IGN gives Prince of Persia a 9.3

IGN gives it a 9.3!

Closing Comments

In every console generation there are one or two games that, regardless of any flaws, hold tight in my memory even years later. I can still picture scenes from Chrono Trigger on the Super Nintendo System as if I just played it the other day. Despite a flurry of great games released in the past year, I still get the itch from time to time to play Jet Set Radio Future on the Dreamcast. Your beloved games may be different, but I'm certain most long-time gamers have a few titles they treasure – the games they can never trade in. Ubisoft's relaunch of Prince of Persia may just be such a game for me from this generation.

It's not the best game ever released on PC, PS3 or Xbox 360; it's not even the best game released this year. And yet Prince of Persia is that rare game that has managed to tap into that part of me that would die defending Chrono Trigger or JSRF. It has its shortcomings, but I already sense that Prince of Persia will be one of the few games from this generation that I carry with me for the next decade.

 

Presentation- 9.0 -

A well-told fairy tale that has a considerable amount of backstory for those interested.

Graphics- 9.0 -

A beautiful and imaginative world that looks incredible covered in Corruption or dandelions. A true achievement in artistic design.

Sound- 8.5 -

The music is fantastic and the enemy voices are handled well. The Prince comes off as a bit too much of a jerk and some of his lines feel a bit forced.

Gameplay- 9.0 -

A few minor issues, but the experience itself is one that every gamer should experience.

Lasting Appeal- 8.5 -

The main adventure can be completed in less than 10 hours, but it will take some extra time if you hunt down all the Light Seeds. Unlockable skins add some fun to a second playthrough.

IGN

This game out of nowhere for me.  It looks gorgeous.  I will probably break down and buy it. 

This game will be released next week...It's stupid to make a review if the game isn't out yet. This is clearly a publicity skam....they hope the game will sale better if it gets good reviews before launch -- a review like this one is clearly payed by the publisher, in this case Ubisoft. codrutz

[QUOTE="codrutz"]This game will be released next week...It's stupid to make a review if the game isn't out yet. This is clearly a publicity skam....they hope the game will sale better if it gets good reviews before launch -- a review like this one is clearly payed by the publisher, in this case Ubisoft. rragnaar

:lol: 

You better buy this!

Anyway this is what I said in the PoP thread at System Wars a few minutes ago:

That's probably the best review I've ever read! They covered every base for that game. Prince Of Persia already sounded like almost everything I wanted in a dream game and after the review, it sounds even moreso. I've always wanted an action platformer with one on one combat with enemies with great AI and in a world with an exciting form of platforming to travel. IGN made the combat sound even more exciting with this paragrpah.

"There's a fairly deep combo tree in Prince of Persia that can branch off from any of the four buttons (sword, gauntlet, Elika and acrobatics). Discovering how to keep a combo branch from closing allows you to string together a dozen hits for an amazing attack sequence. All combat is one-on-one (or one-on-two if you count Elika) allowing Ubisoft to manipulate the camera freely for a more cinematic experience. And just because you are only battling a single enemy, don't expect combat to be easy. The AI is tough and adapts to your play. Do well and the AI blocks more often and becomes more aggressive. Get your butt handed to you too often and the AI eases up. There's no way to individually manage this (no difficulty setting or other options), but I found the combat most rewarding when the AI was taking it to me. "

And I could not agree with this line more.

"If you can embrace the idea that this is more about an experience than about the traditional "beating the game" mentality, then you are in for something special. "

I just got done talking about that today.

But there are some things I was disappointed to hear like the fact that the game is less than 10 hours or this:

"The only trouble with facing the harder AI is that they more readily engage in quick-time-event attacks. These cut-scene attacks stutter the flow of combat when you get three or four in a row. And since each enemy only has three or four types of attacks, it quickly begins to feel repetitive; especially when you consider that you will fight each boss five or six times. I enjoyed the progression of the bosses, how they become more difficult with each battle and how the arenas themselves made each combat feel a little different, but the QTE moments start coming far too often. "

I HATE HAATTEE HHHHAAATTTEEE QTEs and I don't want to go through the pain of having them ruin the great flow of the game.

Besides that, I'm really looking forward to getting my most anticipated game.

