The game will force you to take measured steps to avoid being instantly killed by traps, while placing harsh time constraints on you in the form of slowly closing gates. The level design is generally very challenging perhaps overly so, in parts. The character animation is great, for the most part, though combat can appear jerky for reasons I'll explain later. The backdrops and ambient lighting are significantly more detailed than you'd expect for a $10 Xbox Live purchase, and although it probably won't cause any jaws to drop, the variety is enough to keep the game appealing for the few hours it will take to play it through. Visually, the game is quite striking, appearing much like previous Ubisoft Prince titles in palette and texture. Consequently, most of the combat in the game is inescapable. You can sheathe your sword once you've engaged an enemy, but it is usually impossible to avoid a sword fight once it's begun. Alternately, you will occasionally cross blades with your opponent and exchange places with them. It is possible to sword-lock with an enemy, in which case you must rapidly press the attack button to prevail. Enemies will parry the majority of your attacks, unless you catch them off-balance with a counter-attack. If the Prince dies, you will lose a bit of time from the clock and start over from the beginning of the level or the last checkpoint.Ĭombat requires only two buttons - attack and parry. Traps include ground-spikes and guillotine-gates, both of which are deadly and difficult to avoid. Each level has an obvious exit which must be unlocked by pressing a switch, usually located in a very difficult-to-reach area. Traps often require you to gauge the distance of your jumps, as do the various switches which open and close gated doorways. Movement requires no button-mashing a few nudges of the thumbstick translate into small steps, jumping rolls, backflips, and ledge-grappling leaps of faith. Taking control of the Prince, you must navigate your way through dozens of deadly traps, jumping puzzles, and sword-fights, all within the established time limit. Meanwhile, the Prince has been imprisoned, and must escape the dungeons in order to rescue the Princess. The game begins with a short cutscene to explain the situation: the Vizier has designs on the Princess, so he sets up an hourglass which allows her exactly one hour to choose between execution and marriage. Prince of Persia Classic borrows its art design from these more recent entries, but the story and gameplay remain true to its arcade platform roots. In his previous two outings (let's forget Warrior Within), the Prince was revealed to be a complex character whose psyche is divided between the intrepid hero we all know and love and his darker, more sinister half. Following the success of Ubisoft's 2003 third-person action title Sands of Time and its 2005 sequel, The Two Thrones, the franchise has been redefined in popular consciousness as an action-heavy epic, centering around its cunning, acrobatic protagonist: the Prince. Prince of Persia Classic is a total re-imagining of the classic 8-bit platformer, Prince of Persia.