Ubisoft unveils PSP Prince of Persia

More than six months after its existence was disclosed in a Ubisoft financial report, the first Prince of Persia PSP game has been officially announced. As revealed in the publisher's 2005 fiscal year lineup, the game will be a reworked version of the best-selling multiconsole game Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. However, instead of shipping in Ubisoft's third financial quarter, which ends this week, the game will now ship in December, alongside Battles of Prince of Persia for the Nintendo DS.

Unlike Battles of Prince of Persia, which is an original card-battle game, Prince of Persia for the PSP will play much like Warrior Within on the PlayStation 2. Like its console cousin, it will be an action adventure game with a free-form fighting system that lets the prince manipulate the environment and enemies to develop his own fighting style. It will sport a new projectile attack system allowing for a variety of combat tactics, as well as the time-shifting powers the Prince picked up in his first outing on current-generation consoles, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

Prince of Persia PSP (working title) will have the same storyline as Warrior Within, pitting a more violent and ruthless prince against the demonic creature Dahaka on a cursed island. However, Ubisoft says the portable version of the game will feature "original content, such as additional puzzles, new maps, and redesigned levels." The publisher also promised the game, which is being developed by Pipeworks Software (Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee), will feature unlockable bonus content.