You can't die? Whose dumb idea was that?Cherokee_Jack

Yeah, i had to ask my buddy about this one, too, when i first noticed that the Prince wasn't actually dieing in the demos i was seeing at E3 (back then,"deaths" seemed to be handled by a quick scene with Elika rescuing the Prince at the last moment). He said the philosophy behind it is not so much that you don't die (because you do, and restart at the last place in which your feet were on the ground or at the beginning of the battle you were in the middle of)..it's that they felt gamers don't want to stare at Gameover screens or loading screens after they die, so they made the transition back into gameplay almost non-existant. He also said he was kinda so-so about the end product, but we both agree with the philosophy...i know i hate when a game makes me stare at a game over screen, then reload the main menu, then select "load game," then wait for it to reload before i can finally get back to the action. This game is attempting to cut all that out and get you back to playing asap. And there is an achievement/trophy for minimizing Elika's assists in this regard, i believe. It'll be interesting to see how the end product turns out, since i've yet to play it myself.

I honestly don't pay much attention to IGN's reviews at all because they are really inconsistent. princesszelda

Yeah, but almost every game critic is inconsistent IMO.

That said, I've been looking forward to this game since I saw the E3 trailer. I'm disappointed to see that the horrible voice actor for the Prince is still there. Do these guys even listen to fan feedback? I'm also not sold on this game yet, it was in development for only one year and it's probably very short on content. 

^^Best Review, really? I mean no that there are different opinions out there, but c'mon, have you read a lot of game reviews...That was one of the most inconsistent reviews I've ever read. HiResDes

I want this game, but I may end up waiting until it's a little cheaper. Some of the design decisions don't really agree with me (QTEs). I don't really care that it's short, but I loathe QTEs.Canvas_Of_Flesh

[QUOTE="princesszelda"]I honestly don't pay much attention to IGN's reviews at all because they are really inconsistent. S0lidSnake

Yeah, but almost every game critic is inconsistent IMO.

That said, I've been looking forward to this game since I saw the E3 trailer. I'm disappointed to see that the horrible voice actor for the Prince is still there. Do these guys even listen to fan feedback? I'm also not sold on this game yet, it was in development for only one year and it's probably very short on content. 

Actually I still don´t have much hope for the new PoP.I really liked the older trilogy,I love Cell-shading and stuff...but I´ve seen a lot of stuff about the game not to like adn Cell-shading isn´t something I really wanted to see there and maybe the stuff with the 2nd Character will be annoying or something so...maybe I rent it or something.I just have a bad feeling about this game and can´t shake it.

I was hoping this game will fail and mark the end of the Prince of Persia franchise. It looks like they going to keep churning these out until someone causes a little gasoline sabotage.

For some reason I just don't like this series of games. I used to play the original on the Amiga and it was amazing back then. I also enjoyed the sequel which was years old, way back when people where playing Space Hulk and stuff! I was busy with other stuff during The Sands of Time and wasn't interested in it for some reason. When The Warrior Within came out, it seemed to be made of boobs, ass and big monsters with heavy metal music. Obviously they're taking a new approach... I gave it a play and although the combat was suppose to be very fancy, I was getting bored of slow motion depravity in games at that point, having played Max Payne and BloodRayne already. Plus I found enemies were not satisfying my insatiable thirst for blood in the way they just turned into sand (screw political correctness!). The backtracking in a game of it's style, with all the traps you had to traverse multiple times was seriously boring. I threw that game away about a third way through it.

When the two thrones came out I glanced at a review of it and on the 2nd paragrapth decided to stay away from it, I was thinking that was going to be it's last but no! Oh no! They gone and curled another one out! The prince now looks like he's fell into a laundry basket, the fact you can't die in it means it's very likely that the game is not for me. I want my game over screen! I wan't respectable challanges, but you don't offer it, so go away you ugly game! I bet I could plough through it in one evening if I wanted to, but that's about as appealing as peeling my penis like a banana.

The fact that you cannot die during platforming really turns me off with this game.

I want a challenge! Why do so few modern games have that anymore?

The fact that you cannot die during platforming really turns me off with this game.

I want a challenge! Why do so few modern games have that anymore?

four_of_clubs

[QUOTE="four_of_clubs"]

The fact that you cannot die during platforming really turns me off with this game.

I want a challenge! Why do so few modern games have that anymore?

lordlors

Now it's your turn to try to understand the philosophy behind why we don't like it. When you go wrong, you get a game over screen, it gives you a sense of you did wrong, you messed up, you gotta be better then that, have a slap in the face and then the game calls you a worthless maggot! Then your like "Ok, i'll beat you game, me and you prince, we're going ot get through this, i'm not going to let you die horribly, we're going to go all the way, you and me bro, let's go!

Ok that won't explain it very well. I'll try again. It's like playing baseball with your friends when your a kid, but you suck at it. You can't bat or throw to save yourself but it's your turn anyway. You take the bat, the browler throws, you miss. Strike one, you miss again. Strike two. You miss again strike three you're out, BUT NO! The bowler says "Ah that last throw was my fault, it's a foul, we'll give you another shot" and this time he does a wimpy little underarm throw to let you hit it. Now you hit the ball and it bounces along the floor and all your friends pretend to fall over instead of pick it up, to give you a free homerun. That's how you're being treated in that Prince of Persia game.

