Prince of Persia is an familiar name, it having been around since 1989. Games brearing that name have gone through three major versions Originally 2D, the game was brought up to date with a 3D version in The Sands of Time in 2003, which was followed by two similar games. Now we're told there's another major overhaul for this new game, called simply Prince of Persia.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that this "completely new" thing is just hype, because the basic game remains unchanged from ... more >>

Prince of Persia is an familiar name, it having been around since 1989. Games brearing that name have gone through three major versions Originally 2D, the game was brought up to date with a 3D version in The Sands of Time in 2003, which was followed by two similar games. Now we're told there's another major overhaul for this new game, called simply Prince of Persia.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that this "completely new" thing is just hype, because the basic game remains unchanged from the Sands of Time games. It's still an action adventure game, with the emphasis on acrobatic movement, puzzling and combat. The graphics have been given an interesting re-work since the previous trilogy of games. The new game looks fabulous, the superbly modelled and animated characters are rendered in a heavily bordered flat cell-shaded style that makes them look like the characters from the movie A Scanner Darkly.

As with all previous Prince of Persia games, this one focusses on The Princes acrobatic abilities to move through the level. The control system can seem a little counterintuitive and fiddly at first, but once you become used to it, the character's abilities to jump, wall run and scale walls becomes second nature, and enables you to progress through the impressive levels with ease. This time though, the Prince is joined by a comely supporting character called Elika. She has powerful magical abilities that you can take control of to help the Prince on his quest to defeating Ahriman, the ancient god of darkness. Ahrimen has been released from his prison.

The main difference with this new Prince of Persia game is that it is non-linear, so the Prince and Elika can explore any part of the world at any time. If you get lost at any time, Elika will give hints as to where to go next. One other innovative feature of Prince of Persia is that it's impossible to die. If you miss a jump and fall into an abyss, Elika will leap acrobatically and grasp your wrist and pull you to safety.

During combat The Prince uses a sword and his gauntlet. The gauntlet can be used to block enemy attacks and to pick up his opponents and thrown them into the air. The prince can also use his acrobatic abilities to jump around the level to attack from different directions and to avoid enemy attacks. << less