I just finished up the new Prince of Persia, and wanted to offer some thoughts...
1. The game is pretty easy, but I still felt a bit of a challenge, especially when you get into the wall run and flying power up "mini-games."
2. The combat is really terrible at first, but once I got the hang of deflecting blows, it became a lot more satisfying. That said, it is EXTREMELY repetitive. Fortunately, you only fight two enemies per stage.
3. The graphics and art design are stunning. The characters are especially well-realized, but the landscapes and enemies are no slouches, either.
4. The story is a little confusing, but engrossing nonetheless. At every step I feel compelled to continue forward, and as Justin McEllroy of Joystiq stated when he birthed the new age of game criticism, story in video games is less about conveying a well-told narrative (which this almost does anyway) and more about motivating the player to continue forward.
5. The main characters are two of the more enjoyable video game characters I can imagine I will ever see. They are both at heart striving to do the right thing, yet still flawed in complex (for a video game) ways. The enemies, too, have intriguing back stories, and since you encounter each of them several times, there is an opportunity for those stories to be told.
5. The final boss fight is a unique take on boss fights that completely changes the way the game is presented while still maintaining its core elements. That I felt so tense during this fight even though I knew I couldn't die or fail is a testament to the creative way it is presented.
6. In conclusion, Prince of Persia was a breezy, fun experience that had a surprisingly weighty ending that I didn't necessarily agree with, but that did leave me satisfied. (SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!) The moment when the Prince carries Eleka's corpse out of the temple is one of the most poignant moments in videogames, and I wish it had just ended there. The game does such a good job of making me feel the weight of her in my arms, and it is such a myopic place to leave things, the Prince slowly walking out of the temple as the credits roll silently in step with him. The "epilogue" that follows feels like the end of Spielberg's A.I. in that it appears Ubisoft blinked on leaving things on such an ambiguous downer (although I felt thoroughly more depressed with the way things end up playing out). I guess the good news is that there will almost certainly be a sequel.
