The Prince and Elika

Published December 9, 2008

Since Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones released on the original Xbox®, everyone's favorite acrobatic Prince has been lying dormant. Welcome now Prince of Persia from Ubisoft Montreal for Xbox 360, a game whose very name suggests a return to the series' roots while unleashing the full complement of current-gen technology to create a spectacularly stylized world.

Looks great in stills. Looks better in motion.

Sketched Alive
To look at screenshots of Prince of Persia is to wonder whether you're looking at a stunning pre-production piece of concept art. The Prince, his companion Elika, and their enemies and surroundings all appear as gorgeous, painstakingly crafted colored sketches come to life.

This style is made all the more remarkable by its dynamic nature. A single climactic event can transfigure lifeless, dull gray terrain into lush paradise in real-time. Tufts of grass spring to animated life, trees regain the full majesty of their living hues, and rainbows spring across suddenly sun-drenched skies. There is quite simply nothing else like it on Xbox 360.

In the end, Elika is your greatest asset in Prince of Persia.

The Return of Ahriman
We find the "prince" wandering in a sandstorm in pursuit of his beloved, gold-laden donkey on his way home from "liberating" some long dormant treasure. In his confusion, our morally ambiguous hero stumbles across a beautiful young woman, Elika, disciple of Ormazd, the god of light, being pursued by unknown armed soldiers. Brave as he is foolish, the Prince aids Elika in her quest to reach a fabled nearby temple dominated by the Tree of Life.

Here we discover the temple's purpose, to hold back the dark god Ahriman from the living world. Alas, Elika's father, in what appears to be a fit of madness, shatters the precious bond that imprisons Ahriman and so unleashes the slumbering god to sow his corruption on the fertile land, turning paradise into a desolate gray desert.

It's up to you, the Prince, and your newfound companion to breathe life back into the desert landscape and imprison the wrathful Ahriman once more.

With the Prince, any feat is possible.

Your Own Path
Reseeding life into the barren landscape is accomplished with Elika's magical powers whenever you find an appropriate Fertile Ground. The beauty of the game's setup is that your approach to these Fertile Grounds, each of which would be considered a level all its own in traditional game terms, is entirely up to you. Approach them in nearly any order you like, and create your own path, your own road of discovery.

Grace in Agility
The Prince of Persia games have long been known for the almost supernatural grace which the Prince exhibits in all of his athletic endeavors, and the ease of executing what look like enormously complex moves.

No maneuver ever takes more than a single button press in Prince of Persia. For example, if you want to perform the traditional wall-run, you don't have to press multiple buttons. Instead, you leap at the wall you want to scramble across, and the Prince takes care of the rest.

This is especially important as platforming in Prince of Persia is a matter of chaining lengthy combinations of moves together. You don't just leap up to a ledge and you're done. Rather, you must wall-run into a leap which leads to another wall-run, which leads to a leap and a slide down a ramp to a pole that you slingshot around to jump to a sheer ledge that you skitter up in order to grab onto a ring that you use to maintain your vertical momentum to grab onto a safe ledge at last. You get the idea.

Slide down any flat surface with the help of the claw.

The challenge in navigating the world in Prince of Persia isn't in executing the moves. It's recognizing the chain of actions required to make it safely to the other side on the fly.

Elika's Role
Wherever you are and whatever you're doing, Elika will be with you, but in what may be one of the game's most stunning achievements, she is never a burden. You never have to escort her or wait for her or worry about losing her. She follows you naturally and effectively.

Seeing her in action is one of the game's greatest treats. Whether she's clinging to the Prince's back as he climbs across overgrowth on an outcropping, or the Prince is flipping her casually from one side of him to the other on a ledge, her presence adds a great deal to how you perceive the game and its world.

Beyond her physical presence, Prince of Persia is largely her story. After all, it's her father that set loose Ahriman and it's her connection to the Tree of Life and Ormazd that allows her to breathe life back into the land. It's her world and her people that are in peril.

Welcome to the Corrupted.

You'll often see an Elika icon in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. When you do, initiate a conversation with her to learn more about the task at hand, her role in the unfolding events, and a great deal more besides. You can ignore the icon and continue on if you don't feel like stopping the action. The flow and depth of the story are up to you.

Elika's Reprieve
In the end, Elika is your greatest asset in Prince of Persia. For example, a mistimed jump in most games leads to your death, which in turn leads to you reloading the game at the nearest checkpoint. In Prince of Persia, Elika's magical powers work as an instant checkpoint. If you fall to what should be your doom, Elika calls forth her magic to reach down, pluck you from your death and settle you safely on the last firm ground you inhabited.

The same goes for combat. If a corrupted monstrosity pins you to the ground and readies a death-blow, Elika will snatch you from the jaws of defeat. Of course, you must still complete each challenge, but you're never forced to wait through a lengthy load screen or retread long sections you've previously completed.

One Battle, One Enemy
Every enemy you encounter is intended to present a significant challenge, and as such, facing even a standard foe plays out like a mini-boss fight. Combat is handled with four distinct types of attacks: acrobatic (A), sword (X), gauntlet (B), and Elika attacks (Y).

Push back!

While you can find a combo list in the Start menu to peruse, combat in Prince of Persia is most satisfying when you're finding your own combinations and stringing the animations together organically. For example, tap B on a standard enemy and you may grab them with your gauntlet and fling them into the air. It's only natural that you would then hit A to go airborne yourself, where you could tap X for a deadly sword attack, followed by yet another sword strike to send your opponent hurtling back to the ground.

In many ways, combat in Prince of Persia plays out just like the platforming. Commit to one move and then follow it naturally with another based on the position of your enemy, and the animation of the Prince.

Prince of Persia for Xbox 360 is set to reignite a love affair gamers have had with the franchise for almost twenty years with a style very much its own, and gameplay inspired by the past but perfected by the present.

Article by Ryan Treit