Reviews// Prince of Persia

Prince of Persia is an excellent example of the 3D puzzle adventure game. The learning curve is smooth, and new challenges are added gradually as you become more comfortable with the control for exploring and combat. For instance, longer jumps are introduced to the game when a cut-scene informs you that you can press [Y] to use Elika's powers to make longer jumps. From then on the times you need to make use of this slowly begin to increase in frequency. There's a slightly nagging help system that repeatedly gives you pointers early in the game, but this stops of its own accord before it becomes annoying. The gameplay has a good balance of exploring and combat. There could be more puzzles - but while they may pop up too infrequently, they are challenging enough to make them worth the wait.

[b]Conclusion
Prince of Persia has the series trademark features of smooth animation, great graphics, and good gameplay. But the gameplay itself falls into a little too much of a groove early on. And while it's a very comfortable groove, only players who persevere will see the true majesty of the game. Playing it is lots of fun, and the difficulty curve is a pleasant one. If you like the 3D adventure genre, there is nothing here that will disappoint, and plenty that will delight.

SPOnG Score 86%[/b]

Notes – WTF is Up with Sex in Video Games
Rockstar was pelted with condemnation for the inclusion of Hot Coffee in Grand Theft Auto - a game that was only for sale to adults. Adults are, we must assume, doing all sorts of mild, wild and downright perverted jigginess in the privacy of their own homes on a daily basis. Some of them with the light on! Some of them (allegedly) on the beach in Dubai, FFS! It's reasonable to assume that these people can handle a low res (stick your 1080p, compared to real life it's low res) dimly lit approximation of mild sensuality performed by animated fictional characters.

Even the ever-liberal SPOnG itself gets all indignant and sarcy when sex in video games is concerned - who made SPOnG the arbiter of what is likely to deprave?

Sex is everywhere, in advertising, in movies, in music videos. In Hilary Duff music videos! Madonna, who is generally afforded the credibility of Dame Dench or Helen Mirren (herself notoriously happy to get her kit off if the story absolutely requires it, as so many do) once published a book of her fingering herself. Britney Spears is back on the 'Approved for Kiddies List' despite her waving her (bald as a baby's) fou-fou around for all to see.

Sex permeates our culture. So, why is it so frowned on, and so pathologically avoided in video games? Is it because games are for kids? Is it to avoid offending nut jobs like the "The Timothy Plan"?

Or is Is it because, even though we have a system that tells us some games are clearly not for kids, there is a tacit understanding, acceptance even, throughout the industry that no matter what age rating a video game has on the box, it will predominantly be played by under-18s?

Or is it because like for the movie industry, which happily depicts callous violence with the seeming approval of the ratings authorities, sex is a no-go area for the games industry.

Despite violence (however it is practised) bringing nothing to the world but pain, suffering and sorrow; and sex (when correctly practised) bringing nothing but a nice feeling and occasionally babies (and doesn't everyone love babies?) there is a stupid, sick, mixed-up double standard here and we should resist it at every opportunity. Shooting someone in the face is much better when it's done with a penis than with a gun. But there's only one of those two actions you can get away with showing in a mainstream movie or video game.