An Ode to Prince of Persia: Part the Fourth: A New Generation
October 25, 2008 Filed in: Gaming
Taking a Sabbatical
After the rapid succession of Prince of Persia titles between 2003 and 2005, Ubisoft gave the franchise a rest while console generations were shifting. In the meantime, the team that developed the Sands of Time trilogy went on to craft two other projects – Assassin's Creed and TMNT (a movie tie-in). TMNT was obviously influenced by the design philosophies of the Prince, and while the game was streamlined for a younger audience, many of the acrobatics found in the recent Prince of Persia games were replicated by the turtles. It even used the same graphics engine. Furthermore, TMNT introduced a team mechanic where a single player could call upon another of the turtles for a limited time to pull off a special move or attack. It was an interesting experiment, and an evolution of this mechanic works its way into the newest Prince of Persia.Assassin's Creed is an ambitious title, and, based on reviews I've read, it was perhaps too ambitious. (Disclaimer: I haven't actually played Assassin's Creed.) Ubisoft created a world much more real than in the Prince games and forces the player to really think about how to use the natural environment and architecture to get in and out of hazardous situations. Instead of having jump panels or knife holds, the main character is merely presented with basic structures and façades. Where Assassin's Creed may have failed in story and execution, it succeeds in scope and authenticity.
The game engine designed for Assassin's Creed and the new Prince of Persia can support far larger and more open worlds.
A New World, A New Prince
The new game in the series, titles only Prince of Persia, is a break from the Sands of Time trilogy in terms of characters and storyline. Like there are many heroes named Link and many princesses named Zelda, this will be the fourth character to bear the Prince of Persia moniker.
The new Prince is every bit as acrobatic as his predecessor.
This new Prince is a wonderer and adventurer who finds himself transported by a sandstorm to an idyllic garden surrounding a giant Tree of Life. Upon his arrival, the Tree of Life is destroyed, liberating the destructive spirit of Ahriman (Angra Mainyu for the mythology nuts in the audience) to wreck his corruption upon the world. In this place, the Prince meets Elika, a girl with magical powers who can harness the powers of nature to drive back Ahriman's corruption, and they begin a journey to cleanse to world … most likely over the course of multiple games, perhaps a trilogy.
Meet the Prince's new sidekick, Natalie Port -- I mean, Elika.
If it sounds very Biblical in proportion, that's because it is. That and Zoroastrian.
Learning Well From Others
The new Prince of Persia seems equal parts PoP: The Sands of Time, TMNT, and Okami (a Clover Studio game that features a Shinto goddess restoring the world from darkness) with a dash of Zeldal-like exploration and roaming. Some have also drawn comparisons with the 2001 masterpiece Ico, finding parallels with the relationship between Ico and Yoruda with the Prince and Elika. I think, however, that Farah from PoP: The Sands of Time is much more similar to Elika than the nearly helpless Yoruda.
This could end very badly for our hero.
Elika also seems to be influenced by TMNT in that she can help out with special moves and abilities. Instead of envoking her when needed, though, she is always there and seems to be programmed to parallel and react to the Prince's movements. In a way, it's as if the player is controlling two characters simultaneously while only focused on one. Elika also supplants the time-manipulating nature of the Sands in previous titles. If the Prince falls to his death, Elika can rescue him. Furthermore, the new Prince of Persia is far more generous with checkpoints than its predecessors, creating an environment where the player can experiment without being punished.
"Is this ride safe?"
Coming Soon to a PC, 360, or PS3 Near You
Ubisoft revolutionized the Prince of Persia series with their last installments. This title seems more evolutionary, sporting some new moves, mechanics, and a new graphical style. The team has obviously taken their time on this one to get it right, beginning development as they were wrapping up The Two Thrones and continuing work through Assassin's Creed and TMNT (both of those games serving as playgrounds for the developers to try some new mechanics they were planning on including in the new Prince of Persia).Ubisoft Montreal have set the bar very high with the Sands of Time trilogy. We'll see if they can surpass that standard come December 2. Until then, I'll close out these Prince of Persia posts with a video of the new game in action. It's worth noting that this entire video is done in the game engine as opposed to being pre-rendered.
One last item: as I was finishing this post, Ubisoft released a preview of a comic based on the new Prince’s adventures by the fine folks at Penny Arcade. Here it is.
all images © Ubisoft