Alignment Check

Over the weekend, I finished Prince of Persia. As usual, highlight the spoiler which follows at your own peril. As you may guess, the title stems from the Prince's actions at the conclusion conclusion of the game. I actually considered bailing to the Dashboard when I saw what was coming, but the threat of missing something I should know when the downloadable content hits kept me going. On another front, I like the fact that we never really get to see Ahriman; it sort of has that Jaws effect. For those of you whose willpower held out, suffice to say that I am in no danger of, say, this.

While I would not call Prince of Persia a hard game, in the sense of something like Ikaruga or Mega Man 9, the cries of "it's too easy" which echoed across the ether somewhat perplexed me. I 'died' at least one hundred times before completing the campaign (see, Achievements do accomplish something!), which is probably more than my experience with Sands of Time. Do we really need a game over message to tell us when we have failed at something? Ask anyone who watches or hears me play a game -- I am well aware that I messed up, load screen or no. Unlike several to whom I have spoken, I cheered the downplayed role of combat in this reboot of the franchise. I always got the feeling that fights in Prince of Persia games fell somewhere between a playtime-lengthening gambit and Metal Gear-style punishment. I felt far more like a rock star when wallrunning and jumping than in the dispatching of hordes of meaningless dudes. Who am I -- this guy? I would have felt no great loss if the environment itself were my only adversary in a game like this.

Game well this week, and may Scheherazade lose track of your light seeds.