Targeting a niche demographic, Battles of Prince of Persia offers a unique prospective to the Prince of Persia series.
Gaps Prince of Persia 1 and 2 (at the time of release)
Offers different style of gameplay from the Prince of Persia series
Blends two different styles of games
Cons:
Steep learning curve
Gameplay appeals to a small market
Stats can be misleading
"Battles of Prince of Persia" for the Nintendo DS continues the story of the titular Prince as he tries to escape from the clutches of the Dahaka, the physical incarnation of Fate, who sets out to punish the Prince for his interference of the time line in "The Sands of Time". In his efforts to thwart the Dahaka from his bloodlust, The Prince inadvertently starts a war between several nations.
The gameplay aspect Battles of Prince of Persia combines what is akin to a real time strategy game (turn based strategy in this case) with a turn based card game. This is a stark contrast to the Prince of Persia games we know and love; the prince, who defies gravity and bends time to his will, has been shackled by the rules of war and now must lead an army as a tactician. The player take control as one of nine generals, controlling different generals during different missions, the player take the battlefield against other generals as they attempt to complete the given mission.
Each mission throughout the storyline can call for different ways to win a battle. For example, one mission might call on the player to defeat every unit of the opposing army, another might direct them to defeat the general directly, or even hold the flag for a certain amount of hours. These modes can be found in the multiplayer mode as well.
During battle, each general takes turn giving out orders to their battle units through the use of cards. Each card has a number on it, 2, 3, or 4; these numbers dictate how many moves each unit can advance. Any card, regardless of being an effect card or not, can be used to advance. As it was just mentioned, there are effect cards that can be added to any deck. Some effect cards are common, while others can be rare. Effect cards can affect the terrain, the general's battle unit or the opposing army's unit. Stats such as attack power, movement range, defense, can all be affected.
The battle units in the game are the foundation of each general's army. The battle units operate in what the game calls a "Triangle of Power"; this states that large units will dominate the medium units, who in turn dominate the small units, while the small units will dominate the larger units. This is also true for the weapons the units carry; Swordsmen will be strong against missiles units, who are effective against pike wielders, and the pike wielders long reach will overcome the swordsmen. Because of all these rules about who dominates who, the stats on the screen right before the player engages an enemy unit can be misleading; readings such as "excellent" and "outstanding" might backfire on the player from time to time.
Because of the turn based strategy and card intertwined gameplay, Battles of Prince of Persia has a steep learning curve. Reading through all the effects on the cards, understanding the Triangle of Power, setting up the battle units in the right place and planning out each move ahead of time can become overwhelming or even a turn off the first time the player picks up this game, especially if it's their first time playing a turn based strategy game.
I wasn't sure what to expect with this game, as I'm not very knowledgeable on RTS or TBS type games, but I do enjoy a good card game. BoPoP opened me up to a new gene of games and left my palette salivating for some actual RTS games to play in the future; Battles of Prince of Persia blends two types of gameplays into a unique yet enjoyable gameplay experience.
If you're looking for something new and different, Battles of Prince of Persia will keep you entertained by coming up with new ways to flank and outsmart the enemy, setting up customizable decks in order to maximize your advantage over enemy and overall keep coming back for more.