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Our fair Prince has had more than his share of image changes in the past. From the platform-hopping sprite of Jordan Mechner's 1989 original, to the Godsmack-listening emo-kid of Warrior Within, the Prince of Persia has tried forging various personalities that, unfortunately for our schizophrenic royal, have failed to stick. In this, the second major reworking of the franchise and its first outing on the current crop of consoles, the Prince is a wisecracking grave-robber (although he likes to call himself a tomb raider, of course) who is all teeth and muscle.
We join the Prince on the hunt for his lost donkey (which is loaded with gold after an apparently successful venture), rudely interrupted by a fleeing maiden, the beautiful Princess Elika. Pursued by her crazy father's goons, the Prince helps Elika escape, before facing off against the angry King. During their duel, Elika's father sets free the dark god Ahriman, whose black corruption floods the land, sucking out all its color and life. And this the general goal of the game begins. Their fates intertwined, the Prince and Elika must now heal the lands by reaching the sacred grounds scattered across the world. Luckily, the Prince is a handy climber and swordsman while Elika is infused with the power of the light god. Happy coincidence then, that the land that has split apart is just perfect for a spot of wall-running and ledge-leaping, our eponymous Prince's specialty.
This platforming is of course the foundation upon which Prince of Persia is built. The agile Prince gloriously sweeps from wall-to-wall, swinging from poles, grabbing on to any nook and cranny that conveniently guides his path. It's all very trite, of course, your route clearly marked by fissures, climbing ivy and anything else that the Prince can grab hold of. However, all that is soon forgotten as you string together a graceful combination of leaps and bounds, aided by an incredibly streamlined control system. The jump button takes care of most actions: just aim the Prince at a wall and he'll pump his legs to sweep along it, using his spiked gauntlet to keep up his momentum. Another stab of the jump button at the right time sends him leaping from one wall to another, continuing his run. It can be very difficult though at some times as you see where you want to go and jump in a completely different direction.
As you leap from ledge to ledge, scrape down walls using your gauntlet and even scuttle topsy-turvy across ceilings you will feel that your control inputs are minimal. But, while true, they shouldn't be mistaken as insignificant. Every string of leaps and bounds is a test of instinct and timing rather than complex button combos.
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