Prince of Persia: Epilogue DLC Impressions

  • By TomMcShea, GameSpot
  • Posted Mar 16, 2009 5:23 pm PT

Prince of Persia: EpiloguePrince of Persia was one of my favorite games from last year, but even though I loved jumping across the beautiful environments, I was still hesitant about the idea of additional content. Unlike other expansion packs that create wholly separate missions from the main...

Prince of Persia was one of my favorite games from last year, but even though I loved jumping across the beautiful environments, I was still hesitant about the idea of additional content. Unlike other expansion packs that create wholly separate missions from the main quest, Epilogue serves as a direct continuation of Prince of Persia, starting right after the controversial ending. The powerful conclusion to the first game did an excellent job of whetting my appetite for the inevitable sequel, so I wasn't sure how I would feel after Epilogue changed my understanding of the story. After finishing up the additional quest today, I can say that I am still extremely excited for where this story ends up. If you have yet to play through the main quest, please stop reading now; spoilers are all but impossible to avoid.

If you somehow forgot about the ending to Prince of Persia, let me quickly recap the events so you aren't completely lost: Elika died. In a noble (yet so foolish) attempt to save the world from Ahriman, she sacrificed herself at the altar of death. Kind of a bum-out way to end a 10-hour adventure, right? Well, the Prince agreed, and resurrected her at the cost of setting Ahriman loose to potentially take over the world. And that is exactly where Epilogue begins. The Prince is running away from a terrible dust storm (the meteorological embodiment of Ahriman, of course), carrying the princess's limp body and hurrying toward an abandoned temple. What could possible go wrong?

The story development is handled in a similar manner as the main quest. Whenever Elika has something important on her mind, the screen will prompt you to communicate with her. This system lets you learn as much--or as little--about the princess as you wish. There is one tweak, though, that makes character development much more powerful. In the main storyline, you can complete quests in whatever order you like. In this strictly linear temple, though, every important story development is triggered in a specific order, so the characters grow in a logical and convincing way throughout the journey. Be prepared to put up with the cold shoulder for the first hour or so; Elika is none too pleased that you rescued her from permanent slumber.

Like the story, the gameplay is largely the same as the source material, but it adds a few tweaks. The biggest difference is the linear nature of this temple. There is no hub world this time, and you don't have much chance to explore different parts of this building at your leisure. Light seeds have also been eliminated. Although this makes sense from a story perspective (the temple that the Light Seeds fueled was destroyed at the end of the first game), it mostly removes the exploration aspect that was so engrossing the first time around. There are a few frescos hidden just off of the beaten path, but they aren't prevalent enough to fully replace the joy of collecting balls of glowing light. Furthermore, considering that the entire adventure takes place in a temple, the enchanting vistas from the first game are gone. Sure, the temple looks really nice, but it's dank and uninviting and, unlike the fertile lands of the main quest, you can't even breathe life into this deserted ruin.

Even with those deviations from the formula, Epilogue is still a blast to play. The platforming is much more difficult this time around. The corruption puddles are placed in truly devious ways, requiring perfect timing to get from one platform to another. Certain sections impose a time limit on you, forcing you to run along walls and swing from poles much quicker than you ordinarily would, lest you end up consumed by the ever-present might of Ahriman. A purple power pad has also been thrown into the mix. This also imposes a time limit on your adventuring, creating magic walls that disappear if you don't use them quickly enough. These new features make the experience feel fresh, even though it's still predominantly the same as the original.

After every major platforming section, you will still be required to battle one of Ahriman's dark forces, and this is again the weakest part of the experience. You now have the ability to rush at your foe from afar, triggering a quick-time event that will momentarily give the upper hand to the winner. But there are only a handful of enemies that you can fight, so these battles become repetitive almost immediately. They certainly aren't bad--in fact, once you get in the rhythm of grabbing and stabbing these evil beasts, they can be flat-out fun--but they ultimately serve as distractions from the amazing platforming.

