Home    General Stuff    General Gaming
#1

Prince of Persia

Archive: 11 posts

I love this game. I have just started so put spoilers in spoiler boxes. I love the red power disc thing 'cause you go WHEEE!!!

The game is so cool.		2008-12-29 13:05:00

Author:
MarkoWolfy
Posts: 445

Oh please don't mention that game...

It gives me trauma. ;__;

I've been playing the new PoP for the past few days, and now that I've finished everything and healed all the lands, I'm supposed to go back to the Temple... and the door is supposed to be open with this white light coming out of it.

So I walk over to the Temple (this is the first time I tried) and I found the light pouring out of the entrance, so I tried to enter expecting something to happen, and guess what?
Nothing. >_>

So I teleport away, and then back to the Temple. And instead of seeing the white light, I get to see the closed doors of the Temple. -__-

Allowing the Temple area to reload, reloading my save file and restarting my PS3 have done nothing...
I think I need to start everything again... ;__;
I don't have that sort of patience...


Long story short and spoiler-free:
I met a save file-breaking glitch. ;__;

To understand more of it would be to spoil the game for you... kind of... >_>		2008-12-29 13:14:00

Author:
ScytheOfGrim
Posts: 438

I got it for christmas but I haven't even played it yet. LOL! I shall today.2008-12-29 15:10:00

Author:
UmJammerSully
Posts: 1097

I got it on the cheap from play.com, going to play it when I finish R2.2008-12-29 15:45:00

Author:
Rabid-Coot
Posts: 6728

I finished it yesterday. I was going to do a review but the they take a long time so I'm not going to bother... well maybe a small one (EDIT: It turned out of be far longer than I was planning...).

Overall the game's pretty good. Not excellent but pretty good. There are a lot of games that I do not finish even though I may really like them but this wasn't the case with PoP. I feel it is well worth finishing.

Story

The story was pretty good. I absolutely loved the optional dialogue and I used it whenever possible. The voice acting is excellent and I don't know why some reviewers didn't like the prince, I found him a very likable rogue and his personality is very similar to Nathan Drake's in Uncharted and is played by the same voice actor... he obviously excels at playing such roles. The over-arching story wasn't bad at all though I felt there were a few too many similarities to the Sands of Time such as in the way the corruption is unleashed, who it effects, the method by which the lands are healed and what happens at the very end... there are substantial links between SoT and this PoP. I guess that's not a terrible thing but I would have preferred if they had tried something different. It's like they have taken bits of each of the Sands of Time Trilogy games and changed them a bit and then put them in this. That's probably a little harsh but you can't help but feel that they could have done more to differentiate the game from previous PoPs. (I could go into details but I want to keep the review pretty much spoiler-free.)

Graphics

The game looks beautiful. I was completely impressed and pleased by the art-style and there was one boss battle in particular which I will remember for a long time because of how it looked. The world is lush and beautiful when healed and when corrupted it isn't really foreboding or anything, it just isn't as beautiful. Each time I healed the area, the change from dark to light is very pleasing to the eye and gives a pretty good feeling of accomplishment. I'm a bit of a nature fanatic so it is particularly enjoyable for me.

Presentation

The presentation of the game is excellent. The title screen is beautiful and so is the transition when you press start. I am delighted that they decided to have a proper in-game save system instead of using the PS3 save. I hate the fact that most games use the PS3 save system without putting a coat of paint on it, it is lazy and completely shatters any immersion you may have been experiencing. The save menu looks great and really the game deserves a 10 for presentation. I really wish more games would put as much effort into this area... it really does affect the overall experience.

Sound Design

The sound in the game is very good. Sound is one of the most important aspects in games and movies and I really appreciate it when it is done right. For the most part this is the case with Prince of Persia. The dialogue is excellent as I already stated, with great voice acting from every character. The Warrior in particular has an excellent voice for a boss. The grinding and clanking of mechanisms, the scrape of the gauntlet on a wall, the small clank of a ring when you grab it and the sound when you slide down a... slide, are all fitting and do not get annoying. One minor complaint is that the gauntlet sound never changes. Whether sliding down wood or stone it is the same (I think... I'll check later) and if you transition from stone to metal in the same slide as you do a few times, the sound doesn't change. As I said though that is minor and other than that and a few times where the sound skipped a little I have no other complaints.

Gameplay

Unfortunately, the gameplay is my least favourite part of the game. It is functional and adequate but is never very pleasing except for the fact that you are traversing such a beautiful world.

Battle System

OK the battle system is pretty good. I enjoyed it very much once I got the hang of it. It takes a few cues from a few different sources, for example, the parry is similar to Assassin's Creed. Actually, at its core, it feels pretty similar to Assassin's Creed's battle system in the focus on timing and reacting to the actions of the enemy. It is far better though, more stylish and far deeper, the one-on-one works very well and makes each battle look great though it can be a little easy and cheap (in your favour) at times... I don't think there should have been a ring-out aspect. If you want to finish the battle quickly just get them to the edge and mash []. That works for a number of the bosses too.

There are a number of aspects that bring the game down though. And it's not any one thing either, it's the combination of them that makes the game much less enjoyable.

