Prince of Persia Trilogy

Posted 2 years ago By kingquagmire - David Collins

With the Prince of Persia Trilogy finally getting a retail release here in the US (the PAL folks got the retail package back in November 2010), we thought it might be time to take a gander at the set. Granted, each title has been available as a separate download for North American players via PSN, but we still figured we would wait until we had the entire package in our hot little hands...

Now, the first thing you have to ask yourself is: Did you miss on one or more of the trilogy during their initial last-gen release? Or are you looking to relive these classics without pulling out your old hardware? If either one of these questions apply to you, then Prince of Persia Trilogy is going to be right up your alley. If not...well...there’s really nothing here that will reach out and grab your attention.

Essentially, the story follows the Prince as he messes with time and subsequently falls from grace because of it (Sands). Then some self reflection and soul searching (Warrior Within) which ultimately leads to a shot at redemption (Two Thrones). It’s an entertaining romp, especially when played back to back. The writing crosses the cheese-line at times, but is a solid effort overall that really, every core gamer owes it to themselves to experience at least once. Keep in mind that this trilogy was the Prince’s first “real” adventure outside of the insipid attempts at re-purposing the gameplay of the 1989 original (no, I’m not counting the 1999 3D cash in, sorry).

In any case, coupled with the storyline is some very acrobatic gameplay. While those who nurtured their gaming habits on this generation of consoles may not be super-impressed, the Prince still has the goods. Wall running, death-defying leaps (some virtually unbelievable), and fluid - albeit flawed at times - combat made for a great run back in the early 2000’s. It still holds up rather well by today’s standards, although again, the younger gamers may not be as thrilled with it as we were when these first hit our disk drives.

Of course, you can’t call this Prince of Persia Trilogy HD without the HD part, right? Now, don’t walk in expecting to have your eyes melt from eye-candy overload. These are still the same games as before, running on the same engines and all. Yet, the HD spit-shine that Ubisoft applied does make a bit of a difference. Namely the fact that these now fit properly on a widescreen TV. The Prince is showing his age though, no matter how much high-def paint you slather over him, especially in The Sands of Time.

Note: There is also an option to play all three titles in stereoscopic 3D. Unfortunately, we were unable to test that feature. But it is there in case that is a sway point for you.

Conclusion

I have to admit though, I am a little saddened by this release. As I said, this is primarily going to appeal to those who’ve never played one or more of these games, or to those looking to revisit an old favorite. But it’s devoid of any extra content whatsoever and the HD visuals don’t make that big of an impact. So it’s difficult to recommend this package to anyone who’s already had their fill of the Prince. It’s not bad, there’s just nothing here to bring anyone back beyond the desire to take a trip down memory lane. This particular journey really shouldn’t be missed though, and $40 is reasonable enough for those ready to embark on one of the best franchises to hit the last-gen consoles.