The Epilogue last about three hours and has enough content to justify the $10 price point. If you are still on the fence, though, ask yourself this one question: How important is the story to you? The ending to this Epilogue completely changes the events from the end of the main quest, so if you want to stay up to date on the Prince's struggles with Ahriman, you will certainly get more out of this addition than someone who just wants to jump and fight. Prince of Persia may not have needed DLC at all, but the incredible platforming and satisfying story make it worthwhile to go back for a few more hours.

126 Comments

  • spikesilla

    Posted Oct 4, 2009 8:00 pm PT

    Honestly, I wasn't at all pleased with the cliffhanger ending in PoP. I fekt there should have been more than "No!" *stare, stare, carry, carry, violent sandstorm with inconspicuous dragon head in the corner*
    They should have thrown in a bit more development between the Prince and Elika, such as, I dunno, explaining why we had to bring her back?

    Also, I hope they don't make Elika go Farah's way a few games down the line and have her become a donkey, no matter how much I liked the tilt of the head to SoT/TT.

  • Itakel

    Posted Mar 25, 2009 10:53 am PT

    Prince of Persia was one of my favorite games. But I don't like this game. PoP is cel-shade. It's a joke. I still like Sand of time best

  • Ulundo

    Posted Mar 24, 2009 9:17 am PT

    darn, i'm lame. i've downloaded DLC. how can i play it?

  • MDBostonian

    Posted Mar 22, 2009 5:25 am PT

    I actually liked the ending of PoP - the usual "good guy beats evil guy, then gets girl" storyline is wearing thin, so kudos to the writers - they took a gamble and I think it works. Controversial? Maybe, but good and believable nonetheless.

    Epilogue is brilliant - the gameplay is fluid, the trophy's make replay worthwhile (albeit I got everything after just two attempts) and the ending is "wtf?" but in a good way. Can't wait for the followup, but I think there will be more DLC to come before they release a full scale production.

  • ChristSAKE

    Posted Mar 21, 2009 10:11 pm PT

    this game cant even be compared to the previous prince of persia...the best story line.....the best action combos..........this game really get me pissed at its repetitive strategy............yet i liked the ending of this game it was catchy......jus waitin for the DLC to come to the PC.........

  • Blood_Diamond

    Posted Mar 21, 2009 8:16 pm PT

    Who knows they might even add a run down of the epilogue at the start of the next one... not holding my breath over it

  • azb

    Posted Mar 21, 2009 6:37 pm PT

    So, I am gonna pay another $10 on top of the $50 I have already paid for this mediocre game?!?! I don't think so. (The previous Sands of Time trilogy was great. This one is just OK) Also, I agree that this is Ubisoft abusing the DLC system. If this succeeds, all companies will start to release DLCs to further develop the story and siphon gamers' money. Good luck!

  • falloutconfused

    Posted Mar 21, 2009 6:09 pm PT

    this game was amazing!!

  • GeeJuice

    Posted Mar 21, 2009 1:26 pm PT

    awww man , i traded mines in and they bring this out ? they should have said when the released it like what gta done

  • RonTorque

    Posted Mar 21, 2009 11:28 am PT

    "If you are still on the fence, though, ask yourself this one question: How important is the story to you? The ending to this Epilogue completely changes the events from the end of the main quest, so if you want to stay up to date on the Prince's struggles with Ahriman, you will certainly get more out of this addition than someone who just wants to jump and fight."
    And what about the PC Fans that missed this content and won't know what happened ?!

  • Alkolick

    Posted Mar 20, 2009 1:52 pm PT

    MONEY!! MONEY! MONEY!!!!!!!

