Game Review: Prince of Persia (PS3)

I have been a fan of the Prince of Persia series since the playstation trilogy. The new one is very good and doesn't really disappoint. While primarily a platforming game there are certain aspects of the platforming that exceed other similar platforming styles and other aspects of it's platforming that disappoint slightly. Fun, beautiful, fairly expansive world to explore; great dialog and engaging story; enjoyable battle style; highly stylized platforming; all in all a very satisfying game. Read more after the jump...

I am only about a third of the way through the game but have a good feel for the game play at this point.

The game is slightly repetitive, in my opinion, in the fighting as it has been in previous Prince of Persias, while admittedly the fighting is much more entertaining in this one. It is also, sadly, repetitive in the platforming slightly more so than in previous versions.

The forte of the platforming system is at the same time its foible. The platforming mechanics are simple to use and are terribly accurate, unlike the new Tomb Raider in which Lara continually jumps in some apparently random direction given my input, usually to her tragic demise. In Prince of Persia the jumping is spot on, and about the only time where an errant jump occurs is the result of button mashing on my part. While this is wonderful and makes for fluid, graceful, rhythmic jumping sequences, which is what they were out to achieve, it also removes almost any sense of challenge from the sequences, making it an exercise in single button tapping at regular intervals. The window in which a correct button must be pushed is very generous and errant button pushes have rare if any ill effects. So in this case you have given up the frustration experienced in Tomb Raider for an almost complete lack of challenge in the platforming sequences.

This, however, does not preclude the game from being fun and enjoyable. It is quite entertaining and rewarding.

The female protagonist is a newly magically endowed sidekick and she is available via button push to help you cross long gaps while jumping and to spout magic at foes during fight sequences. For the most part she is cool, my only complaint being that while she can follow you and do everything you do she can't climb on vines like you; she must hang on your back for these movements. Lame, albeit hyper-critical.

At many various points throughout the world you are given an admonition to engage in conversation with her. This is completely voluntary but is where a large portion of background on the area you are currently in, the world, and the story in general is divulged. This gets slightly repetitive with the typically query/response format of these exchanges, but is tolerable and informative. I think cut scenes would have allowed for a more fluid presentation eliminating the piece meal presentation challenge.

The fight sequences are boss like battles in lieu of random minion battles. These typically follow a predictable format, but are entertaining and ultimately rewarding, except that when re-visiting a particular section some characters re-appear after having previously been defeated and other characters must be fought multiple times as every time you beat them they simply run away instead of dying like good bad guys.

Not having finished the game yet I admittedly cannot give a complete review, but I can confidently recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of the series or this style of game play. Highly recommended.