[QUOTE="S0lidSnake"]

[QUOTE="princesszelda"]I honestly don't pay much attention to IGN's reviews at all because they are really inconsistent. princesszelda

Yeah, but almost every game critic is inconsistent IMO.

That said, I've been looking forward to this game since I saw the E3 trailer. I'm disappointed to see that the horrible voice actor for the Prince is still there. Do these guys even listen to fan feedback? I'm also not sold on this game yet, it was in development for only one year and it's probably very short on content.

There's no way IGN is the bottom rung. Go read Gamespot's Army of Two review or their BC: Rearmed review if you're looking for prime examples of insipid, borderline offensive gaming journalism.

Personally, I'd argue that IGN has maintained a much higher level of writing quality than GS, especially now that Alex, Jeff and Greg K have left.

There's no way IGN is the bottom rung. Go read Gamespot's Army of Two review or their BC: Rearmed review if you're looking for prime examples of insipid, borderline offensive gaming journalism.

Personally, I'd argue that IGN has maintained a much higher level of writing quality than GS, especially now that Alex, Jeff and Greg K have left.

Grammaton-Cleric

Oh God I see what you mean about that Army of Two review. It touches on important subject matter so the reviewer has to not recommend it to the gamers. Well i'm a gamer who doesn't give a crap about subject matter, so tell me what the games like or don't waste my time!

[QUOTE="lordlors"][QUOTE="four_of_clubs"]

The fact that you cannot die during platforming really turns me off with this game.

I want a challenge! Why do so few modern games have that anymore?

TristanShand

Now it's your turn to try to understand the philosophy behind why we don't like it. When you go wrong, you get a game over screen, it gives you a sense of you did wrong, you messed up, you gotta be better then that, have a slap in the face and then the game calls you a worthless maggot! Then your like "Ok, i'll beat you game, me and you prince, we're going ot get through this, i'm not going to let you die horribly, we're going to go all the way, you and me bro, let's go!

Ok that won't explain it very well. I'll try again. It's like playing baseball with your friends when your a kid, but you suck at it. You can't bat or throw to save yourself but it's your turn anyway. You take the bat, the browler throws, you miss. Strike one, you miss again. Strike two. You miss again strike three you're out, BUT NO! The bowler says "Ah that last throw was my fault, it's a foul, we'll give you another shot" and this time he does a wimpy little underarm throw to let you hit it. Now you hit the ball and it bounces along the floor and all your friends pretend to fall over instead of pick it up, to give you a free homerun. That's how you're being treated in that Prince of Persia game.

If you're going to use an analogy, try employing one that has some sort of relevance.

Starting with POP:SOT, this series has treated death as something malleable and elastic while still keeping the game play challenging. The fact that they are doing something similar in this new installment shouldn't surprise anyone and frankly, if you find this particular game mechanic that offensive without even playing so much as a single level of the game, my advice would be to gravitate to something else and not pollute this thread with overtly negative musings on a game you clearly don't intend to give a fair shake.

Complaining about the way death is handled in a POP game is like pissing and moaning over having to jump in a Mario game.

I think it's very relevant and the metaphor reminds me of what is turning into the normality of gaming. Plus I have a lot of fun slagging this game off. Since I rent games i'm interested in seeing how quick I can complete like this one. Let's see how this system matches up to a 20 years gaming vet who's been at it since the days of Spectrum 48k. I'll link my PS3 into a DVD recorder then transfer a video play of it it to my PC, since i'm not interested in the Prince as a protagonist i'm not going to be watching any of the story, I got a feeling this will be the shortest action adventure i've played since Heavenly Sword. I'm going to mock this game further!

This game is one of the few none-shooter challenging game that left in the market. All other action/adventure games aren't challenging anymore.

Fantastic score! I will be buying this game the day after I finish finals. :)

I think it's very relevant and the metaphor reminds me of what is turning into the normality of gaming. Plus I have a lot of fun slagging this game off. Since I rent games i'm interested in seeing how quick I can complete like this one. Let's see how this system matches up to a 20 years gaming vet who's been at it since the days of Spectrum 48k. I'll link my PS3 into a DVD recorder then transfer a video play of it it to my PC, since i'm not interested in the Prince as a protagonist i'm not going to be watching any of the story, I got a feeling this will be the shortest action adventure i've played since Heavenly Sword. I'm going to mock this game further!

TristanShand

This game is one of the few none-shooter challenging game that left in the market. All other action/adventure games aren't challenging anymore.

gamingqueen

...What?

