Ubisoft really made a huge impression in the gaming world one year ago with it's release of Prince of Persia. No one expected that the quiet approach of such a dynamic game would go on to become the new benchmark for platforming games. With it's amazingly fluid yet complex acrobatic controls, brilliant battle system, and gorgeous level design, it was hard to imagine why the game didn't do better in stores.
And unfortunately, I believe because Prince of Persia was beaten by it's competition of other fall season games, that the producers decided to take it's sequel in a different, more marketable direction. While Prince of Persia 2 is still a decent sequel, it falls short of it's amazing breakthrough predecessor. There's good news and bad news. First, the bad news.
Prince of Persia 2 takes place a few years after the first, in which the prince finds himself confronting his own fate. Because he released the Sands of Time, he was supposed to die according to the 'powers of fate'. And because he defied this fate, he is hunted by an unstoppable demon who will eventually catch him and kill him to make things right.
As a result of this storyline, is a much darker, sadder tale of the character we came to know and love. Much of the charm that was in POP is tarnished in it's sequel. There is more blood and gore, and the world that the Prince lives in is a bleek and depressing place. Long gone is the mystical way that the Prince narrated his amazing adventure in Persia. Replacing it is simply a Prince that is on the brink of madness from running and trying to survive these past few years.
The music is another thing a player will notice. It goes from a harder edge power chord melody to the traditional music that we loved in the first game, and the transition is definitely a little hard to get used to. I found myself turning up and down the music volume because it became somewhat annoying.
The gameplay is roughly the same, only it's not a linear game anymore. The Prince must navigate his way back and forth through two huge towers, and unlock the mechanisms that can help him progress through the game to the last level in which he will try to destroy the creator of the Sands of Time itself. He must also go back from the present to the past, and this makes for an interesting concept that brings a refreshing new element to the game.
The same platforming and acrobatics that ws found in POP returns, although it is almost overshadowed by the difficulty of the battles. Remember how water was plentiful and the Prince could use it to refill his energy? Well, it's somewhat sparse in this game, and while the Prince goes mad, you could say he's also dying of thirst. While some may view this as more challenging, I see it as fixing something that ain't broke.
The camera was not a huge issue in the first game, however there were a few moments when it was not ideal. That is magnified in this game and you'll find the camera a big hinderance early on until you can get used to it.
While the open level design could be viewed as refreshing, there's really only one linear way to activate the towers, and it's not clearly visible, causing frustration with having to run back and forth between the two, as well as going back and forth in time, simply because of not being sure what to do next.
Really the whole experience from the beginning is just one let down and sigh after another, only because you'll keep noticing how much worse a certain part is compared to the first game.
Well, if you haven't completely decided against the game by now, you're in luck. There is some good news. Some of the things that made the first game so revolutionary, are still intact.
The gorgeous and complex level design is back, and they really have made the graphics almost a touch better in some places if you can believe it. That platforming that we came to know and love; run up a wall, jump off, swing from a bar, slide down a tapestry using your sword is back in all it's glory, and that may be one of the sole reasons to keep you playing.
The Prince has some more moves, such as duel-weapon weilding, that really build on an already elaborate battle system, and make for an almost infinite array of techniques. He also has a few more time techniques, but the ones you relied on in the first game will be those you used most. In fact the reverse time one is used a ton more in this simply because the game is a lot harder.
There are more types of traps, and it's amazing how they've managed to cram them all into the game. It really feels like you're climbing, and clawing your way through an elaborate, living maze. Quite a feeling indeed.
So, that's it. Those that became instant die-hard fans of the Prince of Persia series because of it's revolutionary debut will definitely be dissapointed by the sequel, at least in gameplay. However, it's still a solid game, and you'll play it simply because it's the Prince, and there's no other experience like it.
I believe however, casual fans of the series, or complete newbies will have more than a frustrating time with the game, and not be able to play through the first few hours.
Prince of Persia was one of the best, and most revolutionary games to silently slip it's way into this generation of games. It's too bad that with Warrior Within, the marketing team over at Ubisoft decided to go for an Mature rating, and take their focus off of gameplay because they think it would sell more games.
Create an Account
Member Login
