Prince of Persia vaults back onto DS

When Ubisoft announced its return to the Prince of Persia franchise in April, it specified that a separate edition of the game would be arriving on the DS. Today the publisher spilled a few details about that edition, including a subtitle--The Fallen King--and a genre.

While the Prince's last outing on the DS was a turn-based strategy game, his next adventure on Nintendo's portable will attempt to be more faithful to the acrobatic action that is the series' trademark. While the DS may not have the array of analog sticks and buttons that its console and handheld counterparts possess, Ubisoft is attempting to re-create the Prince of Persia style of play with stylus controls.

It won't just be the Prince's movements that players control with the stylus, as a mysterious new character called the Magus joins him on a quest to stop an evil force known as Corruption from destroying an entire kingdom. The Magus possesses magic powers, and will also be called on to fight and help solve puzzles throughout the adventure.

While the PC and console editions of Prince of Persia are being developed at Ubisoft Montreal, duties for The Fallen King have been entrusted to the Ubisoft development studio in Casablanca, Morocco. This is not the first time the Casablanca crew has adapted a successful franchise to the DS; it has also developed Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 for the handheld.

Prince of Persia: The Fallen King is set for release during the coming holiday season.