X3F hands-on: Prince of Persia Classic

So, we spent a better part of this morning running through Prince of Persia for Xbox Live Arcade. To answer the most obvious question: yes, it isPrince of Persia. Feel free to draw as many conclusions from that as you wish. For many people, that alone should be enough information on which to base a purchase (or non-purchase). For the rest of you, read our impressions after the break.

Prince of Persia is more or less exactly what it looks like: it's the same classic gameplay with some shiny new graphics and a few small but important gameplay tweaks. For those unfamiliar with the game, your task is to escape the prison, evade traps and guards, make your way to the top of the castle, and save the Damsel in Distress®. Adding to your challenge (and your damsel's distress), you only have an hour to do all of this. After said hour is up, said damsel has two choices: 1) marry the evil Jaffar (sans Iago) or 2) die. Of course, it doesn't matter how faithful your lady is, because your game is over once time is up.

The Prince has an arsenal of moves and tricks that help him navigate the many dangers of the castle. Prince of Persia more or less set the stage for modern platformers, so the moves will be familiar to most gamers. You can jump, hang from ledges, creep slowly, and even wall jump. The Prince also acquires a sword early on, which comes in handy for slaying enemies.

The game's levels are strewn with traps like spikes, rhythmic chopping blades, and chasms, all of which mean instant death. Clearing these traps requires a proper mix of running, jumping, walking slowly, and proper timing. You'll also run into guards you have to fight your way through. A tip to new players: guards are just as susceptible to traps as you are.

For old school fans, there are a few changes that should be noted. First and foremost, everything in Prince of Persia has been made significantly faster. This goes for running, jumping, even the potion drinking animation is faster. The Prince also has a few new moves that speed up platforming play. You can wall jump, transition between adjacent ledges, and even turn around in midair to grab a ledge from which you just fell. The game also has a hint system, which you can thankfully disable. All of these things serve to streamline the classic gameplay in a good way.

Fighting has been tweaked and has almost become a mini-game in itself. Prince of Persia adopts the parry system employed in Sands of Time. The A button parries and the X button attacks. Oftentimes you will find yourself alternating between strikes and parries several times before landing a hit. You can also lock swords now, which requires you to rapidly tap X in order to gain the upper hand. We like the change in the fighting system, but it can become a little tedious. It also feels somewhat random at times, but it's generally pretty fun.

So, is it worth $10? As is the case with most retro Xbox Live Arcade titles, that depends on your love for the game. For the uninitiated, Prince of Persia is as fun to play now as it has always been. Modern gamers may be put off by the single hour of gameplay, but constant retries and speed runs (the game includes time attack and survival modes) give the game some replay value. Achievement Whores take notice: there are plenty of easy achievements to grab, many of them given simply for completing the game (we got 10 on our first play-through). Overall, we'd say that $10 is justified for such a limited play experience. Our suggestion: try the first level and see if you get hooked.