Let’s face it, the Prince Of Persia games from the last generation were a bit hit and miss. Sure the Sands Of Time completely blew everyone out of the water, but they went decidedly downhill from there, with neither sequel managing to really recapture the magic.

Even when you look at the prince’s history, that rock-hard original or the illfated PC version Prince Of Persia 3D, it becomes curious as to what exactly has made him so popular. Ubisoft even has a movie on the way. That’s serious stuff. Could the prince compete with the likes of Lara Croft or Indiana Jones at the box office? Well, to be quite frank, yes.

This latest version by Ubisoft Montreal is a complete overhaul – actually that’s not strictly true. There are elements found in previous Prince Of Persia games, but stylistically and thematically this is a different game entirely. Ubisoft Montreal isn’t afraid to wear its inspirations on its sleeves either. It’s clear elements of both Ico and Shadow Of The Colossus have been pinched and used to great effect, more on that in a bit, but what makes this prince so different?

The story opens with the intrepid young prince not really being a prince at all. Think of him more as an explorer or hero in the vein of Indiana Jones or Han Solo. It’s clear he doesn’t care for many people, except his donkey that just happens to be carrying all his loot. So he’s quite taken aback when he finds himself embroiled with the beautiful, magical Elika and her father’s idiotic plan to release the decidedly evil Arihman.

Much has been said in the press that the prince doesn’t sound particularly Persian or in fact all that princely. Both these things are true, but it has to be remembered that he’s not a prince when the game opens, his character goes through something of a transformation, much like the game’s environment does. By the end of the game you’ll understand the reasons behind his actions. On the plus side, he’s actually voiced by the fantastic Nolan North who voiced Nathan Drake in Drake’s Fortune. And how exactly does the press expect Jake Gyllenhaal to sound in the movie anyway? It’s pretty safe to say that he’s not from the Middle East either.

At the beginning of the game, you and Elika are thrust together as you try to contain the spreading evil that starts to infect the land, and this is where Prince Of Persia really shows what an incredibly beautiful game it is. Surprisingly, Ubisoft Montreal has created a huge open-world environment (there’s that nod to Shadow Of The Colossus) that must be traversed in order to free the lands from the evil black goo and general lack of colour that Arihman has infected them with. You start off at the Temple where he was, until recently, imprisoned and can access anywhere in the world from there. Each area has its own theme and style and each is visually arresting. Even the open area of the Temple looks amazing. Dark clouds roll across the sky, casting shadows on the ground. The mountains in the distance only just hide some of the other areas, with huge spires and castles poking out over the top, and you know you’ll have to climb one at some point.

… continued