 Review By: Nick Arvites |
Developer: | Gameloft |
| Publisher: | Ubisoft | |
| Genre: | Platformer | |
| ESRB: | Teen | |
| # Of Players: | 1 | |
| Online Play: | No | |
| Accessories: | HDTV 1080i |
To the younger set of gamers out there, Prince of Persia invokes an image of a rock-star in baggy pants and no shirt running around a Middle Eastern palace, walking on the walls, and freezing time. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time breathed life into a franchise that was essentially abandoned and left to the wolves, and Sands of Time and its sequels have provided hours of solid 3D action-platforming-puzzle experiences. Yet, often lost on the younger gaming crowd are the roots of this franchise. The original Prince of Persia, released on too many platforms to mention, is memorable for the amount of keyboards or controllers it killed as well as its solid experience. The recent release of Prince of Persia: Classic on Xbox Live Arcade gives the game a facelift and reintroduces it to old fans and new fans alike.
The end result is a game that plays like the original with massively updated graphics. The characters now resemble their Sands of Time counterparts, and the game environment takes on a new and updated look while retaining the original feel of Prince of Persia. Cutscreens are now in 3D, as opposed to some variation of 2D in the original version. This is what you’d like to see in “HD” versions of remakes. This goes beyond a simple facelift: the entire game has been redrawn and redone while retaining the core gameplay and feel of the original.
Purists may be disappointed by the absence of a classic mode, and I was initially puzzled by this feature’s absence. Several classic games released through Xbox Live Arcade have both the “HD” version and the “Classic” version. Yet, once I started playing the game, I didn’t miss the Classic mode at all. The game plays the same, but it looks much better.
Prince of Persia Classic retains the original’s gameplay. The controls feel a little tighter, but the Prince still feels like he’s running out of control, and I still found myself accidentally running too far or mistiming a jump because of it. While some may point to this as a fault, I can appreciate the controls not being razor sharp. Because it actually feels like the original Prince of Persia, Classic retains the charm and difficulty of the original game. Prince of Persia is one of the few classic games I’ve played that has retained its difficulty over the years, and I found myself repeatedly dying just like I did when I first played it in the late 1980s. Swordplay is simple, yet difficult in the same sense. You can parry or attack, and sometimes you’ll have to go in a series of repeating parries before you can land a hit. Difficulty of the fights varied almost at random. Sometimes, I would be able to blow past an enemy without any sort of resistance, and other times an enemy with four life jars would take out six of mine.
If you need more of a challenge, there are three modes and all have something to do with the time limit. The core story of the game is that you have 60 minutes real time to beat the game and save the Princess. In Normal Mode, passing this time limit removes a score modifier, but otherwise does not affect the game in any way. Time Attack mode ends the game after 60 minutes, which can be difficult if you die often (since the time continues to tick after you die). If you need a greater challenge, Survival mode keeps the firm 60 minute time limit and adds in a new challenge: you can’t die. Yes, that’s right, the only way to beat Survival mode and get that last Achievement is to beat the game in 60 minutes or less and with only one life.
Value is always an issue with Xbox Live Arcade titles. Fans of the original Prince of Persia shouldn’t hesitate to pick up this title, even with the 800 point price tag. The difficulty and quick-hit replay factor make this a worthy purchase. If you haven’t played the original Prince of Persia in any form, I’d strongly suggest the demo first. This game isn’t for everyone, and the charm may be lost on people that have no experience with the series prior to The Sands of Time. To those people on the fence: try the demo. If you think you’d enjoy another 14 levels of that, it’s worth it.
Bottom Line:
Prince of Persia Classic is everything you want in a remake. Unlike other remakes with "enhanced" modes, Prince of Persia Classic actually looks enhanced and updated. This game is on the level--in terms of looks--of a modern 2D platformer. The difficulty is still there, and the game feels almost exactly like the original while providing better eye candy. The biggest knock on this game is the lack of a Classic Mode, to give people a taste of the original game for nostalgia's sake. The price may be a contention for others, although this game provides enough experiences to justify the $10 price tag.
As with many classic reviews, I think the ultimate way to sum it up and justify anything about it is to say the following: It's Prince of Persia.
| Pros: | Cons: | Final Score: |
|---|---|---|
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| 8.8 |
Posted: 2007-06-25 20:37:54 PST