There have been many princes of Persia since the original game was released nearly 20 years ago, and although they’ve ranged from noble romantics to angst-ridden bad boys, they’ve all shared a gift of tremendous agility. In conjunction with its new console reboot of the Prince of Persia series, Ubisoft has brought the graceful monarch to the DS in a side-scrolling adventure that can be thrilling when the intuitive touch-screen controls work as they should. Regrettably, for every thrilling moment the controls deliver there’s a frustrating one, too, and this normally agile prince takes a few too many clumsy steps.
The prince is continuing his quest to defeat the evil god Ahriman and do away with the icky substance known as corruption that has emerged across the land since Ahriman’s escape. For most of this journey, he is joined by the magus Zal, whose powers are vital for overcoming the countless obstacles that impede our hero. There’s a decent, if cliche, narrative here, as secrets about Zal’s past and the prince’s reasons for fighting are slowly brought to light, but the storytelling’s lack of flair doesn’t do it any favors. Some cutscenes or voice acting could have made the tale more compelling, but as it is, the story here is told all in text, with still images. At least the writing conveys some personality, and the prince, here a squat, cartoonish version of his console counterpart, comes across as a good deal more likable than he does in the console game. His attempts at jokey banter with the dead-serious Zal lead to a few funny moments, and you also get the sense that, despite his constant wisecracks, he’s fighting for something he cares about deeply.
This is a side-scrolling action game in which you must make your way through level after trap-filled level, frequently rolling under spinning blades, leaping over spike-filled pits, and swinging out of the way of crushing boulders. All of the moves are performed with the stylus, though you hold down a button to indicate you want to use one of Zal’s powers rather than control the prince. You rarely control Zal directly; he typically just hovers along behind the prince, apparently impervious to all the dangers the prince must work so hard to avoid. To make the prince walk, you hold the stylus near him, and to run, you put it farther away. To roll, you double-tap to the prince’s left or right, and to leap, you tap the platform you want the prince to leap for, and he obliges. You can also scurry up walls a short distance and jump back and forth from wall to wall to ascend to higher areas.
