Prince of Persia looks handsome but proves uninspiring

First and foremost, if you’re a fan of the previous Prince of Persia titles, stay clear of the latest one. Not only does this new game—titled Prince of Persia (Ubisoft; PC, PS 3, Xbox 360; rated teen)—start its plot from “the beginning”, but things aren’t explained very well. On top of the lack of information, you feel unattached to the main characters and their story.

A new addition to the franchise is your sidekick/girlfriend Elika, a magic-empowered individual with unrealistically perfect hair. She will save your life if you fall, lend a healing hand in battle, and use magic to attack your enemies.

Like in the Sands of Time trilogy, the prince is as acrobatic as ever in this game, which uses the Assassin’s Creed engine. You can run along walls and even ceilings.

By mixing the puzzle concepts of the Tomb Raider series and the acrobatics of Assassin’s Creed, this title promised to tickle both audiences’ fancies. Unfortunately, it does not. The puzzles are as simple as finding which way is faster to reach your destination, not to mention mentally undemanding. The acrobatics are very repetitive and become uninteresting. If you’re seven years old, then the puzzles might be tricky at times, but, for most players, the sometimes one-route track isn’t hard to navigate.

The story involves of an evil-doer who takes over the world, covering it in dark goo with a mind of its own. The game is nonlinear, so you can access any of the game’s practically identical levels when ever you please. Your task is to navigate these surprisingly one dimensional levels in order for Elika to reach a circle (every level includes one). When you reach this circle you enter a boss fight—yes, every time. Once the bad guy is dealt with, Elika thrusts herself into the middle of the circle, restoring the grassy natural elements back to the level. This, however, drains Elika of her strength, so you’re forced to collect light spheres to restore her, with no real reward in the end.

The combat is also updated (overstatement of the century). Every fight is two on one, with you and Elika teaming up. You’re given four options for attacks—sword, claw thing, acrobatics, and hurling your girlfriend at enemies, which is supposed to be magic.

The look of the environments is spectacular; even your enemies are visually impressive. Unfortunately, someone at Ubisoft Montreal decided that both the main characters had to look like ’80’s Disney characters shaded in by comic-book artists. Other than the prince’s $50 H&M scarf, he dresses like a bum. Elika on the other hand wears a revealing little white number, in which only half of the ensemble moves in the wind while the other half sticks tightly to her body.

Overall, I found myself struggling to stay interested and feeling tortured knowing when I went home it was in my console. If you’re a huge fan of previous Prince of Persia titles, then I assume you will have to at least try this next-generation installment, but don’t expect anything. On the other hand, if you have never played any Prince of Persia games, this provides a decent first feel for what a next-gen game has to offer.