The Prince of Persia adventure franchise is now older than most of its players. Over its 20-year lifespan, the hero Prince has appeared on everything from Ataris and Spectrums to Mega Drives and PS3s, and now slashes his way on to the N-gage.
In many ways, the new N-gage incarnation marks a return to the game’s puzzle/platform roots, leaving behind the next-gen consoles’ flashy 3D mazes and complex swordplay for a more simplistic, linear game.
The set-up to Prince of Persia will be familiar to anyone who’s ever picked up a Dagger of Time – the Prince is stranded in a mysterious land and must battle magical enemies and solve puzzles, with the help of the equally mysterious Elika.
Graphics and sound are both first class, with a pseudo-3D environment that boasts lush background action, foreground shimmers and (in cut scenes) smooth 3D motion. Music and sound effects are excellent, creating a convincing atmosphere for the adventure.
Unfortunately, these are Prince of Persia’s (PoP’s) strongest points. Control feels restricted compared the console games. The nav-pad is sluggish, there’s no subtlety to combat and it can be difficult to even manage simple combo moves like running jumps.
PoP compensates for this by semi-automating many actions, allowing your hero to swing and swoop his way through complex moves without you really doing anything at all. There are also too many direction arrows, hints and previews, making the frequent puzzles too easy to solve.
The extensive cut scenes add variety – occasionally letting you control the levitating Elika for instance – but they also disrupt the flow and take a few moments to reload every time you lose a life.
If you buy Prince of Persia expecting a mind-bending, sabre-rattling adventure, you’ll be disappointed. But if you want a good-looking, gentle platformer to pass some time and impress your mates, this ageing prince is still fairly charming.
Details
Price: £8
Rating: 12+
Size: 33MB
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