Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands

johnny_ultimate

http://kotaku.com/5415359/ubisoft-turns-back-time-with-prince-of-persia-the-forgotten-sands

It has been a long time since the Sands of Time, and none of the following games have truly lived up to that wonderful entry (new PoP was OK, but repetitive). But, hark! Ubisoft have announced a fourth entry in the SoT series: The Forgotton Sands! Initial reactions:

Positive: has the word 'sands' in title, return to the more established PoP world.
Negative: will tie in with film perhaps, aimed at 'core and casual gamers'. Oh dear.

I have been disappointed with this series before, so won't be getting my hopes up. But if they combine the engine of new PoP and the atmosphere and challenge of SoT, there is the possibility for a good game here. Perhaps. Maybe. Hopefully?

gizmo

Delighted that they're returning to the SoT storyline but quite suspicious about this "reaching all audiences" bit. The original 3 games had what I would consider a near perfect level of difficulty plus I'm not a fan of the dumbed down QTE heavy combat found in the new PoP title. We shall see how it goes anyway.

That being said, as long as it's not "Prince of Persia: The Movie: The Game" it shouldn't be too bad.

Kiith

I thought the new PoP game was much better then the two previous installments. Sands of Time was great, but the other two were not. Warrior Within was emo bull****, and Two Thrones redeemed it a bit, but i much prefered the new one. I seriously doubt this will be much of a step forward, certainly not if they plan on using anything from the awful looking film.

Vyse

I really liked the last game, especially the visual style. Granted it was a bit repetitive. I'm always eager to see a new POP come my way. Roll on 2010.

L31mr0d

Didn't really like the new one due to the incredibly relaxed control (in areas, merely pressing jump alone was enough to make the Prince run along the ceiling, swing, slide... etc)

That being said, the artstyle and banter between the characters was enough to make it a decent game, it was just a pity the platforming and combat was so dumbed down.

Anyway, more PoP is never a bad thing. Hopefully they'll be looking at Uncharted 2 for a guide in how to effectively mix platforming and combat with excellent detailing and impressive set pieces.

johnny_ultimate

L31mr0d wrote: »

Didn't really like the new one due to the incredibly relaxed control (in areas, merely pressing jump alone was enough to make the Prince run along the ceiling, swing, slide... etc)

That being said, the artstyle and banter between the characters was enough to make it a decent game, it was just a pity the platforming and combat was so dumbed down.

Anyway, more PoP is never a bad thing. Hopefully they'll be looking at Uncharted 2 for a guide in how to effectively mix platforming and combat with excellent detailing and impressive set pieces.

Yeah the latest game definitely wasn't bad, and there were some interesting decisions (and I still want to know where they're going to go with it after that ending). And the movement was very smooth. But the constantly recycled bosses (with literal battle borders), combat and lack of challenge took away from the experience. I think what appeals so much about SoT is the sense of achievement when you complete the huge puzzles or platforming sections (even if the combat was still a little ****). Hope they are able to recapture that, without going all emo.

pixelburp

"The goal is to reach both audiences, the core and casual gamers. It will be a game that will have lots of combat, with the possibility for gamers that are not as good - a level for beginners. In that sense we are trying to cover both groups."


Well that's my interest turned off right there; I don't play Prince of Persia for "lots of combat", I played it for the jumping / acrobatics / puzzling element. Oh and that doesn't mean Quick Time Events mr. developer sir (even though you can bet your bum that's what the noncombat stuff will be). But sure the average gamers now are basically bloodthirsty douchebags with no attention span, so I guess they're driving the market now

AnCapaillMor

Loved the last one, all it needed was a few tweaks and it would've been a cracking game. I'll be pissed if the new one does seriously delay last years game.

Sarky

I found the last one bland, challengeless and at odds with what Prince of Persia was always about. I won't be expecting anything impressive from this except a nice new graphical filter tint on the QTE messages.

gizmo

Kiith wrote: »

Sands of Time was great, but the other two were not. Warrior Within was emo bull****, and Two Thrones redeemed it a bit, but i much prefered the new one. I seriously doubt this will be much of a step forward, certainly not if they plan on using anything from the awful looking film.

I always see that criticism leveled against WW but honestly, if the events of the first game had happened to you and you had a big black monster chasing you about the place, surely you'd be a bit pissed off too?

AnCapaillMor

Actually quite liked WW, almost go as far saying better than SOT.