  • Suiko

    Posted Mar 20, 2009 8:35 am PT

    This should have been content already in the game, or in the sequel. If Ubisoft really wanted this to be part of the story of this game they should have taken the extra effort to add it in. Instead they decided to shove in an extra chapter they obviously planned to have for a while, except now all of the players have to add $10 to what they already payed for the game. This is an abuse of DLC, an obvious cop out on the original product in order to make an easy buck off the fans a few months later. I'm glad to say I'm just going to read what happens online.

  • ZIROPC360

    Posted Mar 19, 2009 9:59 pm PT

    I'm not going to lie, I think that this should have been put in the sequel. I bought the PC version of the game, and got shafted because it didn't sell well enough to warrant the DLC. I'm not going to go out and buy a 360 version just to get this story. The people who actually bought the PC version would most likely have bought the DLC had it been offered. Anyway, I'll be looking forward to the next game - I'm just disappointed that I don't get to see what happens directly after the ending of the first.

  • nutcher

    Posted Mar 19, 2009 3:33 pm PT

    @ DoMiNiC147

    agree with yah man, thats what i was trying to say.
    only i can also see developers doing it deliberately now.
    make a game that has a bull ending, then release DLC after DLC to "continue" the story {all the while u hand over money} until they decide we'v drained as much money as we can with this one, so lets bring out the next game in the series, then of course it starts all over again

  • DoMiNiC147

    Posted Mar 19, 2009 5:58 am PT

    I'm against this. They should of put this in the sequel. This also scares me because this means that if this does well then they just might release DLC after DLC regarding the story.

  • MCRapier9

    Posted Mar 18, 2009 11:39 pm PT

    shoot at least it worked for those that bought it. I bought it, and all it would do is sit on the loading screen. left it for 3 hours, came back, still on loading. deleted it and redownloaded it, same thing.

  • mitchconlin

    Posted Mar 18, 2009 8:48 pm PT

    this is just lame, the ending was good leave it, i wouldnt buy this for one dollar seriously why 10?

  • nutcher

    Posted Mar 18, 2009 4:15 pm PT

    DLC's should be about enhanceing the game you already have, like in warhawk where u can buy new vehicles, or like COD WAW zombie nazi map pack.
    whats to say that this wont be the last DLC to come out for PoP that "continues" the story, until they decide to make a PoP 2.
    the developers could rip off so many people here.
    i was think back to Halo 2, remember how many people where "annoyed" with the ending of that, but the thing was we had to wait for them to make Halo 3.

    ok so erm im kinda loseing myself here, ok what im trying to say is, if a PoP 2 comes out in a year, how many DLC "epilogues" could be made to make money for the developer up til that point, filling there coffers while they "expand" the story for those that want to learn it.
    all the while dragging out the production of the new PoP

    erm think thats my lil rant over

  • MaddenBowler10

    Posted Mar 18, 2009 2:35 pm PT

    well isn't that good for you RyanJ

  • tbone81889

    Posted Mar 18, 2009 10:49 am PT

    Metroid thats a great describtion of the ending. I know some individuals disliked the ending, but I thought it was artistically genious. Unlike a fairy tale ending, Prince of Persia did something realistic. It truly was a human ending that, I myself may have made as well.

  • metroid_dragon

    Posted Mar 18, 2009 10:20 am PT

    Although I loved this game, the $10 price point for 3 hours, especially when they don't sound as good as the main game is rather high. I think I'll just read a FAQ that has all conversations.

    Although I liked the way the game ended. It was a dark but very human ending that I might see myself doing in his position.

  • RyanJ2009

    Posted Mar 18, 2009 9:56 am PT

    prince of persia is my favorite video game to play

  • tkdhotshot

    Posted Mar 18, 2009 9:39 am PT

    OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO this looks good :3

  • graavigala

    Posted Mar 18, 2009 8:36 am PT

    i was happy how PoP ended, it was perfect in my oppinion! just the kind of cliffhanger you like and hate
    maybe ill get this DLC when its... oh i dont know... FREE

  • giovanny131

    Posted Mar 18, 2009 8:07 am PT

    wat ? ? ?