Platforming

First is the general platforming being much too hands-free and the easiest way to explain is using a complex example. I will include everything you need to press on the controller to traverse an imaginary area (including analog stick movement). X, X, X, Triangle, X, X, Triangle, O, X, left-stick up to climb pillar, X, O, X, Triangle, left-stick to dodge obstacles and push it up to climb over the edge. Notice that there is next to no use of the analog stick, everything is automatic. In fact at the beginning you think you need to use the analog stick but using it usually messes you up. To me decreasing interactivity in order to increase accessiblity was a mistake and didn't work out too well. Also some things I would hoping the gauntlet would be capable of such as if you are grip-falling I hoped you would be able to start a wall-run as the wall-run animation uses the gauntlet, making it seem like it should be possible. Unfortunately this was not the case and I feel is a missed opportunity. I still found myself jumping wrong much like I would have in the Sands of Time, but without the dagger of time to save me. Instead we get an automatic save-me system.

Save-Me System

What was fun about the sands of time was that it was interactive and it was also a resource that ran out, if suddenly you have no sands of time left, things became tense and you took extra time to plan out you path and get you timing right. While I don't have a problem with the idea of the save-me system as a way of removing the game over screen, it is far too forgiving, it is infinite so things are NEVER tense and it doesn't have the benefit of returning you to where you just fell from. It basically becomes a game of unpunished trail-and-error... which is not good gameplay.

It would have been better I think if it was not infinite... if say Elika lost some of her magic temporarily each time you had to be saved, each time you were saved you were replaced at the place you jumped from and after you used her magic up you're on your own and if you fell, you died and Elika died trying to save you. The game actually is worse off for not having a game over screen. And the thing is that since the game is so automatic and many of the actions are out of your hands, the game isn't very immersive to begin with (while platforming) and so removing the game over screen was completely unnecessary. When I think of how the game would have been if it had had a game over screen I find it astounding how much they have changed in order to incorporate an utterly unnecessary innovation.

And the nail in the coffin is that the animation that plays with Elika's hand grabbing the Prince's isn't really that effective... it gets repetitive and annoying, which should not be the case for something that you will invariably see very often. Why not show Elika grabbing the prince without changing the camera angle, disappearing, and then after the camera pans back to the correct position, show her dropping him? Or why not even change it up and show her grabbing him by his scarves or his foot?

Controls

The controls I found to be quite clunky due, in part, to how automatic the platforming is. There is a pause when you press X to wall-run and a number of occasions I pressed it again only to find I wall-ran a little and then jumped to my dea-... save-me. Also the fluidity that I was hoping would be an "next-gen" improvement over the last-gen PoP games is largely absent due to pausing to catch Elika (which is a bit annoying) and to how the platforming was designed. You see the fluidity when hanging on a horizontal crack in a wall and then you wall-run to another horizontal crack, it feels fully interactive and the animations are completely fluid (there is one section that is full of this and some simple crank pulling and it may be the most enjoyable platforming section of the game)... I wonder if perhaps fluidity was sacrificed in order to decrease interactivity... it sounds impossibly stupid but... I wonder. You also see the fludity, albeit to a lesser extent, when grabbing rings as you roof-run (sidenote: why the hell can't you stop and hang off of rings!).

Point-Me System

The automatic platforming really does a lot to destory the immersiveness of the game and this isn't helped by the "point-me". At any point in the game you can press Triangle and Elika will point the way (you set waypoints on the map screen). The thing about the level design in the game is that it can be very unintuitive. There are magical plates that can send you any which way and there is no knowing where they go except by using them (trial-and-error) or by using Elika. However the thing about using Elika is that it soon becomes automatic if you are at all unsure about where to go next. This leads to becoming zoned-out and not really paying attention as at any time you can press a button and just follow the path that Elika sets out. We aren't talking about a little hint here, we're talking about exactly where you go and how to get there for the next 10 or more jumps. Much of the enjoyment of platforming games is the puzzle of where to go next and having a GPS system available on a face button at any point in the game is a big mistake. A hint would be far more approriate and retain at least a little of the largely absent challenge in the platforming. Anyone how is able to grasp the controls of the game would not need such challenge-destroying hand-holding. It's basically like having a gameguide in the game.

Bosses

The bosses are all pretty good. I felt the design of the Hunter was the best, the others felt a little too conventional. The Hunter was the only one that really felt truly unique and different. The other three reminded me of other Prince of Persia's too much, except for the Alchemist who just wasn't all that interesting or memorable. The Concubine felt far too much like the similar boss from PoP: The Two Thrones, there was a strong feeling of deja-vu and one of the sections against her was very similar to another part from The Two Thrones.

Conclusion

Overall I enjoyed the game. It wasn't quite as good as I hoped it would be though a few of the innovations they tried paid off such as the on-demand dialogue and the art design. However the platforming gameplay is far too automatic and mistakes go completely unpunished, decreasing much of the satisfaction that I usually get from playing platformers. It is also not quite fluid enough for my liking. The bosses are pretty good with one particularly memorable battle due to the effectiveness of the artistic design. I think it is definitely a game worth renting, perhaps not worth buying. Not due to it being solely single player (I believe many offline single player games are worth buying) but because I don't have any inclination to play it again, or to try to get all the light seeds. The gameplay just doesn't deserve more of my time.

