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At times, the paths so obviously laid out before you, become the schematics for your Mirros Edge> parkour plan. Run along this wall, leap onto that pole, swing to the collapsed wall to slide your way down to your destination. Chaining these moves together without slipping up is really quite satisfying; the terrific, slick animation of the Prince making your simple but well-timed button presses looks like the work of a master. You can't help feeling rather pleased with yourself after a successful dart across the environment.
The downside to much of this, as is so often the case with platforming of this kind, is that even your best laid plans can end up boiling down to trial-and-error and blind leaps of faith. Ubisoft's counter to this is Prince of Persia's remarkably lenient checkpoint system. Princess Elika is always by your side…always, accompanying you to each healing ground to perform her magical ritual. Being the magically-infused girl that she is, Elika can use her powers to save you from falling to your death by grabbing your hand and launching you back to the last piece of solid ground you passed, which is rarely far from where you fell.
With this, you literally are unable to die; Elika's flying ability more or less eliminates the frustration that can plague the genre. Some, of course, will find the apparent lack of challenge a disappointment, but for many the pleasure of negotiating the beautiful environments without fear can be a liberating, almost relaxing experience. I for one like this approach that Ubisoft Montreal implemented into this game…so don’t change it for the sequel!
Elika also aids you in combat, which unfortunately doesn't quite match the enjoyment of the platforming. Each fight is a one-on-one battle against a corrupted soldier, or one of the four bosses that patrol each section of the land. Again, the controls are streamlined, with one button to take control of sword swipes, grabs or Elika's magic. Mixing up these moves can lead to devastating combos and the right mixture sees you chaining together a huge amount of attacks. When it works, it's great, but unfortunately the combat ends up relying far too heavily on Quick Time Events (QTEs) and a painfully unhelpful camera can irritate. Elika will again protect you from death if you take one too many hits at the cost of your enemy regaining some health. As a result, most fights are a case of grinding the enemy’s life bar down. Fortunately, combat makes up a very small portion of the game and is just decent enough to avoid annoyance.
While the Prince of Persia of the last generation was fairly unique and innovative in its setting and time-rewind mechanic, this version relies on a grab-bag of influences and wears each on its sleeve. The influence of Team Ico looms large in Prince of Persia's setting and relationship between the protagonist and his companion. While the healing of each section of land, where a dark-infested world is brought back to life in lush greens and stunning blue skies, is straight out of Okami. You can afford yourself a smile at the, ahem, homages; but in truth there are few better pieces of work to aspire to and what could have come across as a botched patchwork of pilfered ideas holds up rather well, with our heroes' relationship holding the pieces together.
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