When the Prince of Persia franchise got its first modern update on the last gen consoles (The Sands of Time) we said “if pretty graphics and fluid animation are your thing, then look no further – this update of a 16-Bit classic is undoubtedly the best looking game on PS2”. Well this new PoP is also quite a looker despite not being lavished with hi-res textures and detail, and naturally, the animation is once again something to behold. I must say that I look back on the last gen trilogy (Sands of Time, The Warrior Within & The Two Thrones) with mixed memories. I kind of enjoyed Sands of Time but repetitive combat drove me mad, the time-rewinding never seemed to work for me the way it should, then the sequels went a bit dark and emo, the daggertail chain-whip thingy, the terrible chariot level, the speed kill system and a few other problems meant that, unlike some of our writers, I was glad to see the back of the Prince.

The original PoP was an influence on so many games (including Flashback, Tomb Raider and many others) that it’s unsurprising that a few ideas from other games, both in terms of gameplay and control appear in the latest PoP. Running, jumping, wall-running, clambering, swinging, sliding, fighting – a new ceiling run and wall grip fall move add two more dimensions to how you get around the levels. The Prince (and Elika) perform all these moves so seamlessly and smoothly that playing the game is instinctive, and for the most part, fun. It has a genuinely unique fine-lined watercolour cel-shaded look, rather like a high quality graphic novel – I’m sure the style will go down well in Japan. The only fault I’d find with the look of the game is the awful shearing when you turn the camera (if you’ve played stablemate game Assassin’s Creed you’ll know what I mean), and the “corruption” effect – it’s no doubt meant to look like pure animated evil, but looks more like black polythene sheeting billowing in the wind – a shame when see some of the game’s other particle effects, and think back to how effective Ico’s smoky-demons looked 8 years ago. Once you reach the highest point on each level and defeat a boss creature you can get Elika to heal the land of the corruption and return to a fertile state, with some nice accompanying morphing effects. Light seeds are collected as you clear areas and can be ‘spent’ on four special powers which allow you to reach previously inaccessible areas via easily spotted pads; The Step of Ormazd (huge jumps), the Breath of Ormazd (super-long wall runs), The Wings of Ormazd (flying along a set path) and the Hand of Ormazd (a sort-o grappling hook effect). Don’t get too excited about these special powers though, none of them are particularly exciting to use and just mean you bounce between pads to get to new areas with a press of (Triangle or Y) when you hit a pad. Later on in the game several different types of power can be linked together to form longer sequences and access the uppermost heights and the deepest depths of the corrupted lands.

The four zones are guarded by corrupted individuals with much more strength and magical power than the run of the mill bad guys; the Hunter, the Concubine, the Alchemist & the Warrior all end up as sub bosses as a precursor to the final battle against Ahriman himself. You can press the select or back button at any tine to open a map and set a waypoint where you want to go, and Elika will show you the way to go or even warp you to fertile (previously cleared) lands.

But in the end Prince of Persia was a pleasing and for the most part enjoyable adventure, never too difficult, plenty big enough and only a lack of variation in the gameplay let the prince down – Elika never does.