Ormazd, God of Light, sealed him up some time ago, but then promptly buggered off, the way Gods of Light are wont to do. 'When she awakens, she will be free.' The Prince shakes his head.As our story begins, the Prince is wandering through the desert, looking for his lost donkey Farah (fans of Sands of Time should get a good chuckle out of that), when he literally bumps into the princess Elika, who is desperately trying to prevent Ahriman, God of Darkness, from escaping his prison in the Tree of Life. Elika is lifted onto the platform, borne on a bed of corruption. 'Your soul,' she hisses, raising her hands. 'Elika' The Prince runs to the edge, prepared to slide down the building to catch the falling princess, but the Concubine's tail wraps around him, holding him still.
Virtually all of your moves are controlled simply by hitting the X button, making success more a factor of correct timing or aim then overly nimble fingers. As you progress through the game and collect light seeds – balls of light released after a Fertile Ground is cleansed of corruption – you’ll unlock Special Powers that will allow the Prince to access even more difficult-to-reach areas.All of this jumping and swinging is remarkably easy to pull off, thanks to the game’s streamlined controls. Fortunately, the Prince has spent some extra time training with Cirque du Soleil, and has an impressive roster of acrobatic moves at his disposal including jumping, wall running, swinging from poles, shinnying up columns and running along the ceiling. Of course none of them are easy to reach.
Corrupted lands are grim and foreboding, choked with Ahriman’s tarry influence their healed counterparts are wondrous, bright, colorful locales straight out of the pages of a storybook. Pull off either of those moves, and it’s an instant win – even when you’re fighting one of the four boss-type servants.I could devote many words to how incredibly beautiful the environments in Prince of Persia are, but instead let me simply sum up by saying I have not one, but two pieces of game art currently being framed to hang in my office and home. You can also use the environment to your advantage, by shoving an opponent off a ledge or pinning it up against a wall. Success in combat is all about mastering timing and combos hammering away wildly on the buttons might score you a lucky hit or two, but you’ll never win the fight that way.
It’s a minor complaint, but the game’s aesthetic is otherwise so pleasing that it’s jarring to hear someone who could just as easily have voiced Nathan Drake or Master Chief standing in as the Prince of Persia. It’s not that the actors providing the voiceovers do a bad job – quite the contrary – but they’re woefully American sounding. If only their voices were similarly well suited to the game’s environments. And if the glorious view isn’t enough incentive for you to take your time looking around, Special Powers make new portions of explored lands accessible, giving you ample reason to revisit old areas and track down those last few light seeds.The soundtrack, too, is lush and vibrant, providing the perfect aural backdrop for the adventures of the Prince and Elika.
I’m almost sorry to tell you this, but your “Must Have” list of games this holiday season just got one title longer.This review is based on the PlayStation 3 version of the game.Susan Arendt wants a donkey of her very own. The platforming is clever and challenging, the visuals are simply stunning, and while the story of the Prince and Elika doesn’t exactly blaze new trails (may as well just call them Han and Leia and get it over with), it’s rousing enough to get you rooting for the good guys and booing the bad guys.
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