Prince of Persia: Prodigy

It's been nearly three years since we delved into the Prince of Persia universe, and we have yet to see an incarnation on the PS3 and Xbox 360. All of that is about to change...

It's been nearly three years since we delved into the Prince of Persia universe, The Two Thrones was released back in 2005, and we have yet to see an incarnation on the PS3 and Xbox 360. All of that is about to change, however, with the arrival of Prince of Persia: Prodigy. While the game wasn't playable at Ubisoft's Gamer's Day, we were treated to a short-ish trailer and a semi-lengthy chat about the upcoming title. Here's what we know so far...

Elika, We Like-a

This new Prince of Persia is exactly that, all new. It has no chronological bearing on the original trilogy, which includes the Prince of Persia new millennia trilogy: Sands of Time, Warrior Within and The Two Thrones. This time around, our stalwart hero is fighting an evil force known as Ahriman who has corrupted the world and destroyed the "tree of life." But never fear; the Prince will not be fighting this dangerous battle alone. For he will be joined by an all new female character named Elika who brings her own unique skills to the fight.

Unlike Princess Farah before her, Elika will be a much more intelligent companion and it was stated that as an assisting character she will never get in the way. There will be no escorting her or watching her bump into walls. Not only will she be able to perform her own moves and attacks, she and the Prince can also join forces to pull off cooperative, acrobatic moves and solve puzzles.

Prince of Persia: Prodigy

Meet the new Prince. The graphics are a stylized, heavily detailed form of cel-shading.

Blank Canvas

The art style of this game also moves in a new direction, departing from the realistic look of the original games. Prince of Persia: Prodigy is based more in fantasy and the cel-shaded art style reflects a world of vibrant wonder, giving the player the feeling of playing in a giant illustration. The world structure is likewise different offering a more open world experience instead of the linear storyline we've grown accustomed to. The player can make the choice of where they want to go, but be warned: the order in which you do things will have an impact on the outcome of the story. Sounds like multiple endings to us.

The combat system has been overhauled as well, with nearly every battle focused on one-on-one combat rather than fighting hordes of enemies all at once. Each fight is designed to be more along the lines of a patterned boss battle, leaving you wondering if you really have the strength and skill to take the enemy down. Not only will Elika be able to help you in these battles, but the environment can be used as well. A new dramatic battle camera has also been added to catch the fights in a much more cinematic fashion.

After watching the short yet action-packed trailer, we were fairly impressed with the new direction of the game. The cooperative moves between the Prince and Elika were quite elegant and added a bit of class to the overall feeling of the game. If the developers can pull off a solid story and gameplay to match the look of the game, this will be a stand out title in the Prince of Persia series. Look for the Prince of Persia (and Elika) to summersault his way on to your Xbox 360, PS3, and PC this holiday 2008.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Completely new storyline and adventure separate from the Sands of Time trilogy.

Core focus on one-on-one combat. Rarely to never will you fight more than one enemy at a time.

New art direction based more in fantasy than the realistic art style of previous games in the series.

Combat in Prince of Persia: Prodigy focuses on intimate one-on-one encounters with enemies.

Combat in Prince of Persia: Prodigy focuses on intimate one-on-one encounters with enemies.

Use the Prince's new grip-fall glove to cling to walls and slow the descent.

Use the Prince's new grip-fall glove to cling to walls and slow the descent.

Prodigy features a bigger, more open world to explore than past games in the Prince of Persia series.

Prodigy features a bigger, more open world to explore than past games in the Prince of Persia series.

Comments [34]

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TheTeacher

I'm excited, but I was burned by one PoP game really bad. The glitches kept coming, and my save files kept getting corrupt. It was literally impossible to finish the game!!! I don't know if I will be willing to try the new one because of that :*(

Sire

i wasn't a fan of the speed kill last time , but overall I really love every game in the series

artsaber

Great, a scarfaced Freddy Kruger Prince of Persia with cell shaded looking graphics.

showmethegames

the trailer looks good, but the screenshots look cartoonish. i hope this game isn't cartoonish

LivingTheLegend

Sands of time was the best entry easily, hopefully this one is good. Ubisoft has been putting out solid titles lately.

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