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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1877
MacDirectory 141
GAME REVIEW
PRINCE OF PERSIA
The Prince of Persia series was created in
1989 by Jordan Mechner, working for
Broderbund. Since then, there have been
two reimaginings of the franchise, both by
Ubisoft. This review covers the most
recent version, which is the first in a new
series. You need not have played the
previous titles to enjoy this version.
The story begins with the titular character
wandering through the desert, looking for
his gold-laden donkey named Farah (which
is a sly nod to the first revision), when he
encounters Elika, a princess on the run
from her father. Unable to evade him for
long, the two prove unable to prevent him
from opening a seal and releasing a
demon named Ahriman, who is intent on
capturing the princess and covering the
land in darkness.
One of the first things you'll notice about
PoP is its fantastic visuals. Every aspect of
the graphics have been rendered in a
gorgeously lush style that evokes the feel
of charcoal drawings. The color palettes
are similarly evocative, really giving the
feel of desolation to the landscape, and
immersing the player in the game world.
The attention to detail extends to the user
interface as well; the borders and
incidental elements all bear a florid,
illuminated manuscript style that really
helps maintain the feel of inhabiting the
exotic Middle East.
The next thing you'll notice is the dialogue
between the two main characters, which is
well-written, and spoken with a great deal
of verve by the voice actors. The Prince
has an endearing roguish quality to his
personality — somewhat reminiscent of
Han Solo — and his casual, easygoing ways
contrast sharply with Elika's more mature,
concerned, and steady tone. This makes
for many lively exchanges between them,
and gives the player a good sense of these
characters as real people.
Finally, the game's movement and combat
mechanics are really the stars of the show.
Ever since Prince of Persia: The Sands of
Time, the series has focused on the
prince's movement as the defining
characteristic of the gameplay. Whereas
the original series was presented in 2D,
the 3D nature of the succeeding series
demands new control schemes, and it
must have been a challenge to make it as
intuitive as it is to move the Prince around
the environment.
Essentially, navigation requires two
elements working in conjunction: control
of the Prince, and control of the game's
camera. Fortunately, the game lets you
assign these controls to whatever keys
work best for you. The default controls
require simultaneous keyboard and mouse
usage, which can prove a little
disconcerting if the mouse sensitivity is
turned up too high; fortunately, this too
can be managed.
On top of the basic movement, which
includes esoteric concepts like running
horizontally along the walls and using the
Prince's clawed glove to climb sheer cliffs,
there is a separate system for combat. The
Prince carries a sword that he can use in
several ways to deal damage to opponents,
and these attacks can be combined with
his claw to inflict even greater damage.
And on top of
that, these attacks can be
combined with the magical powers of
Elika, who is much more than she seems.
The combos are really key to mastering
combat in the game, and pulling off a long
string of them is really satisfying.
The newest iteration of the Prince of Persia
series is fun, evocative, and well worth the
purchase. Be warned, however: it's a
download-only product of over 7 GB.
Make sure you're prepared to wait for it all!
WORDS BY KEONI CHAVEZ
Name Prince of Persia
Web Site