Prince of Persia (2008 video game)
| Prince of Persia | |
|---|---|
| File:Pop2008cover.jpg Prince of Persia box art | |
| Developer(s) | Ubisoft Montreal |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft |
| Designer(s) | Jean-Christophe Guyot |
| Composer(s) | Inon Zur |
| Series | Prince of Persia |
| Engine | Scimitar |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure, Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Prince of Persia is an upcoming video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is scheduled for release in December 2008 for Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. It is a completely new chapter in the Prince of Persia universe and it introduces a new gameplay style, and a new graphic design to the Prince of Persia series. [5]
Gameplay
The gameplay in Prince of Persia will retain a very similar feel to the "Sands of Time" trilogy, in the sense that the acrobatics, puzzle solving, and combat elements will all still be intact. However, the game is non-linear, so the player is given the opportunity to explore any part of the world at any time they want to.
The supporting character, Elika, will have a large role in gameplay, in a sense where she saves the Prince from death. Ubisoft has emphasized that there will be no way to die in this game, as Elika will save you from any danger. For example, if the Prince slips and misses a jump, instead of falling to his death, Elika will grab him, and set him back on higher ground. Elika can also perform many combat moves, some in tandem with the Prince. If the Prince is downed in combat, Elika protects him as he regains his energy. She also assists in acrobatics. She boosts the Prince further than he can jump alone. She is also very acrobatic, performing the same moves as the Prince, with ease. When solving puzzles, Elika plays a role as well. If the Prince does not know where to go next, Elika will guide him in the right direction.
Combat will largely differ from that in the "Sands of Time" trilogy, but is similar to that of the original "Prince of Persia" trilogy. The majority of combat is one-on-one combat, instead of fighting off hordes of enemies as in the "Sands of Time" trilogy. The Prince wields a double-edged sword, but he also uses his gauntlet as a secondary weapon, using it to block enemy attacks. There are four main fighting moves: "sword attacks", where the Prince use his sword to attack enemies; "gauntlet", which is his secondary weapon and is useful to lift and throw up enemies; "Elika magic", where Elika uses her magic to hit enemies; and "acrobatic moves", which is useful for dodging and jumping over enemies. There are three stages of health in combat: "healthy," "weakened," and "grounded." When the Prince is in his "healthy" state, he is "swift and energetic" as he battles. When an enemy strikes the Prince, he goes into his "weakened" state. He is not as agile in his "weakened" state, and is more vulnerable to being attacked. When the enemy hits the Prince when he is "weakened," the Prince becomes "grounded." He lies on the ground, vulnerable to all enemy attacks. If an enemy attempts to attack again before the Prince recovers, however, Elika will drive back the enemy and put the Prince back to his "healthy" state, but at a cost; the enemy also returns to full health.
Acrobatics remain largely unchanged from the "Sands of Time" trilogy, except Elika will now provide acrobatic support. The Prince is capable of running on walls, sliding down walls, climbing walls, and jumping from wall-to-wall. The Prince utilizes his gauntlet as a tool to break the fall as he slides down a wall. Elika also plays a large role in acrobatics. Elika boosts the Prince further then he can normally go, she saves him if he misses a jump, and she herself is very capable and agile. As the game progresses, Elika can gather concentrated seeds of magic that allow her to perform new magical abilities to access new areas.[6]
Plot summary
The adventure begins with a new Prince of Persia, a wanderer, a vagabond, returning home from an adventure on a donkey laden with treasure, which he earned on his previous venture. He desires to spend his treasure on many luxuries, including women and liquor. But suddenly, he is caught in a fierce sandstorm. When the sandstorm subsides, he finds himself in a mythical garden of beauty, dominated at its center by a massive Tree of Life. The Prince and a girl, Elika, find each other, and, in the same predicament, decide to help each other. Together, they venture to the center of this grand oasis. When they arrive at the center, they witness the destruction of the tree, and the liberation of Ahriman, the ancient god of darkness. After being set free, Ahriman starts corrupting the lands with darkness and evil. The Prince, with the aid of Elika and her new found powers, take up arms against Ahriman's corruption, in an attempt to drive it back and cleanse the world.
Characters
Main characters
The Prince
The Prince is a new character, different from the protagonist of the The Sands of Time trilogy. He is a normal person, rather a thief, and not a noble Prince. He is a wanderer, a vagabond, who wants to adventure with no real ties, always living in the present. To him, the past is gone and he carries no burdens, the future is yet to come and it will take care of itself. He is a man who lives by the day, not considering anything long term; he spends his treasure on women, luxury and liquor, simply because it's who he is. The inspiration for this character has been drawn from adventurers like Sinbad in the Arabian Nights, Han Solo from Star Wars, and Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings. [7]
He is an extremely agile and cunning warrior, proving to be a very able swordsman. Ubisoft has stated that the Prince will have all his abilities in the beginning of the game. In all of the concept art, he appears clad in clothes with a red and blue color scheme. Significantly, in all these arts and videos, he wields a long sword, and wears a spiked gauntlet in his left hand. For the first time in any Prince of Persia game, the concept of sword and scabbard has been introduced along with the concept of a double edged sword. A gauntlet is the Prince's secondary weapon, and is also a tool that allows him to perform feats such as sliding down from high places without being harmed.[8]
The Prince will be voiced by Nolan North.
