A familiar tale sets the tone for the latest Prince of Persia title but there is a number of surprises and a new emphasis in the making...

Prince of Persia is not only a cult game but in the last few years it has reinvented itself and has become more than a brand leader offering all the very best within the video gaming arena. How much has been written about the animation, so slick, so cool and so responsive? How much has been spoken about the endless moves and actions – fast, inventive and utterly playable? The answer to both questions is plenty. POP is revered. Even the story, one of the lesser focuses on the original games way back, was always subservient to the moves and coolly sneak up on your opponents and grab them by surprise has been worked on over the last few releases ending with a product that is so slick and rounded it is hard to know the improvements they can target.

UbiSoft could easily sit back, take the easy option and just churn out their formula for success but that ain't the way they do it!

UbiSoft’s internal team spoke about looking at the flaws in previous POP titles, especially Sands of Time, where they did see discrepancies and areas to improve. We ask you, what are these guys are on? With only a matter of weeks to release, our thoughts on the preview we’ve seen, and had a chance to play, offers the kind of presentation values we expected, big, bold and bloody stylish. The intro showed the anxious Prince running through the streets only to be captured and placed on board a ship for whatever fate the captors believe is fitting. The cinematics are lush, the sound merges in with the actions and movements and for once you just want to watch and enjoy, knowing the action will start soon.

There is, of course, the familiar set up routines to make the game even more pleasurable and all those little things – the switchable options – tutorials – blood -- slow mo – sub titles are all put to ‘on’ so you can see, feel and experience ever extra pixel of detail and motion that the team had conjured up.

Prince of Persia 2 comes across a lot darker in both look and feel with a grittier, more savvy approach. The first slug of action with some well thought out camera views feels like you are already at the climax to the scene but this is just the start. The immense amount of detail on the ship’s deck, as with all the locations, is staggering and the sound, dialogue and tone conveys the ambience of bygone days. The picture is created, the scene is set and you are living within it. Turn the lights off or shut the curtains and the sort of synergy and connection when playing and intensively involved is frightening!

Audio and movements have not been just chucked in to look good but are there because it really happens this way. OK, it’s intense and dynamic but we’d not want it any other way! Any thought of trying to contrive something more than it really is just isn’t the mindset of the team – what you get is what you want!

There are a number of environments and weapons that are unlocked via success and the epic confrontation on the ship and moving to the lower deck whilst also fending off a myriad of enemies with your trusty sword – resplendent with some cut thrust actions - is exhilarating and pretty challenging – no, pleasantly hard. The sequence of events and actions require concentration and aptitude of the nth degree but the rewards, progression and the feel good factor that comes from moving to the right spot, avoiding a fatal thrust, is well deserved. Everything, as expected, leads up to the final big boss, give it all, end of section, confrontation, which will test the metal of the most athletic of gamers.

The intensity of the action is equalled in the passive, cerebral challenges on offer for once you are on the beach you have to scale some large crevasses – vertical wall mountaineering and some fine balancing. Yes, precise movements and some cunning execution of movements are required - one false move and it’s lights out.

Whereas the Prince could have previously been seen as an athletic and gymnastic figure, now he possesses greater powers with sharper senses and is a more forceful being but this said the enemies also appear smarter, more aggressive and have more plausibility to their actions.

If at any point you feel there is a certain formula to the game, action, exploration, taking in of information, using things, finding, etc. - you are of course right but because the story is so strong you are pulled from scene to scene and so actions and the high and lows all feel a part of the expanding and intuitive tale.

Could there be any real problems with the game? Well we will find that out when it comes to the review but in certain respects the frantic nature of some of the combative tussles, you are at liberty to fight at your own pace, and the ways the scenes are set up, your movement must always be thought about. The opening phase of the game, for instance, will see you ensnared in a number of sword fighting face ups and you could easily find yourself restricted in movement if you are bustled towards the side of the ship which limits your actions, or even worse over the side of the ship. Tuning into the moves, and there are some cool combos, whilst also using the environments to equal effect is the double edged focus. This however is not a flaw but shows the complexity on offer so even the most standard altercation is slightly more elaborate than you suspect which in turn means the overall challenge is tough and relies on more than physical prowess!

With the enemies being smarter than before you could well find that you must learn more about what they do to get the upper hand. Whereas before you could skip past many adversaries they now defend as well as attack! The real skill is when fighting and moving, maybe along a perilous ledge!