Long Live the Prince

If you're anything like me, you played through Ubisoft's Prince of Persia series to find out if the Prince has an actual name or not. At the risk of annoying the rabid fans who have been eagerly awaiting such a vital piece of information, I am sad to report that he does not. It's just Prince. Not Steve, not Mike, and not Blutonius. Just Prince. Not even in this, the final installment of the trilogy, does his internal alter ego the Dark Prince disclose his given birth name. It's okay, though, because the artist currently known as "Prince" is still what matters most: an artist. From start to finish, this game reeks of adventure. Those familiar with the series will be right at home running along walls and vaulting with impossible agility along the rooftops and streets of Babylon. Each of his signature moves are back, and with some new moves added in for good measure. Some additions include sliding up and down between tight spaces and hanging from a chain to silently kill an unwary enemy in stealth. Playing as the Dark Prince is very similar to the Prince, at least in terms of platforming. Adding to the running and jumping elements is the Dark Prince's daggertail, which gives him the ability to swing from certain poles and candles like Spider-Man through the streets of...Persia. Combat plays pretty much like "The Warrior Within" with the branching combo system that allows the Prince to pull off acrobatic moves that veterans will know how to do. The Dark Prince is appended with the daggertail, making for some sweet-looking combos similar to "God of War's" Chaos Blades, though his constant life-draining will frustrate a lot of people to not want to fight with him too often. Perhaps the only drawback to this game is the length. The entire adventure can be done in eight hours or less. I wouldn't call this one the best of the three, but I would definitely recommend this game to fans of the series who want to reacquaint themselves with Blutonius once again.