Prince of Persia Review

When we look at it from a different perspective, there's nothing really wrong with the Prince of Persia. The art direction is first-class, character animation is flawless and each area is captivating. It's a fairy tale come true, in terms of visuals. The scenery looks amazing and every character and enemy moves fluently. It's like the artists and animators took a series of paintings and quite literarily brought them to life. So, no matter how you find the cel-shaded style animation, it's impossible to argue that it isn't top notch. The voiceovers are spot on, with occasional humor cleverly tucked in the dialogue for good measure. The story presentation is an aspect that makes this game worth your time. Getting to know the characters and the world around them is an awesome ride.

But that's just it. In the end, Prince of Persia is nothing more than a beautifully animated and brilliantly directed ride through impressively designed environments. The problem strictly resides in its watered down gameplay mechanics, which, although well-executed, did not exactly meet our expectations, let alone provide a decent challenge. Instead, we were offered a number of moderate challenges and a handful of easy-to-solve puzzles, wrapped in generally straightforward platform-style gameplay.

As a fan of both the original Prince of Persia, as well as the Sands of Time series, most particularly the challenging spirit of the franchise, I have to say, this really isn't my cup of tea.

Newcomers to the franchise, on the other hand should find it a blast. It's quite evident that Ubisoft Montreal had a different target audience in mind this time around. Younger gaming generations are likely to regard this as one of the best action adventures of the season. Experienced gamers will complete the main campaign in a single day with their eyes closed.