My first experience with the Prince of Persia franchise began some years ago when I happened to find a copy of the original 1989 game stashed somewhere in the back of my sister’s closet.  It was the first video game I have ever played, and as such has always held a little place in my somewhat fickle heart.  I’m glad to say that the current installment of the series for next-gen consoles has more than lived up to my expectations, creating a magical and breathtaking experience that is easy to pickup and even easier to play.

The first thing I noticed when I popped the game into my PS3 was the art.  Almost a moving picture at times, it really sucks you in and creates a magical feel to the game.  The cell shading gives it the story book feel you would expect from a game based on the 1001 Nights universe, and indefinitely, from the startup menu to the ending cinematic holds you in rapt attention.  Yet is not only the cell shading that achieves this.  The backgrounds themselves, while not always distinctly Persian, give off an aura of foreignness, and exotic nature.  Each stage, being beautiful as well as well thought out, truly presents itself as part of an epic adventure.

(continue reading…)

Movies.  Everyone has seen one, and most people have at least one they can call a favorite.  So what could go wrong when your favorite movie gets turned into “sweet new game”?  Well time, and countless failures, would lead to pretty much everything.  Since E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial on the Atari 2600, games based on movies have been little more than garbage burned onto the developer’s medium of choice.  I don’t know if you’ve ever smelled burning garbage, but unless you’re borderline retarded you should know it smells horrible.

(continue reading…)