Change can be scary. Change, in the videogame world at least, can also be extremely bad for business. Gaming thrives on slow evolution rather than radical re-invention, a gradual honing of mechanics and styles towards a final goal. Sometimes this works very well, as other games in this list will demonstrate. Sometimes it can lead to ennui and creative stanancy. but it'll sell, at least.
That's why Ubisoft's re-positioning of Prince of Persia, one of their flagship franchises, coming into this generation was such a shock. Newly re-emergent as a force in action adventure gaming after the exceptional Sands of Time trilogy, the franchise was poised for a nice graphical brush up and a straight porting of gameplay mechanics. Instead, the Montreal development team blew it all up and started again.
What emerges is a radically different game. Gone is any trace of Persia, replaced instead by one of the most beautiful fairy-tale worlds ever put on screen, a shining collection of towers, spires, canyons and windmills painted in a gorgeous sketchy graphical style. Gone was the tried and true platforming of the previous generation, replaced by a fluid, natural system that kept the Prince jumping, swinging and running without pause. And perhaps most controversially, gone was any trace of time-rewind, replaced instead by your new companion Elika, an infaillable safety net for when your high flying goes wrong. Gone even was the Prince himself, the refined aristocrat usurped by the brash, punkish Nolan North voiced upstart in the red and blue headscarf.
The thing is though, while much changed on the surface, at heart the game stayed true to the series philosophy. It's all about movement through a captivating world, solving the puzzle of 'how do you go from here to there'. It's still about the elegance and fluidity of executing the platforming, a blend of style, grace and verve that has never quite been matched. Even the much debated 'no death' mechanic was simply a means to an end. One less loading screen, one quicker way back to the action. Never stand still.
The critics hated it. The public hated it. Sales were poor and the franchise retreated, first back to the safe haven of past glories, and then to a (seemingly) permanent vacation. Truth be told, not all of Ubisoft's new targets were hit - the Prince and Elika are definitely a work in progress, and some of the combat is tiresome. But so much of what the game achieved was overlooked, the simple pleasure of running from point to point through some of the most beautiful and well designed obstacle courses we've seen in a game, looking out from the observatory tower, watching the torches come alive in the City of Light. Perhaps in time something else will change, and others will look back on Prince of Persia with as much love as I do.
No comments:
Post a Comment