[QUOTE="princesszelda"][QUOTE="S0lidSnake"]

 

Yeah, but almost every game critic is inconsistent IMO.

That said, I've been looking forward to this game since I saw the E3 trailer. I'm disappointed to see that the horrible voice actor for the Prince is still there. Do these guys even listen to fan feedback? I'm also not sold on this game yet, it was in development for only one year and it's probably very short on content.

Grammaton-Cleric

There's no way IGN is the bottom rung. Go read Gamespot's Army of Two review or their BC: Rearmed review if you're looking for prime examples of insipid, borderline offensive gaming journalism.

Personally, I'd argue that IGN has maintained a much higher level of writing quality than GS, especially now that Alex, Jeff and Greg K have left.

THat would be true but we are talking about Hilary, he's a horrible reviewer.

[QUOTE="lordlors"][QUOTE="four_of_clubs"]

The fact that you cannot die during platforming really turns me off with this game.

I want a challenge! Why do so few modern games have that anymore?

TristanShand

Now it's your turn to try to understand the philosophy behind why we don't like it. When you go wrong, you get a game over screen, it gives you a sense of you did wrong, you messed up, you gotta be better then that, have a slap in the face and then the game calls you a worthless maggot! Then your like "Ok, i'll beat you game, me and you prince, we're going ot get through this, i'm not going to let you die horribly, we're going to go all the way, you and me bro, let's go!

Ok that won't explain it very well. I'll try again. It's like playing baseball with your friends when your a kid, but you suck at it. You can't bat or throw to save yourself but it's your turn anyway. You take the bat, the browler throws, you miss. Strike one, you miss again. Strike two. You miss again strike three you're out, BUT NO! The bowler says "Ah that last throw was my fault, it's a foul, we'll give you another shot" and this time he does a wimpy little underarm throw to let you hit it. Now you hit the ball and it bounces along the floor and all your friends pretend to fall over instead of pick it up, to give you a free homerun. That's how you're being treated in that Prince of Persia game.

Trial and error has a number of features:

* solution-oriented: trial and error makes no attempt to discover why a solution works, merely that it is a solution.

* problem-specific: trial and error makes no attempt to generalise a solution to other problems.

* non-optimal: trial and error is an attempt to find a solution, not all solutions, and not the best solution.

* needs little knowledge: trials and error can proceed where there is little or no knowledge of the subject. Study the game and its designs.

That's what i would suggest.

My point baseball game doesn't have three strikes, as the opposing team, your friends are letting you take as many as you like to hit the ball. They don't want to see you lose, they don't want to make you upset and not enjoy the game. I didn't want it to drag that post on too much but it seems if you miss any tiny detail someone has to pick at it like they do with their nose, all the damn time while reading on Gamespot.

I was saying before that I was thinking of recording my first play through as i'm confident that I could do this game in one evening. However, i've looked at numerous gameplay footage and this game just isn't for me. I'm not a fan the main character and although I could forgive the Wii and Travis Touchdown with his jerky fighting mechanics, I don't for the Prince. Because unlike Travis, they take that seriously.

I really have no idea about this game. I really disliked the gameplay, but now im intrigued by the 94, 93 review scores.

IGN and IGN UK 93, 94. We'll see, I was a big fan of the 3 POP's on last gen, but Im on the fence.

I think it's very relevant and the metaphor reminds me of what is turning into the normality of gaming. Plus I have a lot of fun slagging this game off. Since I rent games i'm interested in seeing how quick I can complete like this one. Let's see how this system matches up to a 20 years gaming vet who's been at it since the days of Spectrum 48k. I'll link my PS3 into a DVD recorder then transfer a video play of it it to my PC, since i'm not interested in the Prince as a protagonist i'm not going to be watching any of the story, I got a feeling this will be the shortest action adventure i've played since Heavenly Sword. I'm going to mock this game further!

TristanShand

[QUOTE="gamingqueen"]

This game is one of the few none-shooter challenging game that left in the market. All other action/adventure games aren't challenging anymore.

Dutch_Mix

...What?

you have a problem with what I said? The series is one of the few challenging games that left in the market.

To the guy who's complaining, I would agree if anything you mentioned in your posts was related to the games butsince none of it was, I disgaree. Why do people post about games without even playing them? XD

[QUOTE="Dutch_Mix"]

[QUOTE="gamingqueen"]

This game is one of the few none-shooter challenging game that left in the market. All other action/adventure games aren't challenging anymore.

gamingqueen

...What?

you have a problem with what I said? The series is one of the few challenging games that left in the market.

To the guy who's complaining, I would agree if anything you mentioned in your posts was related to the games butsince none of it was, I disgaree. Why do people post about games without even playing them? XD