This time around, there are no Sands of Time or other fancy time travel gimmicks to save the Prince. There is only Elika. Elika is your constant magical companion, a princess who shares a common goal with the Prince - to destroy the evil Ahriman, liberated from his captivity in the Tree of Life and who is now corrupting the entire land with his darkness. Her presence affects just about every aspect of the gameplay, from combat to puzzle-solving to navigating. She is able to utilise magic in several different ways, for instance launching a flare which will show the Prince exactly which path he needs to follow in a level to arrive at his objective. If the Prince should make an unfortunate mis-step along the way and plummet to his death, Elika is also on hand to catch him mid-fall and return him to a safer area.
It's not the size of the sword that counts, it's when you use it.
This is actually an important point. Elika's presence in Prince of Persia means you literally cannot die. Even in combat, if the Prince is wounded heavily and cornered by his enemy, Elika will step in and use her magic to bail him out. However, this action also regenerates the enemy's health which still seems like a fair penalty. In fact, this time around, combat would be better described as more of a puzzle. Combat consists entirely of one-on-one battles, and to defeat an enemy you'll have to learn each of their three states. When an enemy is surrounded by a dark shield, only the Prince's sword can break through, while in a different phase only the Prince's gauntlet will have any effect. Once the Prince his disarmed his opponent through one of these ways, they will enter their standard phase where they can be attacked by both the Prince and Elika, who unleashes powerful magical combos. However, blocking is even more important than attacking, and on-screen prompts will inform you when to hit the shoulder button to deflect against incoming attacks in a manner somewhat reminscent of the original Prince of Persia. The boss battles in the game are also clearly puzzle-based, as the boss we faced could not be damaged by conventional attacks, requiring the Prince to find a way of forcing him out of a nearby open window.
Controlling the Prince is both similar and different to the Sands of Time trilogy on last-gen consoles. Running along platforms and grabbing onto vines feels pleasantly familiar, but the Prince appears to have a little more autonomy now. If you miss a ledge, don't despair, because chances are that if it's within reach the Prince will automatically push himself up the cliff-face and scrabble up onto it. If you find yourself jumping from pole to pole, the Prince scrapes along and pushes himself off the ceiling as he does so. Touches like these show how this Prince is different from his forefathers, he's a little stronger, a little bulkier and a lot more experienced. The Prince can also team up with Elika to perform double jumps across larger gaps, as well as to utilise special magic pads which we found throughout the level. These glowing green pads allowed the Prince and Elika to sprint along walls in a specific direction until they reached another pad, which would in turn send them along a different direction. Completely defying gravity and running across ceilings and around cylindrical gears is a natural addition to the Prince's acrobatic repetoire, as well as being insanely fun.
Wow, what a... cliffhanger?
What is somewhat surprising considering the storybook feel of the stylised cel-shaded graphics is that Prince of Persia has quite a complex and intricate story. In the level we played we saw several cut-scenes concerning the Prince's rescue of Elika, which thankfully didn't outstay their welcome. During gameplay, the Prince and Elika will talk to each other as you work your way through a level, usually making sarcastic complaints about one another and their situation, which is a nice nod to the relationship between the Prince and Farah in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Interestingly, there's also a button assigned specifically to talking with Elika if you want to learn more about her backstory or her thoughts on where you are and what you're doing.
Prince of Persia presents a whole new universe for gamers to enjoy. While fans of previous games will enjoy the nods and gameplay elements lifted from them, the title's completely new style and feel are sure to please everybody. The game's puzzle-based nature may drive away some who are looking for more mindless thrills, but if you're looking for a sublimely crafted and challenging action-adventure to lose yourself in, Prince of Persia may just be worth checking out.
Loading...
