2009-04-01 14:16:36

Sorry Simon, The Offer Seem to have Expired now ... people went after it like dogs :D

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TO RENT: MEd, VP2, BK3, NarutoBB, SC4, GAxe, Fable2

2009/10: FF13, SC5, AW, RE5, Im Alive, SH5, SO4, BG&E2, Bayonetta, Doom 4, LoShadow, SF4, Ninja B, ToV, N3-2, Afro Samurai, KUFII, Dante's Inferno, AC2

2009-04-01 14:18:07

That's a bold statement! :D

Well, rightly so. I honestly think the game is pretty excellent. I'm typing away on a mini review now.

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http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/simonm7/ - growing space of funky Simon business

2009-04-01 14:22:28 In reply to SimonM7 (2009-04-01 14:18:07)

hence the boldness ;) hope the word dogs doesnt offend people though.

Cant wait to read your review.

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TO RENT: MEd, VP2, BK3, NarutoBB, SC4, GAxe, Fable2

2009/10: FF13, SC5, AW, RE5, Im Alive, SH5, SO4, BG&E2, Bayonetta, Doom 4, LoShadow, SF4, Ninja B, ToV, N3-2, Afro Samurai, KUFII, Dante's Inferno, AC2

2009-04-04 18:02:16

Mini review is up over at Mode-7! The site is still under heavy construction and not officially "opened", but the review is fully readable and stuff. :)

Just beware of some funny stuff going on like things appearing and disappearing.

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http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/simonm7/ - growing space of funky Simon business

2009-04-04 19:43:38

aah! the Simon blog lives!

2009-04-04 21:09:28 In reply to SimonM7 (2009-04-04 18:02:16)

Very good review mate. I agree with every thing you pointed out except for the ending. I actually thought it had quite an impact, of course not as much as Sands of time but it was up there with the best.

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TO RENT: MEd, VP2, BK3, NarutoBB, SC4, GAxe, Fable2

2009/10: FF13, SC5, AW, RE5, Im Alive, SH5, SO4, BG&E2, Bayonetta, Doom 4, LoShadow, SF4, Ninja B, ToV, N3-2, Afro Samurai, KUFII, Dante's Inferno, AC2

2009-04-04 21:50:14

Well I change my mind all the time in regards to the ending, and I can make it good in my head, but I'm not keen on what it means for a sequel. Whereas Sands of Time actually led pretty awesomely into Warrior Within (that despite all its guts and disgusting soundtrack was actually kinda well written too) this pretty much pulls the carpet away from under you.

I also can't shake the megamix feeling. I could've mentioned that in my review but I didn't. So many elements of this game are pretty blatantly borrowed from recent years of "artsy" games. Okami, Ico, Shadow of The Colossus are all in here. The ending, too, is like a pastische on a beloved ending from recent years of videogame canon if you will.

I think that's what colours my opinion a bit. I wish it didn't but I thnk it probably does.

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http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/simonm7/ - growing space of funky Simon business

2009-04-04 23:36:21 In reply to SimonM7 (2009-04-04 21:50:14)

Well Simon, if you want some closure when it comes to the ending, I suggest you play Prince of Persia Epilogue (the DLC) it sures isnt a better ending but it sort of tells you where it's going.

A sequel is definately on the way. the game certainly didnt sell extremely well but I think it performed good enough to warrant a sequel

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TO RENT: MEd, VP2, BK3, NarutoBB, SC4, GAxe, Fable2

2009/10: FF13, SC5, AW, RE5, Im Alive, SH5, SO4, BG&E2, Bayonetta, Doom 4, LoShadow, SF4, Ninja B, ToV, N3-2, Afro Samurai, KUFII, Dante's Inferno, AC2

2009-04-04 23:52:45

Ah that's a good point and one I've actually forgot all about! :D

But if I get to be super spoilery behind some tags:

The issue I have with the ending mainly consists of two things. Firstly that I didn't think the relationship between Elika and the Prince was at a point where he'd cock everything up for her sake. It was getting there, but there was still a giant leap from "getting a bit cuddly" to "ENDANGERING THE WORLD FOR HER". It was jarring that way to me, and when I realised it wanted me to mess things up to save her my heart wasn't really on the same page as the game reckoned the prince was.

