Prince of Persia may not be better than its predecessors, but it's still worth a play through.
Prince of Persia is essentially a platformer. You will spend most of your time running on walls, jumping from platform to platform, climbing up enormous buildings, sliding down sky scrapers, and battling monsters. If you've played other Prince of Persia games, you should know what to expect. The platforming is the main focus of the game, and it is executed extremely well. Who would have thought that running on walls, and climbing up buildings would be so much fun. Sure it doesn't sound like a lot of fun, but you have to experience it to know what I'm talking about.
The in-game combat on the other hand is not all that great, it is presented well but overall it quickly becomes tedious and repetitive. Unlike the other Prince of Persia games, this game does not use a real time battle system. When you approach a monster you are confined in a tight little space, and you must use certain button combos to defeat your foe. You can combine your attacks with Elika's to create combos that look as good as they are deadly. But after you've done the same attack for the 100th time, fighting can become rather dull.
In Prince of Persia it is impossible for you to die, and I mean it literally. Every time you fall, get mauled by an enemy, or simply get sucked into darkness, Elika will always be there to pull you up. The game is pretty much holding your hand as you play, whether that's a good or bad things depends on the player themselves.
One thing that I did not enjoy in Prince of Persia was light seed collecting. Every time you complete a level you are given the horrible task of collecting light seeds. It would be fine if this was just an optional addition to the game play, but sadly it isn't. In order to advance to the next set of levels you have to grab a certain number of light seeds, which means you have to essentially run each and every level twice in a row. What's up with that?
Prince of Persia brings cel-shaded graphics to a whole new other level. I couldn't believe my eyes as I ran through the levels, everything was simply gorgeous. Watching the landscapes turn from corrupted to pure was just breath taking. The levels were nicely constructed and easy to maneuver around, the animations of the Prince's movements were very detailed all the way down to the last pixel, and the character designs were fantastic. If you are looking for some eye candy, Prince of Persia will not disappoint.
The in-game sound design was also phenomenal. Prince of Persia had a great soundtrack that could be both soothing, and blood pumping depending on the circumstances. The voice acting was superb, and very believable. The Prince, however, did have a little too much to say, seriously. He would ramble on and on, and give off a bunch of cheesy one liners such as "Do corruption stains come out?" or "These pants are new" I mean come on, who says stuff like that.
Overall: Prince of Persia is definitely a work of art. Smooth gameplay mechanics, beautiful level designs, ear warming in-game soundtrack, Prince of Persia has it all. It may not be as good as its predecessors, but fans of the Prince of Persia series will not be disappointed with this game.