Prince of Persia

Well not entirely true, the "Two Thrones" game for some reason was released on the Wii, and technically that prince is not in this game. However, the series has reached the newest consoles and I applaud their first effort that is rather good, though part three in the series is still the best one I have played. The story has a new guy lost in the desert searching for his donkey who has all the gold he got from a previous adventure. This character is by no means a prince, rather he is an adventurer who is about to get tangled up in a very difficult ordeal involving a princess. Well he meets a princess being pursued by men and he steps in. Which could be considered a mistake, however this leads him on a quest with the princess to revive lands in a kingdom tainted by a dark god. Once all the lands in this kingdom are healed the dark god who is threatening to escape will be imprisoned securely once more. There is more to it than that, including why the bonds holding this dark god are breaking in the first place, but if you play the game you shall learn yourself. Most of the game is the acrobatics one is used to from the last three games in this series. You do a number of climbs, jumps, and figure puzzles during this quest. The fights, while not many in number though are the highlight as they are very cinematic in nature and really fun when you hit a good combo. Do not worry about dying as I did not die the entire game. The princess sees to it your character stays alive and this may seem to make the game less challenging the thought of doing some of those lands without her make me cringe. You would be seeing a lot of game over screens that is for sure. The characters are good too as the prince is rather funny and has a better personality than the last one. You get to have some rather humorous exchanges between he and the princess. The problems in the game are just enough to make this game score an eight. One, it gets a tad repetitive when you have to go through the same area a couple of times to collect orbs. The ending is obviously setting up a sequel and is kind of irritating as you went through a whole lot to have the prince do what he does. It also just does not feel epic enough in areas as the end credits are a bit disappointing compared to part 1 and 3 from the previous games. There could have been a bit more enemies to fight as well as you kind of have to fight the same ones over and over. Still a good first effort so I hope this one does well enough so I can see how this story continues.

This game has a great visual style, good styled world, well-built locations, nice graphics, parkour system is simple but interesting to watch. That's where the pros end.

In general, the game gives the impression that it lacks something. The gameplay is monotonous. The essence of the game is that in one large location you need to activate 20 places to revive this world, the whole process of moving from one place to another is the same everywhere.

There are 4 power that open as the game progresses and allow you to use a new way of moving, something like a strong jump or flight, but it doesn't change the gameplay too much.

There are only 2 or 3 puzzles in all game, and this is only in the last location. The plot is nothing, it is presented in the form of 2-3 words between the characters, the cut-scenes are poor, there is no disclosure of the characters, who they are, where they come from, and they are not interesting at all.

Very terrible combat system, apparently the developers wanted to bring something new, but it's didn't work, it all comes down to the fact that you just need to press a certain combination of buttons in time (only like 4 combinations), just the same as with parkour.

The whole game you just need to press the right buttons in time, the player can only choose which way to go and which of the 3 combinations of buttons to press in battle.

I don't think this attempt of reimagining the series worked.

I have to confess, I never really played any of the Prince of Persia games before diving into the 2008 reboot. I wasn't particularly interested in the franchise, but after catching enticing trailers and noticing the game go on sale, I decided to give it a chance. Boy, am I glad I did! This title is hands down one of the best Ubisoft games I've ever played, which feels kind of bizarre to say because it has surprisingly little combat. Yet, it completely captured my attention, and to this day, I'm still holding out hope for a direct sequel.

The game kicks off with a thrilling encounter-our protagonist is caught in a fierce sandstorm when he comes across a princess on the brink of capture by two soldiers. After some quick banter, he decides to join her quest. It turns out she has incredible time-manipulating powers, and your mission revolves around freeing areas plagued by corruption to aid her in her quest.

At its core, this game is a traversal experience. You navigate through beautifully designed environments, scaling and leaping like a true acrobat. The level design is impressive; it's somewhat linear at times, but there's still plenty of room to explore and hunt for extra loot. A unique aspect is that you can't actually die in the game due to the princess's time powers, which might sound like a downside, but it actually adds to the challenge. I often found myself completely immersed, so focused on the captivating world and gripping story that I completely forgot about the combat-or the lack thereof. The few sword fights were serviceable, if a bit uniquely designed, focusing on enemy movements rather than just button-mashing.

What truly stands out here is the relationship between the two main characters. It might sound cliché, but their bond genuinely deepens, and I found myself emotionally invested in their journey. You can engage in conversations with the princess at almost any point during the game, and it's not just filler chat-there's always something new to discover. These interactions enrich the gameplay and solidify their connection, making every moment you spend traversing that much more meaningful.

Graphically, the game holds up impressively well due to that stunning hand-drawn aesthetic. The art style, along with great music and sound effects, makes for an immersive experience, so no complaints on that front!

The story lasts around 13 hours, but it feels much longer because there's almost no bloat, something Ubisoft is often criticized for in their titles. I enjoyed it so much that I immediately downloaded the extra story DLC after completing the main game. While I won't delve into spoilers, I did notice some areas felt slightly more irritating in the DLC, as if they were designed to stretch out gameplay time.

It's such a shame this game didn't become a massive hit. In my opinion, it's Ubisoft's best title to date, and it seems like the Prince of Persia franchise has faded away into obscurity. I simply don't understand why folks complain about Ubisoft moving away from single-player experiences when a gem like this goes largely unnoticed.

This game deserves more love and recognition. It's a solid 10/10 in my book. Seriously, GO buy it right now. You won't regret it!

Visually, this is one of the most refined and mature titles I've ever seen. The art direction, the environments, are just magnificent. Great voice acting and a mildly amusing script also helped. The game has almost no load screens, and in an open world game, it sure is nice. The gameplay mechanics work really fluidly, so getting the Prince around is a breeze. That all being said, this is a very poor installment in the PoP series, for the gameplay is ridiculously redundant, and its puzzle solving elements could be completed by a nine year old. Not that I have anything against nine year olds, it's just that when a game's combat is a rarity I would expect something else to redeem it. Unfortunately, it is not the case here. The platforming is enjoyable for the first few hours, but it gets real old real fast. Also notable, you can figure exactly what will happen the entire length of the game within the first hour of starting it. So, what does PoP offer us ultimately? A beautiful world to explore, compelling banter between the two protagonists, and a very fluid platforming element. On the other hand, the story is laid out in the first 20 minutes, the combat (which is enjoyable) is scarce, and every other facet is so easy I can't fathom how they were targeting anyone over the age of 12 to enjoy this in its entirety. So basically, it fails on PoP's three historical strengths. Play the demo, and leave it at that.

The most unique pop game and with it's cel shaded graphics the game has aged quite well and by far the best looking game in the series, it also has a really nice soundtrack and great environments.

Elika your traveling companion is the heart and soul of this game and she helps the prince alot throughout the entire game, she also stops you from falling which means you can't die in this game but that's really not an issue since it helps the game to flow better without going through a loading screen.

It's a very underrated game in the series and it's a shame that it never got a sequel.