Prince of Persia (Xbox 360/ PS3/ PC)
PRINCE of Persia's fun exploration and gorgeous graphics just about make up for its poor combat and lack of variety.
Although it is the next installment of the renowned Prince of Persia franchise, it is hard not to notice the similarities the game has with another Ubisoft title, Assassin's Creed (you can even dress the Prince in Altair's iconic white tunic).
Like Assasin's Creed, it has jaw-dropping graphics and the same fluid acrobatic controls.
However, equally similar is the open ended gameplay which lacks focus and does not deliever enough variety or challenge.
Your hero's goal is simple: Travel to uninhabitated, lifeless land, jump around a bit, kill singular bad-guy through the tried and tested button-mashing technique, and then collect orbs to open up new land.
There is not really any sense of progression- once you have played through the first couple of lands, you have really experienced all the game has to offer.
With confusing controls which make stringing a combo against your opponent something of a lottery, combat is poor.
So it is a relief the game focuses more on the collection of the orbs- or light seeds as they are known to the Prince.
Here the game comes into its own, as you- amongst other things- jump, wall run, ceiling run and fly your way to collecting those hard to reach light seeds.
Don't worry about falling to your death and having to start a section all over again. You can't die, as your sidekick Elika is always on hand to save you.
It really does allow you to switch off and unwind after a hard day at work.
But I have never played a title with less tension or anticipation of what's coming up next.
So whilst the 12 plus hours you spend playing Prince of Persia are fun and enjoyable, by the end of it all you do feel rather empty.
It's a bit like passing your driving theory test- there isn't realy any sense of achievement because it was so easy and expected of you.
Prince of Persia is by no means a bad game and there is a lot of fun to be had from its platforming sections, which make up the bulk of the experience.
But with more variety and better combat, it really could have been a great, rather than just good, addition to the third person adventure/ platforming genre.
(And for the record, Assasin's Creed is the superior title, because for all its flaws, it has the greatest recreation of a living, breathing city ever seen in a video game- better even than Grand Theft Auto Liberty City).
bucksherald.co.uk score: 7.5/ 10
Platform reviewed: Xbox 360
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