E3 2008: Prince of Persia: The Fallen King Impressions

Clearly one of the highlights of E3 2008, the new Prince of Persia for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 is looking impressive. The DS version was on show alongside the other two versions at the Ubisoft booth, and we got the first chance to see it in action.

The DS game is a side-scrolling platformer that's controlled almost exclusively using the touch-screen interface. You'll tap objects to attack them and leap over them, and you'll double-tap to perform rolls. The prince also has a new glave hand that allows him to slide down walls at a slower pace. It might sound simplistic, but it seemed to work well as we watched an Ubisoft rep walk us through it.

Whereas your companion in the Xbox 360 game is a girl called Elika, you'll be accompanied in the DS game by a corrupt magician who can help you overcome puzzles and obstacles. By holding any button on the DS, your taps control the magician, and he can grab enemies and move balls of corruption out of the prince's way. Corruption seems to be a substance that has taken control over the world in Prince of Persia, and the magician recruits the prince to help him rid the lands of it once and for all.

The game looks fairly simple to play, and it's the first time we've seen a platform game controlled by the touch screen alone. As with the other Prince of Persia games, we weren't allowed to play at this stage in development, but we'll keep you up to date once playable code becomes available.