UbiSoft has done a remarkable job revitalizing and re-imagining the Prince of Persia series. The Sands of Time was one of the most innovative and impressive third person action adventures ever made, and the sequels were excellent as well. So, it’s perhaps only fitting that they take a step back and re-imagine the original side-scroller without straying far from the original design.

Classically Revamped

It’s a tale as old as time—the stalwart prince is thrown in the dungeon by the evil vizier, Jaffar. Jaffar wants the princess for himself, and has given her a 60-minute ultimatum: marry him or die. Why viziers are always evil and named Jaffar remains a mystery, but it’s enough of a plot to get the get the prince going. 14 levels filled with traps and armed guard in an hour? No problem, right!

A perfect choice for the Xbox Live Marketplace, this revamped Prince of Persia takes many of the new elements of the series without deviating from the spirit and design of the classic, mind-numbingly hard original. Dubbed, appropriately enough, Prince of Persia Classic, this is not a game for the faint of heart. Though not as difficult as the original, the game is frequently profanity-shouting, controller-jerking hard.

Unlike the original, you can actually keep going once the hour is up. Apparently, even a marriage to an evil maniac still takes some extra prep time, which makes the game tolerable to play without losing your mind. There are even checkpoints, so that dying doesn’t result in an insanity-inducing need to start over from the beginning. Finishing the game in under an hour will be quite a feat for any gamer. Still, if you find that too simple, there is the survival mode, which tasks you with finishing the game with only one life.

The Prince’s New Clothes

The game looks excellent, and scenery suits the theme perfectly. Unfortunately, after a few levels, it all tends to look repetitive. On the plus side, you’ll be too busy looking for spike traps, razor walls, falling floors, and deadly falls to pay much attention to anything else. GameLoft, a company more known for cell phone games, has done the legwork here, and definitely done a commendable job bringing the presentation of Prince of Persia to the 3D era. The game looks very similar to the Sand of Time series, though it’s played entirely on a 2D plane.

The prince is modeled after the new, disgruntled hero of The Two Thrones, so he looks angry, but with really stylish hair. Of course, given the game’s pedigree, the prince’s animation is also top notch and incredibly life-like. A rather bold move in today’s licensed music-addled gaming world is the intelligent lack of sound through the game. There is almost no music, voice, or unnecessary sound effects in Prince of Persia Classic, and this helps the atmosphere immensely. You’ll hear the echoing of your footsteps and the activation of timed doors and traps without being bogged down with noise pollution.

Frustration, Anyone?

The things that prevent total blushing over Prince of Persia Classic are also holdovers from the original game. For one thing, the prince seems to wear incredibly slippery shoes, which causes him to continue sliding forward at the worst possible moments—say over a ledge, or right into razor traps. Although you can accommodate for the flaw, more precise controls would have helped cut the frustration level down.

Combat is another cause of consternation. The sword-fighting system couldn’t be more simplistic—you block and swing. Yet, mastering the combat feels overwhelming at times. During sequences where you are forced to fight several opponents in a row, the sheer level of annoyance of having to continually re-attempt the section makes the fun factor drop through the floor. You’ll have to be especially careful to not press the attack button more than once, even when the game feels completely unresponsive, as the game will happily and fatally chain attacks when you don’t want it to.

Princely Nostalgia

Although exploration is the core of the game—and like every game in this series, the best part—combat happens frequently and will likely be the main cause of frustration. Still, if you can stick it out through the hard bits, Prince of Persia Classic is definitely a worthwhile download. It’s a welcome walk down memory lane—when it’s not causing shouts of pain and anguish.

Article by: Jason D’Aprile