Oh yeah !!!!! the Prince is still a badass
While many games task you with wreaking havoc on the world, this one makes you breathe life into a dark and dying world. It’s not that the evil isn’t there, you’ll have plenty of bad guys to fight. Ooh, and you’ll have a partner to fight the bad guys in this adventure. Although it’s an ambitious rejuvenation of the highly acclaimed series, it didn’t do well in the market, but I had a great time going through the whole story. One reason for not performing well on the market could be that this is by far the easiest game in the series (the only nuisance being collecting a lot of light seeds). The best part, Prince’s companion makes sure that you don’t die throughout the adventure, so there are no gloomy game over screens and reduced loading times. I know it’s been long overdue but I just got to play this game and believe me, if you don’t compare it with the other games in the series, you’ll end up enjoying it.
Plot
The game is set in ancient Persia, where the Prince (only a nickname, not really royalty) has lost his donkey named Farah in a sandstorm, in the middle of a desert. During his search he runs into Elika, who is on the run from some soldiers. After a very brief greeting, the two fend off the soldiers, when Elika displays her magical powers of light. From there Elika runs off, leaving the Prince to pursue her. Upon reaching the destination (a temple), it is revealed that the temple houses the tree of life which is the prison to the god of darkness, Ahriman. Upon their arrival, the duo is greeted by Elika’s father who after a brief fight destroys the tree to set Ahriman free. Upon escaping from the temple, Prince & Elika see a dark, corrupted world.
Elika tells the Prince that in order to restore the world and rid the corruption inhabiting it, they must heal all the Fertile Grounds in the kingdom. They then begin restoring the Fertile Grounds, encountering the Warrior, the Hunter, the Concubine and the Alchemist, four corrupted leaders Ahriman chose to set free.
Isn’t it mesmerizing?
In the journey, it is revealed that Elika had died prior to the beginning of the game. Her father took her to Ahriman and asked him to revive her selling his soul in the process to Ahriman, thus making him one of the corrupted. Once Elika is revived she discovers she has new-found powers. After gaining even more powers, the two encounter Elika’s father once again. After healing all the Fertile Grounds, as well as defeating all bosses, Elika and the Prince return to the temple to imprison Ahriman. Once inside, however, they are confronted by the king who is now a fully corrupted being. They defeat him, he calls his daughter’s name, turns away from them and throws himself off the platform they are on. Ahriman rises from the corruption below. They battle him, but Elika must give up her very life to finish the spell which seals Ahriman away. She finishes the spell and dies.
The Prince then takes Elika’s body outside. There are four Fertile Grounds there, each with a tree, that according to what Elika had told him, channel the power of all the Fertile Grounds to the Tree of Life. He is given a vision which is the same one both he and Elika shared much earlier that shows her father’s deal with Ahriman to revive her. When they shared the vision at that time she told the Prince that visions come from Ormazd, not Ahriman. The vision (just like the main debate throughout the game between Elika and the Prince was all about Destiny vs Free Will) is all about choice. The Prince re-creates the deal made by Elika’s father. He destroys the four Fertile Grounds around the Temple and returns inside. He cuts down the Tree of Life and takes the light power Elika used to heal the Tree. The Prince returns the Light to Elika’s body, and she returns to life. The game ends with the Prince carrying Elika across the desert while Ahriman’s darkness envelops the world.
Gameplay
That’s what I’m talking about.
The gameplay, although different from the previous games, is very similar. You get the wall climbing, running along the wall and a lot of sword fights. The best thing is the addition of the lethal companion, Elika. Although being saved from her can be a bit too tiring, her save during the boss fights is the best. The combat mechanics are the best in this game. None of the other games can even hold a candle to it. The high flying combos, where you keep chaining attacks to damage the enemy. It’s just too pleasing. I just loved when I was flying high with Elika and then throwing the opponent in the air and then attacking it again and again.
Although the story had potential, it was very poorly carried out. I mean, it’s one thing that we are going up against the god of darkness it’s another that you defeat him without much hassle. On that note, I really loved the perspective view when we go up against Ahriman. I mean seriously …. You spend countless hours, fighting tons of corruption and in the end you release it again? I mean why!!!! I was really disappointed at that. Other than that, the characters were really strong and the puzzles were very rewarding. For me the most enticing part was the battle mechanics. Really loved it. The world is beautiful, the mechanics are great, only if they could improve the story but a lot, it would have been a masterpiece.
Rating
On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best and 1 being the worst I say …
7 – Really enjoyable.
What did you think of the game? Let me know by commenting below.
Layers of the Geek 