Prince of Persia

We get our hands on the Prince, and his new sidekick

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The Sands of Time is something of seminal action-adventure title in my book, Ubisoft's reinvention of the classic Prince of Persia platformer first created by Jordan Mechner not only shaking up an IP brimming with potential but also proving a resilient influence over the third-person action genre as a whole. The game's subsequent sequels stayed largely true to this formula, twisting things to and fro but largely just serving as continuations of the same gameplay; the same world.

After taking some flack for their previous Prince of Persia outing (The Two Thrones brought the plot full-circle, but wasn't as highly regarded as the previous two releases), Ubisoft felt the time was right to give their series another overhaul. Gone are the lengthy titles, gone are the Sands of Time, gone even is the Prince's princely status. Welcome to the new world of the Prince of Persia, and hello, who is this?

Sat in a darkened room at Ubisoft's UK headquarters, I suddenly feel the heat in the room rising. The Prince is walking through a dust-storm (the scene is stunningly depicted in heavily stylised real-time game graphics, my host points out proudly); winds swirl, dunes shift before me, everything is very... artistic. The Prince is calling a name, 'Farah', cursing his luck for ending up in this blinding dessert storm. Suddenly, the dust subsides - we're in a canyon - and clearly something is afoot somewhere above our head. Snapshots of a girl running; perfectly animated movement; detail; that watercolour-look again. Bang! The girl leaps from above our heads, colliding with the bemused Prince.

This is Elika, a beautiful if strange girl, who is being pursued by guards who seem less intent on killing her than they do on capturing her. She urges the Prince to save his own skin and not get involved, but our less-than-heroic hero likes something about this young lady - and with a few smart remarks (the American accent is pure Disney, and may take a little getting used to) we find ourselves helping defeat a few of Elika's pursuers before we're lead into a stunning open vista (dessert, mountains and a vast, stunningly realised temple, bristling with organic foliage). Elika tells us we must get to the temple.

As you play through the opening section of the game - the game teaches you how to control the Prince as you go - it becomes obvious fairly quickly that things are lot more fluid now. Gone is the frenzied feeling of the Prince's movements in past games. Instead, you'll find that context-sensitive presses and direction control become far more crucial; our hero finding his way slickly up walls, along pathways and over obstacles, providing you offer the correct initial prompt. I've heard it said of the game before, but progression through the world really does seem to be about striking a rhythm, keeping your free-running-esque movement well-timed and smooth more important than worrying about inch-perfect leaps (we'll find out why later).

We're in the temple now, and Elika is arguing with her father, he blames their god (Ormazd, the opposite of dark brother Ahriman) for the death of Elika's mother and after fighting with the Prince he takes his sword to a small, sparkling tree at the temple's epicentre. This prompts all hell to break loose. Some kind of evil was kept safely contained in the tree - but now this vile, black Corruption is free - and we must flee. Grabbing Elika we run for the exit, dodging guards and the now rampant Corruption as the temple literally crumbles around us. During this part of the opening sequence the game teaches you how to wall run, and you can practice your leaps as you head for safety. Slip and perhaps the game's most important element comes to the fore - Elika will save you - always.

The Sands of Time may be gone, but Elika acts as a sort of ever-present save point, catching you whenever you fall off a ledge; stepping in to scupper enemies when they're on the brink of killing you. Beyond just a plot device, and a replacement for those magical Sands, Elika is also at the heart of the gameplay - which I'll come to shortly.

But first, the premise. Corruption has escaped from the Tree of Life (the plot is apparently inspired by tales from The Arabian Nights), and now inhabits the four lands which boarder the temple. From the dessert in front of this super-structure you can see the four regions in the distance, and with a little help from Elika (she'll tell you where to go if you're lost; and dialogue prompted by the left-trigger adds story detail) you're off to cleanse these regions in an attempt to re-contain this demonic escapee.

As you move off through the world (Elika's Brian Blessed-alike dad seemingly left behind in the collapsing temple) it becomes apparent how different an artistic vision Ubisoft have mustered for this release. Gone are the cartoon-like environments of previous Prince of Persia games. This is a world of dramatic contrasts, swathes of colour, all depicted in what I'm told is called an illustrative art style. The characters are somewhat cel-shaded, too, and all in all in this ethereal vision sits well with the outlandish mythologically inspired plot. Shades of Okami abound, in fact, and that's no bad thing.

As you begin the task of cleansing the first region (all the regions centre around over-grown, abandoned temples of varying descriptions), it becomes apparent that the Prince's new adventure won't be all about conflict. In fact, moving between areas of the environment is now the main challenge, cunning-combinations needed to ensure smooth progress through huge, multi-tiered levels. Elika is of course here to help, and with a press of the 'Elika button' she'll leap to your aid, helping you swing across impossible distances. The gameplay here seems very pure, Ubisoft Montreal's designers seemingly having deliberately kept the mechanics of the gameplay simple, while adding complexity through a rich plot, and by offering you an open-world, which gives you multiple paths to tread.

Leaping through the game's enticing locales, you'll find yourself needing to collect large quantities of light orbs - these are not just for bragging rights, rather, they power Elika's special abilities which she'll need for cleaning each region of the game world (a feat achieved by reaching a central trigger point). Quite where Elika's abilities come from (we here talk that she is part of an ancient, dying race, the Ahuras), or what her exact involvement in the story is, remains unclear, however Ubisoft are promising that players will learn more as they progress as well as confirming plans to release more back-story before the game reaches us in December.

Of course, while the Prince of Persia may not be a real Prince any more (although interestingly Elika is some kind of Princess), he still isn't averse to a spot of sabre-rattling, and through encounters with guards and spiteful Hunter characters (the living, fighting, transforming embodiment of the Corruption) you'll still need to mix it up with a bit of ultra-violence. The emphasis on the fighting front is on larger more significant tussles with individual foes. You won't find the Prince cutting through rooms featuring dozens of baddies here. Rather, a more considered, combo-driven dynamic is the dish of the day. Combine sword attacks, with acrobatic leaps and powerful lunge-grabs to force your victim into submission before polishing them off with cinematic finishing moves. You'll also use the environment at times, while the Elika button will see your lovely female companion aiding your tussle - and you can involve her in some interesting, if disorientating moves - as you wish (cleverly, she never seems to get in the way, when not called upon).

One of the most interesting elements of this Prince of Persia renaissance is the manner in which Ubisoft have tried to change the role of the Prince himself. This Prince isn't the chivalric figure of past games, rather he seems like a tough wanderer with a bitter tongue who has stumbled into a situation where he is compelled to do the right thing. If anything, Elika opens the game as the real star, albeit one you don't have direct control over - and the first time she saved me I was left in doubt where the real power was. With the gameplay now looking very refined, all we're left hoping is that the controls, movement, combat and story will combine into a convincing unity worthy of the Prince of Persia name. At the very least, the steps taken with Elika are bold, and the open-world environments look promising, too. We're looking forward to exploring the game's other areas as December nears.

Oh, and 'Farah' is the name of the Prince's goat (laden with enough gold to buy very thick rugs, we're told).

By Luke Guttridge

• Prince of Persia
• Platform: PlayStation 3
• Publisher: Ubisoft
• Developer: Unknown
• Release Date: 2nd half 2008

• Prince of Persia
• Platform: Xbox 360
• Publisher: Ubisoft
• Developer: Unknown
• Release Date: 2nd half 2008