Don't Forget the New Prince of Persia

Let me be absolutely clear: what I'm writing about is based on an in-development title with some polish time left. Things could very well change for the better between now and May 18. That disclaimer said, my "instant impression" after playing an hour of Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is that the platforming is fantastic while the combat is not quite as fantastic.

I admit that I was pretty optimistic when I saw the game for the first time, and in general, I still am. Note, I am not saying that the combat is "bad" by any means -- I just mean that in this limited segment of time, I vastly enjoy examining a room, then executing a series of jumps, grabs, shimmies, and grabs to their nail-biting conclusion much more than when I find myself fighting a bunch of mystical Sand Army dudes.

Before handing the controller over, level design director Michael McIntyre provides a bit of context: it's still early in the game, and while the Prince has been using his classic Rewind ability for a while, he just acquired the Water ability (which temporarily freezes water solid for a limited time). The learning curve doesn't feel overly gentle or steep; just as I get pretty comfortable with freezing water spouts to create handholds to swing off of, the game adds a waterfall that becomes a solid wall when frozen. And after that, it starts making the spouts spray in alternating patterns, which require better timing for freezing/unfreezing. Then it makes it so that you have alternating spouts plus some waterfalls in-between -- you soon find yourself freezing the water to get on the spout and start swinging, unfreezing when you let go to go through the watery first-waterfall, but re-freezing it when you get past it so that you can then run up the second (and now solid) waterfall. And then you get the "oh geez I can't believe I just did all that" feeling once you finally get past the watery mayhem and turn a switch. That feeling gets even better when you use your platforming skills on an optional secret passage. Before I know it, I successfully navigate past an elaborate series of holds, levers, and platforms that resemble a more challenging and complex version of the Assassin Tomb levels in Assassin's Creed 2.

Combat-wise, as I noted earlier, it's not bad -- it just feels like a stopgap to more awesome platforming. It's pretty basic, and it borrows a bit from Assassin's Creed, in that it's based on rhythmic timing of button presses. Lightly tap the X button and the Prince pulls off a combo attack that strings a series of moves against an unlucky foe. Occasionally, you'll need to hit B to roll or evade away from the overwhelming crowd, or hit Y to kick (this both clears space around and is also a prerequisite to knocking down shields that certain enemies carry).

Even in this demonstration, the Prince takes on a decent variety of enemies, starting with basic Wraiths and expanding into burlier Spectres, shield-bearing fellows who require a kick to the shield before a takedown (I didn't catch their exact name), and even Summoners who continuously summon Wraiths into the area.

To help take these Sand Army fellows down, the Prince also has some nifty spell abilities that cater to different play styles. The Stone Armor is a pretty straightforward "you're covered in floating rocks that protect you for a bit," so you can pop it up for some defense and just go crazy with offense while not bothering to evade blows. The Ice Wave is a distance/crowd control mechanism, where every swing shoots out a wave that freezes anything in a straight line; you can use it to temporarily stun some fools from a distance and give yourself a bit of breathing room. The Tornado serves as a simple panic button -- I simply use it whenever I find myself surrounded by dudes and just want to get the heck away. I don't get a chance to use the Fire ability, but McIntyre tells me that it leaves a trail of flame in your wake, which makes it seem like a defensive escape mechanism.