Secondly, it appeared as if you reset everything at the end of the game by doing that, so essentially a sequel felt like HERE WE GO AGAIN! Nothing suggests Elika can actually be saved, and that's supported by the flashes you see obviously of her father making the same mistake.

As a standalone story I kinda like it more in fact. If you let her be at the end the kingdom was safe but she was dead, and if you saved her the kingdom was fucked and she was alive. The prince is depicted as a selfish character that warms to her and it's perfectly within the bounds of his personality to put her before the safety of that place. However, as a setup for more games I dunno where you can take the character. Will he have two more games to come to terms with losing Elika? Will they find another way to heal the land and still keep her alive? Neither of those suggest a particularly compelling narrative to me.

But yeah, I will definitely check out the DLC before drawing conclusions. Now that you mention it I even feel a bit silly for not finding that obvious before. :D

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http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/simonm7/ - growing space of funky Simon business

2009-04-04 23:59:51

You almost got normal there for a moment.

2009-04-05 00:04:05

Haha, what? How so? :D

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http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/simonm7/ - growing space of funky Simon business

2009-04-05 00:24:13

Simon,

I totally agree about the relationship between the prince and Elika not being strong enough to warrant the redustruction of the entire world but somehow I ended up accepting it especially the way it was orchestrated i.e. letting YOU, the player do the destroying instead of some cutscene where you just sit and watch. I think the game succeeds more in making you care enough for Elika to go ahead and destroy the world and not in fact the prince ... call me crazy uf you want ;) but that's the way I intepreted it. In the end, I guess this is the beauty of this ending really

PS: DONT expect a wonderful end with Epilogue by the way. I played it and it did satisfy me and I think it might be your cup of tea too. It's short of two hours and is MORE of the same. it just makes you see where the game is headed really. Read my impressions a few pages back if that helps.

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TO RENT: MEd, VP2, BK3, NarutoBB, SC4, GAxe, Fable2

2009/10: FF13, SC5, AW, RE5, Im Alive, SH5, SO4, BG&E2, Bayonetta, Doom 4, LoShadow, SF4, Ninja B, ToV, N3-2, Afro Samurai, KUFII, Dante's Inferno, AC2

2009-04-05 00:50:33

I will for sure, I stayed clear before I'd completed the main game myself.

I think I mostly agree with you really. I just would've liked to feel driven to do it when I saw the chance to do it, instead of you know.. sort of getting what they want me to do and doing that. But yeah, props for, at every turn in that game, leaving the propelling of the narrative to the player.

To be honest, the game gets so many things right that people don't give it credit for. I want to keep M7 reviews short so that's why I don't gush on about it, but so many things about how you get visual feedback through animation and through background details and.. just a ton of things are expertly crafted. It's sad that it boils down to people figuring it's too easy.

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http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/simonm7/ - growing space of funky Simon business

2009-04-05 14:18:34

Nice writeup Simon. Imo the ending was good, it could have been better as you pointed out, but as it was presented it was good and it didn't leave me hanging. I really like the fact that you had to do everything yourself and not be triggered by some cutscene, like alimo said.

And the fact that I too didn't get the die less than 100 times is enough to proove that the game isn't actually THAT easy. I propably didn't die that much in NG 2 and I quit playing the game just before the end because I couldn't be bothered. So in fact I'd say the game does a great job in keeping you playing because it never gets frustrating.

2009-04-05 15:03:06 In reply to Viginti_Tres (2009-04-05 14:18:34)

It might not get frustrating, but the game did a terrible job of keeping me playing. After the first hour, it ceased being fun and felt like a chore. For a game that seemed so big and open and dependent on an acrobatic move set, it felt extremely confined and lacked any decent exploration; if you went somewhere, it was because a scratched wall told you to.

I get that it was supposed to be more about flowing smoothly than about thinking how to proceed, but for me, that takes away a lot of what I would have enjoyed.

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"If we can hit that bull's-eye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards...Checkmate." - Zapp Brannigan

2009-04-05 17:09:24

Well, the corruption makes it a linear game, but when you get rid of that in an area I'd say there's quite a decent amount of getting around on your own.