  • Tyrling

    Posted Mar 18, 2009 6:46 am PT

    I don't get it, what made the original ending controversial? Also, if they made a continuation of the ending, isn't that because they weren't happy with how it originally ended? in that case... why would we pay for it?

    And last but not least... is this coming to PC? or is this only for consoles?

  • Llamaschool

    Posted Mar 18, 2009 6:39 am PT

    So basically Ubi expects us to pay $10 for a continuation of the ending? Damn.. remember the controversy when Bethesda released addons for $2? DLC is ripping us off in leaps and bounds.

    Will be giving this one a miss for sure.

  • Jafstar

    Posted Mar 18, 2009 2:41 am PT

    for all of you people out there that like me hated this ending thers also a question u have to think about....how else cud it have ended??

    for instance ahriman had to be released unless they had changed the previous epic battle so u didnt lock him up....the only way possible that you would release ahriman was if u had a huge reason to and thats the only way the series could hav possibly carried on
    i wanted to see a bit more laughabout ending because one of the greatest things about this game was the dialogue you could have with elika like "playing a game - something about think of a word" some of u may not have noticed bt if u kept clicking on elika she kept having hundreds of different things in different places to say i have to say tho if i find out that after say 3 games (like the old series) something stupid happens and time reverses and elika is a donkey im gna have to ring up the manufacturer and say ur ending sucks so much i want my money back =X

  • Ongpower

    Posted Mar 18, 2009 1:56 am PT

    I played the full game, but I haven't downloaded the expansion yet. I am very intrigued and quite frankly, happy, that they decided to finish the "climactic" ending the original game had. I will download it, and to be honest I'm strictly doing it for the pursuit of the story. It got me hooked. It's love story about sacrifice, honesty, loyalty, and of course the doing the right thing. What would you do in his shoes? How far would you go for a loved one....?

  • Gamer_4_Fun

    Posted Mar 17, 2009 11:53 pm PT

    I want for the story, but i am screwed for the DLC being region locked!

  • nicmakaveli

    Posted Mar 17, 2009 10:27 pm PT

    Pretty Good, but really dark, had somewhat hoped for more light orbs and a more open world.
    Anyhow, really, really looking forward to the inevitable sequel.

  • mcurling

    Posted Mar 17, 2009 9:20 pm PT

    Will not get. not after the crappy ending of the first one. They should of least given players the choice and not ram some BS ending down our throats. It was a great game right up until the ending. Developers obviously don't realize what damage a bad ending can do to a game.

    me bitter? yip.

  • Dragonrider617

    Posted Mar 17, 2009 8:38 pm PT

    The ending for this sucks too! difinetly NOT worth 10$

  • IceDefenseGod

    Posted Mar 17, 2009 7:39 pm PT

    I rented it when I played it; I don't own the game, so the DLC is useless to me, which sucks.

  • Spectacular66

    Posted Mar 17, 2009 7:05 pm PT

    I didn't like the ending either, but hey, the "happily ever after" thing was getting kind of boring huh? It needed a twist!

  • mojomaniac

    Posted Mar 17, 2009 5:51 pm PT

    i was just sad that after a 12 hour game, the ending just starts it all over again.... but even worse. But i did love that game... soooooo much.

  • dblockgangstar

    Posted Mar 17, 2009 4:35 pm PT

    i hated the ending More than Assassian Creeds...

  • jshipley01eb

    Posted Mar 17, 2009 4:20 pm PT

    I have to say, I loved PoP until that BS "ending". I was furious that there wasn't a choice to leave Elika dead. I was NOT happy at being forced to revive her. I contemplated long and hard about whether I should just turn off the game and pretend that was the end so i could live with myself. In the end, wanting to know how it "ended" got the better of me and I played out the horrible fate the designers of PoP would force upon me.