Story - 8.5 - Enjoyable with great characters.
Graphics - 9.5 - Technically proficient and beautiful artistic direction. A few framerate drops.
Presentation - 10 - Excellent in every way.
Sound Design - 9.5 - Few minor annoyances, otherwise great.
Gameplay - 7.5 - Great battles, everything else too automatic and not enough challenge.

Overall - 8/10.		2008-12-29 19:43:00

Author:
Burrich
Posts: 1018

I also got it at christmas, only played a few hour. Looks good but i'm to busy with LBP.2008-12-29 20:09:00

Author:
[OGM]CrAcKhEaD
Posts: 26

I have to review this for the Rebellion (http://whstherebellion.com), my school paper.

I'll be playing for the rest of the night. 		2008-12-29 22:59:00

Author:
Unknown User

I got it on the cheap from play.com, going to play it when I finish R2.

Is Play.com for the UK only? Or is there another website like it? For the US.		2008-12-29 23:24:00

Author:
Whalio Cappuccino
Posts: 5250

Was anyone else really disappointed with
the ending? And did it really seem like Prince was 'wracked with guilt' as so many story synopsis I've read put it? :s

Don't get me wrong, I love the game, I just felt let down by what seemed to be a cop out of a real ending. I really hope whatever sequel picks up where it leaves off clears up Prince's reasoning and Elika's feelings on the matter >_>		2009-01-02 13:05:00

Author:
AtheistSeaOtter
Posts: 54

I got this the day it came out but still haven't had a chance to beat it... it is a little on the forgiving side but it is pretty fun nonetheless. The graphics are gorgeous and I believe the new prince's voice actor is the same as Nathan Drake's from Uncharted, so that's pretty cool. I also got Tomb Raider: Underworld when it came out and played it to completion, Prince of Persia absolutely kicks its ***. **** what a dissapointment that game was...2009-01-02 16:30:00

Author:
Foofles
Posts: 2278

Was anyone else really disappointed with
the ending? And did it really seem like Prince was 'wracked with guilt' as so many story synopsis I've read put it? :s

Don't get me wrong, I love the game, I just felt let down by what seemed to be a cop out of a real ending. I really hope whatever sequel picks up where it leaves off clears up Prince's reasoning and Elika's feelings on the matter >_>


In in two minds about the ending. I think it could have been very effective. But in this case it wasn't great.

Spoilers:

Firstly I thought the setting of the ending, when you saw the 4 trees and the beauty of the world without the corruption was very effective and you knew what you had to do to complete the game but knew it would undo everything you did before.

However I think the main problem was that you didn't feel all that bad when Elika died... I mean you felt it a little but not a whole lot (not nearly as much as when a certain someone died in SOT). When I cut the trees it was to finish the game and I didn't feel nearly strong enough about Elika's death for it to be truly about bringing her back.

I think it's partly because throughout the game, while I liked the on-demand dialogue because I felt the dialogue was well acted, it also made me feel disconnected from the characters because the information was there only if you wanted it. It is a good idea on paper and is satisfying in a way but you just don't get the same effect as you would if you had no control over the information. Also this on-demand dialogue does not have the same effect as say a number of very dramatic moments that normal cut-scenes would have brought.

Like the cut-scene where Elika saved the prince for the first time... there weren't nearly enough of them.

No I didn't think the Prince seemed wracked with guilt but I think that is because you are given control over the Prince when you're carrying Elika. It was a break in immersion because you could just walk in circles around the tree or spin on the spot or do stupid things. Which completely destroyed the suspension of disbelief that something terrible had just happened. Imagine if it had been a cut-scene and he's in the hall and then the door to the outside opens and light floods in making him squint with tears running down his face or something... it would have been so much more dramatic and moving. Here's a case of too much control being given to the player to make them more involved but it really didn't work.

And as an ending overall it did give a slight sense that you did nothing. You unleashed the corruption again... it would be like in SOT if you finished the game and then unleashed the sands again. It gives a sense of futility and a feeling that you accomplished nothing and I don't think a game should end like that.

Anyway that's my opinion on the matter, the ending wasn't very satisfying.

Oh and no one read my review . It's spoiler-free story-wise. .

EDIT: Hey who gave me rep? I'd like to return the favour .		2009-01-02 20:30:00

Author:
Burrich
Posts: 1018


LBPCentral Archive Statistics
Posts: 1077139    Threads: 69970    Members: 9661    Archive-Date: 2019-01-19

Datenschutz
Aus dem Archiv wurden alle persönlichen Daten wie Name, Anschrift, Email etc. - aber auch sämtliche Inhalte wie z.B. persönliche Nachrichten - entfernt.
Die Nutzung dieser Webseite erfolgt ohne Speicherung personenbezogener Daten. Es werden keinerlei Cookies, Logs, 3rd-Party-Plugins etc. verwendet.