But sure, I can totally see your point. I think if the platforming in of itself isn't entertaining then the whole game falls apart for you. For me, it was just endlessly satisfying to pull off, and its relative trickyness does ramp up somewhat as the corruption gets more and more malicious.

Another point where I think I'm perhaps not the best person to compare tastes with if you like exploration is the whole deal with open world games in general. I'm not a big fan usually. I think there's lots to be said for focus and for direction, and to me PoP pulled these things off for me where most open world games just have me aimlessly wandering around. I adressed it by saying:

For me that simple setup always had me 100% on the ball in regards to what I was supposed to be doing, and I knew exactly where I had control to change the order of that, mixing the worlds as I pleased, grabbing light seeds when I felt like it.

But yeah it all comes down to how far the platforming carries you really.

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http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/simonm7/ - growing space of funky Simon business

2009-04-05 17:39:09 In reply to SimonM7 (2009-04-05 17:09:24)

The thing is, I don't really enjoy open-world games that much. I find they typically try to get by on being open and expansive and push everything else to the wayside. PoP seemed like it should've allowed for ingenious path-plotting using the acrobatic move-set, but everywhere I could go felt so obvious and predetermined to the point where it became a linear game like you said.

The problem with this, as I generally prefer linear games, is that the lack of variety with respect to fighting enemies or solving puzzles or even level structure made it feel like... I was playing Mario and had to do level 1-1 over and over again... and it was more automated.

I dunno, had it been a linear game with more puzzles, areas that let you be crafty with your movement so that two different people might not play it the same way, more distinct areas, and a stronger story integrated in a better fashion(ie: had it been a whole different game essentially :P ), I would have been all over it as the style and look was absolutely perfect.

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"If we can hit that bull's-eye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards...Checkmate." - Zapp Brannigan

2009-11-03 08:46:42

1st trailer of the prince of persia movie
http://www.gamekyo.com/videofr15720_bande-annonce-...

am I excited HELL YES. the trailer is clearly showing that its capturing the essence of the games. There is BIG hope this wont suck!

2009-11-03 09:20:53

Sure it is capturing alot of from the game, but they are mixing from all 3 PoP into this movie.
The dark prince, the chain, the Two thrones outfit...etc. many things.

I gotta say I liked the trailer, but the only thing that I am worried about is Jake delivering as the prince and the movie isnt full of bad cliche dialogues, and I heard that in the trailer a few times.

Ah well I am just gonna watch it just for the CG, atmosphere, mood and settings, and probably the music because the rest is a mix bag.

But yes, I really liked the trailer, but again its a trailer and they edit the best parts in a way to make it as intense and entertaining as possible.

2009-11-03 09:51:00

I find the British accent a bit weird.. Not to mention the prince being white...

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"Though I walk through the valley of death I will fear no evil, for I am the evilest motherf*cker in the valley"

"First come smiles, then comes lies. Last is gunfire"

2009-11-03 10:48:12 In reply to FireWire (2009-11-03 09:51:00)

racist ;)

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I think i have stood in poo

2009-11-03 11:06:36 In reply to ManThatYouFear (2009-11-03 10:48:12)

:D

Don't get me wrong; I love you Brits, but Prince of PERSIA being a white dude with a British accent????

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"Though I walk through the valley of death I will fear no evil, for I am the evilest motherf*cker in the valley"

"First come smiles, then comes lies. Last is gunfire"

2009-11-03 11:13:42 In reply to FireWire (2009-11-03 11:06:36)

Poof ;)

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I think i have stood in poo

2009-11-03 12:41:40 In reply to FireWire (2009-11-03 11:06:36)

Well, to be fair, the prince in the original game had kind of a british accent and clearly didnt look persian either :D so I guess that's being faithfull to the game too ;)

2009-11-03 12:56:51

It looks like Disney's attempt to have another Pirates of the Caribbean series. Same guy is making it mind you. It very much has the vibe of Pirates which isn't a bad thing. Too bad Jake isn't as likable as Depp though, so it won't be that great