Prince of Persia

It was inevitable that Prince of Persia would make it to the current generation of consoles. But it's unfortunate that its 2008 outing on the PS3 and Xbox360 will more than likely be glossed over.

Surely, it's not fantastic, but it does have all the trappings of a great game. It's extremely easy on the eyes, what with brilliant cel-shaded graphics that breathe new life into what would otherwise be a desolate desert wasteland. Its straightforward story is enhanced by some well executed dialogue (and voice acting) between the Prince and the newly-introduced Elika. There's enough acrobatics to make one wonder how things might have been had any Spider-man title been designed this way. But the best part? The game is sufficiently short (can be played through in under ten hours) and engaging that it won't entail an inordinate investment of time to enjoy.

True, if you look hard enough you'll find things not to like about Prince of Persia. For one thing, its underlying mechanic of "heal the land to imprison the demon lord" feels derivative of Okami, which on balance was probably a more compelling game. The control scheme occasionally feels clunky, requiring a little too much precision for a game where acrobatics is the main draw. Unusual design choices also abound, the most egregious of which is Ubisoft's decision to have the final battle take place from the perspective of the computer boss rather than the Prince's. But most damning of all is the fact that this game isn't even complete as its "real" ending is only available to those willing to pay for its downloadable epilogue.

Then again, it's hard for any game to live up to the scrutiny of "if you look hard enough", and it's really much too easy to simply surrender to what Prince of Persia has to offer.

The bigger problem with the game, however, has less to do with its merits and more to do with its timing (or lack thereof): this purported reboot of the franchise has the misfortune of preceding the big budget movie produced by Disney. Now, regardless of what the game gets right or doesn't, it will necessarily be overshadowed by the film. Hence, inasmuch as Prince of Persia (the game) may have been a promising (if flawed) start to a rebooted series, it will likely go nowhere as the intellectual property heads off in the directions charted by its big screen success.

More's the pity, because for all its flaws, this Prince of Persia is actually a decent enough game that was probably just punching above its weight class -- and even then it performs admirably.