The release of the third and so final installment of the Prince of Persia Trilogy can only be described as plain fun!
This new “Dark Prince” is everything from Warrior Within and nothing from Sands of Time. He’s selfish, sadistic, merciless and downright cruel and with him comes an all new weapon never seen before in the Prince of Persia series- the Daggertail- a chain like weapon which not only rips your enemies in half but also engages with the environment, giving the Dark Prince access to areas the Prince cannot reach. Of course, his fighting style is different as well, giving players a chance to see the most brutal of deaths take place. But not is all joy with the Dark Prince. Unfortunately his life is constantly deteriorating and to replenish his health you need-yep, you guessed it- sand from the enemies, forcing you to keep the pace rapid and vicious as the Dark Prince.
Of course, the game wouldn’t be the same without our beloved normal Prince. Each Prince has its own strengths, weaknesses and attacks. However, players will be unable to control when the transformation will take place, which will occur at certain key points throughout the game.
But the clever people at Ubisoft havn’t just focused on our playable characters. Oh no. They have also had the time to provide us with the “Speed Kill”, a feature that can only be described as: “…I love you ubisoft” For now you can sneak up on your enemies and take part in a fun mini game where, when prompted, you smash the square button and watch as the Prince stabs an unaware guard to death. This little touch may cause some people to hide under their beds and burn the copy but do not fear my little tiny flock: it’s placement in the game is as fluid as the water in the fountains. Not once did I feel that it was out of place and you are always given the option to return to Free form fighting if you like.
Talking about free form, it’s back… and with a vengeance! New moves, new options and new animations make this system feel as fresh as it did in Warrior Within (and lets face it… that was probably the biggest highlight of that game). The control is sharp, making combos seem effortless and the Prince to strike his elegance with such grace you would probably nag someone to give you gym/ballet/combat lessons just be like him. Forget Neo with his abilities to stop bullets in mid air, we want the Dancing Prince!
You probably wondering how Ubisoft could do all of this? A new character, new fighting systems, updating combat systems…surely they couldn’t do anything else? Well that’s where you’re wrong.
Remember the days where you would balance along the beams high above the ground with the light Persian style music playing beautifully in the background? Where the Prince never ran to the pounding of dark Rock Music to match the dark tone of Warrior Within? Well it’s back! The soundtrack is now what I can only call bearably. I never had anything against the rock music, but it just never worked… did it? And the voice acting and script can only be described as…well…fun! Most of the script being humourous and sometimes irrelevant (I mean…pomegranates for crying out loud!) but… it works. It not only works, it’s great!
So overall how is the game compared to Sands of Time and Warrior Within? Well, it’s not just on top of the pile because it’s the most recent game of them all, but cause it is the best. Though the graphics can only be described as “been their done that” and the environment as “beautiful but…haven’t I been here before?”, the addition of stabplates, springboards and chariots have made the actual game platforming outstanding and flow brilliantly. All I can say is that third time is the charm. Well done Ubisoft!