Psychosocial
Violent serenity.
UbiSoft has released a new Prince of Persia game. Well, actually the game says so. After a few hours of playing it and completing it, I want to share MY views on it. Lets get to the review directly as Prince of Persia does not need any introduction.
Graphics :-
So the guys at UbiSoft thought that making a game differently than what other companies make will be good and guess what, they were right! Atleast I think so. The water-color style graphics look and feel splendid. The HDR is done well. The animation is very fluid. Its actually a treat to watch the Prince and Elika platforming together. The physics, lightning and the shadows are done very well too. Sadly, the game is plagued by the odd frame drop issue. At certain points, the frames will drop drastically without any reason. Though they remain playable but they take quite a hit. The good news is that the game is not very demanding and will run on any decent system.
8/10 for the graphics.
Sound :-
The voice acting is done well but the background music is not very good and I miss the Warrior Within sound theme and the blood gushing music it played in the background when a fight was going on. Still, it ain't that bad. The sword clashes and the magic effects are pulled off well. You can hear the minutest detail like the dust flowing off a structure when Prince clings to it. Overall, its decently done.
7.5/10
Gameplay:-
Ah, the core of the game. Well its a lukewarm platformer. Its very easy. You never die in the game. Yes, you read that right. Prince goes around platforming with his side-kick Elika. Whenever you fall off, Elika will pull you back and land you on the last solid platform you set your foot on. This system is not good and the game hardly provides any challenge. The core of the game is to run around, jump around, defeat one enemy, purify the fertile land and collect light seeds (Orbs of light which give the power to activate plates to Elika)and repeat the same thing for another area. Thats it. It really gets repetitive, dull and boring. The fights are boring and sometimes annoying. Again, you cannot die in them. This does not make any sense to me. The combat system is ruined. You fight a single opponent at a time. You can counter-attack, use your gauntlet to launch the enemy in air and hit them or use Elike as a means of a weapon if the enemy is near to you. In fights, the enemy will change their state. Once in a certain state, only one kind of weapon( The sword or the guantlet or Elika's magic) will harm them and bring them back to the normal state. The puzzles, which were something which Prince of Persia series was known for has also vanished. There are puzzles but they are very easy. I solved 2 puzzles without knowing what to do
. Though there was a puzzle which I loved because it made me think. The platforming is the same as the previous PoP games. Overall, its easy, repetitive and sometimes annoying. One good thing is the AI. The enemy is not smart but I did not have any problems with Elika getting stuck, etc.
4.5/10
Story:-
PoP was always known for its story. The new game has decent story. Prince was wandering around in a desert after raiding a tomb and his donkey went missing. He was searching for him when Elika stumbled upon him while running from some guards. The prince fights the guards and then gives chase after Elika until they stumble upon a big man. The prince fights with him and later comes to know that it was Elika's father and the king of the land so that makes Elika a princess. Elika reveals that his father was trying to stop her from reaching a temple. The Prince and Elika hurries to the temple. On the way, Elika narrates the whole situation. She tells the Prince about Ahriman, a dark creature who has been trapped in a temple and whom her father is trying to release. She asks the Prince for help to stop her father. They reach the temple and so does Elika's father. Her father wins and breaks the lock to Ahriman's seal. Elike later tells that Ahriman is still not free completely and can be stopped from escaping if they defeat the corruption and heal the fertile lands. Thats pretty much it but there a few turns and twists and they are good.
6.5/10
Overall its a decent game for a casual gamer but not at all worthy for being a part of the PoP series. Sadly, one more great series has been ruined.
Overall - 6.5/10
Graphics :-
So the guys at UbiSoft thought that making a game differently than what other companies make will be good and guess what, they were right! Atleast I think so. The water-color style graphics look and feel splendid. The HDR is done well. The animation is very fluid. Its actually a treat to watch the Prince and Elika platforming together. The physics, lightning and the shadows are done very well too. Sadly, the game is plagued by the odd frame drop issue. At certain points, the frames will drop drastically without any reason. Though they remain playable but they take quite a hit. The good news is that the game is not very demanding and will run on any decent system.
8/10 for the graphics.
Sound :-
The voice acting is done well but the background music is not very good and I miss the Warrior Within sound theme and the blood gushing music it played in the background when a fight was going on. Still, it ain't that bad. The sword clashes and the magic effects are pulled off well. You can hear the minutest detail like the dust flowing off a structure when Prince clings to it. Overall, its decently done.
7.5/10
Gameplay:-
Ah, the core of the game. Well its a lukewarm platformer. Its very easy. You never die in the game. Yes, you read that right. Prince goes around platforming with his side-kick Elika. Whenever you fall off, Elika will pull you back and land you on the last solid platform you set your foot on. This system is not good and the game hardly provides any challenge. The core of the game is to run around, jump around, defeat one enemy, purify the fertile land and collect light seeds (Orbs of light which give the power to activate plates to Elika)and repeat the same thing for another area. Thats it. It really gets repetitive, dull and boring. The fights are boring and sometimes annoying. Again, you cannot die in them. This does not make any sense to me. The combat system is ruined. You fight a single opponent at a time. You can counter-attack, use your gauntlet to launch the enemy in air and hit them or use Elike as a means of a weapon if the enemy is near to you. In fights, the enemy will change their state. Once in a certain state, only one kind of weapon( The sword or the guantlet or Elika's magic) will harm them and bring them back to the normal state. The puzzles, which were something which Prince of Persia series was known for has also vanished. There are puzzles but they are very easy. I solved 2 puzzles without knowing what to do
. Though there was a puzzle which I loved because it made me think. The platforming is the same as the previous PoP games. Overall, its easy, repetitive and sometimes annoying. One good thing is the AI. The enemy is not smart but I did not have any problems with Elika getting stuck, etc.4.5/10
Story:-
PoP was always known for its story. The new game has decent story. Prince was wandering around in a desert after raiding a tomb and his donkey went missing. He was searching for him when Elika stumbled upon him while running from some guards. The prince fights the guards and then gives chase after Elika until they stumble upon a big man. The prince fights with him and later comes to know that it was Elika's father and the king of the land so that makes Elika a princess. Elika reveals that his father was trying to stop her from reaching a temple. The Prince and Elika hurries to the temple. On the way, Elika narrates the whole situation. She tells the Prince about Ahriman, a dark creature who has been trapped in a temple and whom her father is trying to release. She asks the Prince for help to stop her father. They reach the temple and so does Elika's father. Her father wins and breaks the lock to Ahriman's seal. Elike later tells that Ahriman is still not free completely and can be stopped from escaping if they defeat the corruption and heal the fertile lands. Thats pretty much it but there a few turns and twists and they are good.
6.5/10
Overall its a decent game for a casual gamer but not at all worthy for being a part of the PoP series. Sadly, one more great series has been ruined.
Overall - 6.5/10
I mean, I liked the trilogy series due to its dark, strong-but-silent theme that gave you the feeling "I stand alone"(Heck, they even included a great song called "I stand alone" in the 2nd game).
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