Prince of Persia games are known for its unique platforming elements and this game is no exception. In typical Prince of Persia fashion, The Prince is one hell of an acrobatic. Wall running, wall jumping, climbing to high places and using the environment to get to your destination is the norm in PoP. Elika also helps the Prince in a number of ways, such as extending the length of a jump or rescuing the Prince before he falls to his death.

While this seems fine and dandy, the player doesn’t always have direct control. For example: When wall running, the minute the player manages to touch the wall after jumping, the game helps you by having the Prince automatically run a certain distance on the wall.

The same applies to the combat in Prince of Persia. Just by pressing a few buttons, the Prince and Elika execute a plethora of combos and moves that plays like a cut scene. Pressing a combination of the four face buttons on the controller results in extravagant combos. There’s no learning curve to the fighting mechanics and it doesn’t feel very rewarding. While it does look nice having Elika and the Prince jumping around doing loops, it feels a bit irrelevant because in the end, all you want to do is defeat your opponent.

Still, the quick sword and magic flying attacks look beautiful in motion. In fact, the video game as a whole is a work of art. There will be times where the player will stop and look around at all the various environments that are vibrant and full of life. It can only be described as a watercolor painting come to life. The music is equally impressive with an excellent orchestral score that goes hand in hand with the game play. It is dark and moody when the Prince and Elika travel through corrupted lands and is light and soothing when the lands have been healed.

One of the main problems with this game is repetition. While there is some variety with the platforming, the basic game play is simple, climb a few walls, defeat a boss, heal the land, go to the next area and repeat the process. The game does require the player to collect a certain amount of items called Light Orbs that will allow Elika to gain new magic abilities. However, the game doesn’t require the collection of all of the orbs and unless the player wants to complete the game 100%, there is no incentive.

There also isn’t much of a challenge. With Elika saving the player anytime he is on the brink of death, the game coddles the player. Even if you try to deliberately fall off a cliff, Elika will be there to save you. Lastly, there is the occasional glitch that will rear its ugly head. One such glitch that I encountered effectively stopped my advancement in game. The game locked both Elika and the Prince in a floating position and the only way to get out was to load a previously saved game.

Prince of Persia is going to be a game that will either be loved, or hated. The platforming was great, the visuals were beautiful and the music was amazing. However, the game greatly limits control and it’s very easy. If a game doesn’t play as great as it looks, then it definitely gets a few points knocked off.

All in all: Prince of Persia has the makings of a great game, if it wasn’t for the limited control and the occasional glitch. Newcomers will love it while old school gamers will probably hate it.

Bottom Line: 7.5/10
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Console: Xbox 360/PS3
Release Date: December 2, 2008