Elika
The game producers explained that they wanted a secondary character who would be an actual partner to the Prince in a true sense with being a helpful and a friendly asset, and "not become any kind of burden on him or his way". Elika is claimed a large innovation to this game, as the time-controlling powers of the Prince were in The Sands of Time trilogy. The inspiration to create Elika was drawn from supporting characters from other media, like Elizabeth Swann from the Pirates of the Caribbean film series; Padmé Amidala from Star Wars; and Arwen from The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.[9]
Elika is described as a "deadly ally,"[10] and a strong supporting character, who will affect every aspect of the game, as she accompanies the Prince throughout the game. This includes exploration, combat and puzzle-solving. A descendant of the Ahuras, she can perform some special moves in tandem with the Prince, and use her magical abilities to aid the Prince in his quest. She is also able to guide the Prince on the right track in case he is lost in his way in the game and can assist him in solving multiple puzzles as well.
Elika will be voiced by Kari Wahlgren.[11]
Supporting characters and enemies
The Hunter
The Hunter is a dangerous foe and an energetic beast that uses agility, speed, and acrobatics to his advantage. Originally a prince, The Hunter indulged in many treasures, but became obsessed mainly with hunting. Soon, though, The Hunter became jaded even in the hunting aspect. Ahriman caught word of The Hunter's discontent and offered him a chance to fight a foe beyond all others. The Hunter, unable to resist the urge to hunt, offered his soul to Ahriman, and was then transformed into a possessed beast. The word of The Hunter spread to the far corners of the Earth, and many hunters came to hunt it. The Hunter's wish was granted - He hunted man. One of Ahriman's most reliable fighters, The Hunter was set free once again, to hunt the Prince of Persia.[12]
Development
Prince of Persia's development team began conception right as Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones was released,[13] however, proof of conception for the game was found when, on September 21, 2006 a leaked RAR file contained concept art, although no comment was made by Ubisoft.[14] Also, on January 23, 2008, some screen shots from the game when it was in conception were leaked onto the internet, and again Ubisoft made no comments.[15] According to Nintendo Power magazine, one of the working titles for the game was "Prince of Persia: Ghosts of the Past".
On April 1, 2008, Ubisoft registered the domain princeofpersiaprodigy.com, providing further evidence that the game was in progress.
In May, 2008, Ubisoft confirmed the game a work-in-progress. They stated that they expect to release the game towards the fourth quarter of 2008, and gave details about the plot and gameplay. In one such interview, they stated that the general staples of the gameplay are to remain intact, including platforming, combat, and puzzle solving. Ubisoft has stated that an equal balance of the three elements will be featured in the game, and that the Prince has more acrobatic abilities than ever. He is able to "defy gravity," in many different ways. The game is also to focus more on one-on-one combat, similar to the original Prince of Persia trilogy, rather than fighting dozens of enemies, as in the Sands of Time trilogy. Ubisoft stated that the reason for changing the combat was that it would give players the impression that each enemy was a unique challenge in itself, instead of "just another enemy".
On May 8, 2008, Ubisoft released an official video of a concept artist designing the Prince character for the game.[16] The "speed art" video shows a full-bodied new Prince being created with the computer program Photoshop. There was another fast-forward concept art drawing video released on May 22, 2008, detailing a female character, Elika[17]. Yet another fast-forward concept art emerged in July, 2008, this time depicting a prime enemy; The Hunter. Not only did the art provide a concept image, but it also provided a back story to The Hunter.
The game is to use a heavily modified version of the Scimitar engine, which was also used in Assassin's Creed. Developers chose to use a modified version of this engine because it would allow them to enhance the game by adding more open land, and less linearity. Developers also chose to implement an illustrative graphical style, similar to cel-shaded graphics, but with more detail drawn in.[18]
In an interview with Chris Easton, it was confirmed that, although the Prince will be traveling through infected lands, there will be human characters he will meet in his venture that will aid him, and have special significance on everything from the storyline to the direct gameplay. It was also confirmed that, although the new Prince of Persia and Assassin's Creed share game engines, Prince of Persia will not have cities filled with uninfected people, or safe areas; everything is Ahriman's domain.[19]
References
- ^ "Ubisoft Announces Release Date for Prince Of Persia" (Press release). Ubisoft. 2008-09-18. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
- ^ a b c Sinclair, Brendan (September 18, 2008). "Prince of Persia gets coronation date". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
- ^ http://www.classification.gov.au/special.html?n=46&p=156&sTitle=Prince+of&sMediaFilm=1&sMediaPublications=1&sMediaGames=1&sDateFromM=1&sDateFromY=1970&sDateToM=10&sDateToY=2008&record=230232
- ^ "Prince of Persia: Prodigy Page". GamePro. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
- ^ "Ubisoft Announces Prince Of Persia for Consoles and PC" (Press release). Ubisoft. 2008-04-28. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
- ^ "E3 stage interview".
- ^ "Prince of Persia Developer Blog - The Prince". 2008-07-03. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
- ^ Goldstein, Harry (2008-05-23). "Prince of Persia First Look". IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
- ^ Burnes, Andrew (2008-05-28). "Prince of Persia Prodigy CG Trailer & Information Overload". IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-31.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Ubidays 2008:Debut Trailer".
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Prince of Persia Hunter Speed drawing". Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- ^ "Ubidays Interview".
- ^ "Leaked Concept Art".
- ^ "Leaked Screenshots".
- ^ "Prince Speed Art".
- ^ "Elika Speed Art".
- ^ "Illustrative graphics in new Prince of Persia".
- ^ "Chris Easton on Prince of Persia".
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