for a bit, but this is one of the less involving or inspiring game worlds which is sad because its nice on the eyes, but you'll soon find it too thinly populated. I actually did not play the last two games of the Sands of Time trilogy, I think I remember hearing that the last one was non-linear (Can someone confirm?) but I still don't feel its at home here. What also makes it feel out of place is that there are few side missions, let alone missions at all. It's basically "Go to this area, cleanse it, go to another area, cleanse it, go to another area.." and so on. Each area is designed fairly well and work great for the platforming elements, but its so oddly jumbled it doesn't feel cohesive to me. Maybe if there were more objectives, side quests, etc. it might work out a bit more.
6.5/10
Gameplay
As always, this is the most important part of the game. If you've played a PoP game before, whether it was in 2D or 3D, you'll know what to expect: Lots of acrobatics, platforming, and death defying leaps of faith and traps.... Oh, wait, scratch the "Death defying" part and the "traps" part. While I know that in the past, making a leap and then dying because you flubbed up could be frustrating some time, I actually find it MORE frustrating that there is no death. Instead, every time you fall or get chopped to ribbons by an enemy (Not that that'll happen very often) Elika comes to save the day. I actually found it more frustrating to NOT die. I found myself desperately running around the game looking for a challenge. I wanted SOMETHING to kill me. Well, lemme tell you, it's impossible.. and I thought it was hard to die in X-Men origins: Wolverine. Another thing thats missing are traps! Sure, I know you aren't going to find traps in the great outdoors, but there are plenty of indoor areas, and I don't know why but traps are cemented into my mind when I think "Prince of Persia." It's the second thing that comes to mind next to acrobatics. Remember all those pitfalls, false floors, and evil spike traps of frustrating death from the original or just about any incarnation since? You won't find 'em. Death is on a holiday here, and for once, I want him back. That's not to say the gameplay sucks, no, it can still be quite exhilarating to perform leaps and insane acrobatics, especially with the fluid controls and equally stunning animations. The game excels at that, but little else. The combat is broken, and just like the rest of the game, its way too bloody easy. Having invulnerability somehow declaws a lot of the aspect of making "death defying" leaps of faith and such, but it completely neuters combat. Why even have combat if it has NO chance AT ALL of harming you? It's this crazy mixed bag, the acrobatics are great as always, the controls are fluid, but a stupid design choice and crappy combat are, for once, enough to kill the game! Every time I started having fun, I would be saved by Elika or a combat section would come up to bore the hell out of me. The boss battles are pathetic too, whats the point of them? There are a few occasions where this picks up because you have to save Elika, but that just feels like the roles are reversed. Shouldn't Elika be saving the prince? It's clear that he's lamer than lame at just about EVERYTHING. In fact, I'm thinking that maybe Elika fakes her few moments of distress just to give you the feel that something is at stake. If the game was just the acrobatics, and nothing else, with more levels to play in, it would work out, but the lack of death makes things utterly pointless and somehow takes the entire rush of excitement from the game. I'm not sure how to score this here, but since only one half of the gameplay is fun, I can only give it a 5.0/10
Overall
There were times I had fun in NewPoP, but its so watered down and the rest of it is so sloppy, I can't help but feel really, REALLY let down. Maybe its a good thing I didn't pay for it at release. It has a great element, but it puts it in the corner way too often and any semblance of challenge is nowhere to be found. Think of it like this: You sit down to play one of your favourite board or card games with a friend. In the past, you've gotten a little frustrated at the game when you lose, but you still had fun with it. But this time, your friend is letting you win. We've all been through that, and the new Prince of Persia game is basically a digital form of it. It may be stunning from the technical standpoint, and it may be fun for a short period of time, but otherwise there's just no point in playing it.
4.9/10
P.S. Ubisoft, seriously, make "Princess of Persia" and let us play as Elika, she was a great character, especially in comparison with the new prince.
