Review: Prince of Persia – The Forgotten Sands
Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, PC, Playstation 3, Playstation Portable, Reviews, Xbox 360
So you want that classic action adventure game, strong on the classic platformer style with hordes of undead, and can you bring it out on every platform?
Turns out Ubisoft were listening to you…
Prince of Persia, the name alone contains enough mystery and charm to captivate even the most sceptical. On that basis the game has seen more sequels and remakes than almost anything out there, want to complain about yet another Halo? Prince of Persia has spawned almost three times the number of games.
It’s easy to see why, the backdrop of the Persian empire is idea for any story you choose to tell, the mystical beliefs can be expanded to encompass many forms of magic and skill. The architecture is a form of practical art, with so many features and mouldings which look impressive and can be turned into a parkour haven (with the sands of time to save you from the occasional slip).
That’s really why the Prince of Persia games hit home, sure there is the core fighting bad guys and the twists of combat, but the real attraction is the way you have to beat the buildings, freeze waterworks, and dodge the traps which are generously served around every corner.
Gameplay
Main Story = £2
The core of the game, brilliant structure and length, tutorial while playing allows for slow introduction of new controls (even 2/3 through the game you get new abilities).
Challenges @ £1 each = £2
Perhaps a bit generous, but they do extend the gameplay significantly, even more so if you unlock the uplay challenge early and attempt it before you have upgraded your skills (making it devilishly hard).
Graphics
~20 Character models @ £1 each = £20
The level of detail put into each model is amazing, there may not be that many unique enemies, but they are well defined!
28 Levels @ £1 each = £28
As eluded to earlier, beating the level is really the focus, and such a diverse set of environments makes it a pleasure to work through.
Audio
Ambient Music = £1
Good matching of the music to the setting, does the trick for bringing you into the fold with plenty of epic scores.
3 Character Acting @ £1 each = £3
The game shows the way and prompts your actions with a brilliant flowing narration by your character, explanation of the details filled in by a Djinn and your brother filling another vital role for the story.
Choice
16 Spells @ £1 each = £16
You can choose 4 different combat spell paths, either investing up to the 4th level in a few, or combining different types for a balanced attack, brilliant effects for the high powered spells.
18 Upgrades @ £1 each = £18
If you’re not the type to fall back on magic to win your battles, there are plenty of upgrades you can use to boost your health and sand energy.
3 Difficulty settings @ £1 each = £3
If at any point in the game, you find yourself stuck on a boss or some such, you can drop the difficulty, not sure why you would use it but it is a nice feature.
Special features
Uplay = £1
Brilliant use of an achievement system, by playing Ubisoft games and unlocking special achievements you can earn Uplay points, which you can use to unlock extra content and xbox themes. These are across games so my Uplay points will be saved to unlock the Scar in Splinter cell: Conviction!
Elemental control = £1
Always fun to have control over an environment, the beauty of freezing water to run up it, then unfreeze to swing through with perfect timing is amazing.
Rewind = £1
Core to the series, the Sands of Time feature comes back to help correct those little mistakes, earn more sand by dispatching enemies and smashing pots!
Predicted lifespan: 2-3 months (x0.2)
This is key for a valueview, this multiplier, based on how long we think this game will be on your ‘lets play shelf’, can reduce all the value to zero as features in a game mean nothing if you’re not playing!
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is a return to a trilogy, and like many others I feel it doesn’t sit well when there was a brilliant reboot of the series only a couple years ago. You will want to play it through, but there is little long term appeal to the game, nothing to really bring it back from the closet!
Version Reviewed: Xbox 360
Release Date: Out Now
Review Overview: “About as good as the Movie…”
Pricewatch suggestion: £19
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This entry was posted on Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 at 12:01 pm and is filed under Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, PC, Playstation 3, Playstation Portable, Reviews, Xbox 360. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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