Prince of Persia Classic Review

Instead of recapping the same old news that probably bombards all of you gamers out there as it is, today I will be reviewing a game that I recently had the time to complete. That game is Prince of Persia Classic from XBOX Live Arcade, by Gameloft. When comparing the XBLA version of the game against the classic PC version, there has been some obvious improvements in terms of graphics, sound, animation, and even the physics of the gameplay.




The top image is from POP the original PC version, and the screenshot below is from POP Classic on XBLA.

Graphically, the new version of the game is intense. The backgrounds are well-designed and balanced throughout the game. The color palette chosen for the game varies just enough to keep the scenery interesting throughout the whole game.

The animations throughout the game are smooth and consistently accurate to the physics of the game's world. The Prince transitions well from walking to running to jumping to rolling. Swordplay is varied as the Prince attacks with a variety of different moves despite being a single attack button.

Speaking of the controls, the control design for this game is redundant but efficient. After playing a couple of levels in the game, I began entrusting my jumping and rolling to the same left analog stick that I was using to move the Prince left and right across the levels. This provided much better control and transitions than using the A button for jumping and the B button for diving rolls or descending platforms. While platforming, I tended to use R as a brake for the Prince, as it works well to stop him almost immediately from a full run to a dead stop. Holding R will allow him to creep along, offering more control for those right-next-to-the-deadly-drop moments common in this game. During combat, the L- and R-triggers gave me finer control over the Prince's blocks and attacks, respectively, than the X- and A-buttons. I could react faster with the triggers than with the buttons.

The sound, while not of Hollywood blockbuster quality, suffices and even excels for an XBLA title. The surround sound provides subtle and ominous undertones throughout the game. Details are there, including the sound of the waterfalls on certain levels and the subtle tapping of the Prince's footsteps as you race through the levels.

The addition of the Time Attack and Survival modes add replayability to a game that seems so one-off-ish. POP Classic sets a time goal of one hour to save the princess. It is possible to do so beyond the hour time limit, as I have yet to beat the game in one hour, although I foresee it in the near future.

Overall, I suggest this game to any fan of action/adventure games. The production quality is excellent, especially for a $10 game (excuse me, 800 MS-point game) off of XBLA. It is on par with the quality of Assault Heroes, of which I have yet to play the sequel. It is far beyond many of the other rehashes of classic games available on XBLA.