Prince of Persia Updated Impressions - New Environment and Boss

One of the biggest differences between the latest Prince of Persia game and the Sands of Time trilogy that practically defined platforming on the last generation of consoles is the level of openness you're given to explore this game's world. You won't be strung along from level to level as the story dictates. Instead, there are four main environments that you can navigate however you please, with the only limitation being the order in which you unlock your four magical acrobatic powers that determine the path you take between each region. We've previously seen three of the four regions--most recently when we covered the basics of platforming and combat in last week's look at the City of Light--but Ubisoft recently paid us a visit to show off the game's fourth area. Known simply as the Vale, this region is defined by its distinct departure from traditional Persian architecture and the region-specific boss, called the Alchemist, who haunts you at every turn.

A lot of the environments in the Sands of Time trilogy were firmly rooted in the aesthetics of traditional Persian palaces and fortresses, and you'll even see some of that in the new game. But the Vale is quite different in its design. There's a wooden, industrial look that replaces the familiar rigid, geometric designs of old. It's described by producer Ben Mattes as a combination of M.C. Escher paintings, Leonardo da Vinci sketches, and the classic adventure series Myst. You'll see towering wooden structures held aloft by tattered balloons with metal wheels that once controlled the local water supply, not to mention a sickly green hue covering everything in the far-off distance. This off-the-wall design affects the game's trademark platforming, too; you'll feel less like you're running amid fallen castles than through someone's slightly twisted vision of a mythical wooden city.

Prince of Persia's story begins with all four regions in the game infected by the corruption of Ahriman, an evil blight that manifests itself in the form of a deadly black substance covering various surfaces and is capable of producing enemies and unexpected hazards at a moment's notice. Your ultimate goal is to heal each area by defeating the regional guardian, or boss. We talked about the massive, brutish Warrior in last week's preview, but the guardian keeping a watchful eye on the Vale is quite different. He's known as the Alchemist, and he's much smaller, a bit less powerful, and far more cunning.

A lot of th This differences between bosses is no coincidence; one of the Ubisoft Montreal's biggest goals for the game's combat was to give each fight a unique feeling. The Warrior can be taken down by luring him around to an environmental hazard, outsmarting him by knocking him into a precarious pillar, or just tricking him into swinging at you near a ledge and knocking him down into the abyss while he's off balance. The Alchemist, who looks like a skeleton wizard, is much smarter than that, so you'll need to wear him out rather than trick him with one well-placed attack.

The reason for this shift in battle strategies? The Alchemist, being a mage of sorts, is a master of corruption. That disgusting black goop that adorns so many walls and surfaces is essentially a poison for the Prince. But for the Alchemist, it's his biggest defense. You can hack and slash your way through the battle for a bit, but eventually you'll only push the Alchemist into the ring of corruption that surrounds each battle. What you'll need to do is use the Prince's combat combos to your advantage. On the Xbox 360 version we played, A is jump and roll, X is attack, Y is vault, and B is grab--so what you'll do is soften him up with a few attacks, vault above him, and jump onto his rear side so that you're facing him from the opposite angle. This particular combo allows you to attack him facing another direction to avoid pushing him into the corruption, where he can simply be absorbed and teleport to another part of the ring. Battling the Alchemist is all a matter of keeping your momentum going with combos, a strategy that works great here but not necessarily with other bosses.

Defeating a region's local guardian will heal that area, removing all traces of corruption to allow you to reach brand-new areas and collect what are called "Light Seeds." These mysterious orbs act as a sort of currency in the game, and collecting a certain amount will allow you to unlock a new magical acrobatic ability that gives you access to certain regions--a sort of choose-your-path approach to laying out the flow of the game's levels. The whole system seems very intriguing, and it even has a teleport function that ensures you won't have to do too much backtracking when going back to collect Light Seeds in areas you've already explored. Combined with the striking new visuals that offer cel-shaded characters and an incredible amount of vibrancy in the environments, this new Prince of Persia feels quite different for a game that maintains such similar platforming mechanics. We'll see how the whole package comes together when it's released on December 2.