    In my opinion, Elika had every right to be furious with the Prince. If I had been he, she would be resting in peace, knowing that her sacrafice had saved the land and its peoples a terrible fate. I was so pissed off after "beating" PoP that I went and promptly traded it in. At least some good came of the experience. I'm going to get to save the 10 bucks playing the Epilogue would have cost me. PoP betrayed my trust and the emotional investment I had made in the game. Apparently I had far more courage then the designers did ... I guess I understood the true meaning of sacrafice.

  • MattD2779

    Posted Mar 17, 2009 3:55 pm PT

    I like the DLC Epilogue, but I still can't believe I paid 10 bucks just to play for another hour and a half. This article says 3 hours of game play, but that's just wrong. You get a trophy/achievement for finishing it in under 2 hours for cripes sake, which I got on my first attempt!

  • TXMostWanted

    Posted Mar 17, 2009 3:20 pm PT

    As much as I love PoP, the expansion wasn't all that great...just overtly fustrating & extremely repetitive. The only good thing was the continuation of the story (but the ending is still very "that's it?")

  • Cod4dude101

    Posted Mar 17, 2009 2:42 pm PT

    I own this game for ps3 and think that it has great graphics. I also think that it is too easy, because when you have been badly hurt from an enemy, just hit a button and you come back up. Don't get me wrong though, I do like this game.

  • Vanshluuugnheim

    Posted Mar 17, 2009 2:39 pm PT

    @Thandurin

    Hahaha Relatively small huh? You live A very Sheltered life then my friend. So thats the Reason That sites like Pirate Bay Will never be stopped by Authorities. Because A "Relatively Small" Portion consisting of hundreds of Millions of People pirate games. I know that those sites dont only Pirate Games but theres no difference. I am not Disagreeing with you though. I do agree that Because Some people do something everyone not everyone should be punished. But this is the way of our world. It only takes one or in this case Millions to ruin something for everybody. Its human Nature. And you cant change the Facts.

  • Alex_09

    Posted Mar 17, 2009 2:32 pm PT

    Weren't the old Prince of Persias really violent?? I remember them being pretty brutal, both literally and gameplay wise. This does look pretty fun though.

  • GamerNerd4LIFE

    Posted Mar 17, 2009 1:15 pm PT

    who cares about platforming? i played the game and was so pissed off by the retarded ending and the HUGE lack of ANY GOOD COMBAT

  • Thandurin

    Posted Mar 17, 2009 1:10 pm PT

    @Vanshluuugnheim

    Yeah because a relatively small portion of people pirate games all the other PC gamers deserve to get shafted with less content and terrible DRM.

  • Waiting_4_U

    Posted Mar 17, 2009 12:35 pm PT

    @ janderdarkmoon:

    I was talking about the main page of Gamespot.

    And they should have mentioned spoilers within the first sentence of this article, instead of at the end of the first paragraph where the very next sentence ruins it.

  • Vanshluuugnheim

    Posted Mar 17, 2009 12:23 pm PT

    Everybody Just get mad at Companies for not servicing the PC as much. . . That fact is the Companies just cant afford To produce things for the PC because A few copies of the software get sold and the rest are all pirated. . . So get mad. . . You did this to our Developers. You did this to Yourselves.

  • starduke

    Posted Mar 17, 2009 12:10 pm PT

    Ubisoft said that "Due to bizznezz reazzonz we will not be relezzing the DLC for the PC."
    Well, Ubisoft, due to the fact that I won't waste my time buying a game that I can't have the ending of, and because I own a pc and nothing else except a ds, I will not be buying Prince of Persia for the pc, or the ds for that matter. Oh, did you get that I tried to give ubisoft a evil accent? Hahahahah...okay maybe it wasn't that funny. Neither is ubisoft not realesing the dlc for pc.

  • XanderKage

    Posted Mar 17, 2009 11:59 am PT

    No PC version? Are you serious? Damn, man.... I loved the game... Would love to get the extra content...

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