BlitzKrieg

I was actually curious where they were gonna take the plot with the new world...the DLC hinted at such greatness and the all powerful villian was pretty awesome.

(yes I liked new POP and I like sands of time, never played WW or TT)

L31mr0d

AnCapaillMor wrote: »

Actually quite liked WW, almost go as far saying better than SOT.

Same here... they tried something new in the styling and I actually liked the darker feel (I'm happy that they tried it though, it matched the feel of the story which was mainly about anger and blind vengeance), increased gore, and harder soundtrack. Combat system and camera was vastly improved over SoT. tTT was my favourite though, they dumped the darker styling, kept the combat system and generally polished all aspects of it.

In the latest one I think they got the styling just perfect, as well as the general atmosphere of the world. Previous to the release, the devs said the game would "appeal to both the experienced and new gamers, with different paths available of varying difficulty". This proved to be a pure fabrication, as the game couldn't of been more linear, with really only 1 possible path through the whole game.

AnCapaillMor

Combat in WW trumped SOT big time.

The latest thing, the one it really missed and it would've made it an awesome game was the previous POP's "where the f do i go now moments", or "How do i get up there". Farrah guiding light was a bit of cheat.

sweetie

this is due for release in may according to mymemory website. Similar feelings
as others about the last one and loved the first three on the whole.

Star Bingo

no call for the evil sludge like Alone in the Dark either. Sands of Time was a charming game with more enjoyable and challenging environments and to try make the series darker didn't work out. also i hated having to return to a hub to gain access to the other areas, keep it a roaming adventure with romantic vibes, arabian nights not some emo dreamscape

Optimalprimerib

i must be that one person, but i loved the combat in sot much more infact than any of the others, it was simplistic, but it required skill and timing. Plus the fact that there would be a save point straight after meant that u knew that there was a reward coming up.

The qtes in the others f'd it up for me. Especially the push the button really fast for 5 mins sections

Star Bingo

i doubt we're that two people. i reckon theres more

Sasquatch76

I'm actually tempted to give SoT a quick run through on the Cube now......

sweetie

Trailer looks great!

Retr0gamer

That looks very like the old trilogy. I'm very excited now.

Antar Bolaeisk

I would be really looking forward to this only for the fact that it will probably have that pain in the arse DRM that ubisoft are now using

WolfForager

Loved the original trilogy, some of my favourite games on the PS2! Only problem is that i mostly can't remember the story behind them...

Star Bingo

the forgotten thread a game first n foremost in its own right.. but will it suffer the fate of ur typical movie tie-in? next week will reveal all

Antar Bolaeisk

Star Bingo wrote: »

the forgotten thread a game first n foremost in its own right.. but will it suffer the fate of ur typical movie tie-in? next week will reveal all

It's not a movie tie in, it's a proper sequel/prequel set sometime between Sands of Time and Two Thrones.

Looks like it could be a return to form for the game (assuming they can avoid the springy platforms and other such contrivances).

BlitzKrieg

Antar Bolaeisk wrote: »

It's not a movie tie in, it's a proper sequel/prequel set sometime between Sands of Time and Two Thrones.

its midquel then. And one that has been spurred by both the upcoming movie and less then steller reception of the reboot possible?

Which is a shame because irregardless of its gameplay flaws, I actually liked the visuals and setting of the new series (as said in my dusty old post earlier) so I'm saddened that they abandoned it in favour of more comfortable territory.

johnny_ultimate

I wish I was more excited about this, but it falls smack bang in the middle of yet another heavy release month (Alan Wake, Blur, Red Dead Redemption and Mario Galaxy 2 all in a few short weeks). I kinda forgot about it til I saw the prebooking cases Gamestop t'other day. I know it's been six months since the announcement, but compared to most games these days the release seems relatively rushed, and the generally hype loving gaming media seems relatively quiet on it too. I'm hoping it won't be a rush job, as the SoT core mechanics are still pretty impressive, so there's potential. We shall see when the reviews etc... start flooding in.

Although with Blitzkrieg in holding out some sort of vague hope they'll return to the reboot universe at some point.

Mr E

They reviewed it on Playr this morning (good to see real actual gameplay, not choreographed snippets for trailers), and it looked good. Expect to die alot (and having to use the sands to rewind). The powerups look very clever (particularly the freeze power), and there is a skills tree to power up your power ups -- I didn't know this was in there.

On the negatives, the camera can be pretty bad at times, and the controls can be finicky.

The bottom line was if you liked the SOT trilogy, this is more of the same. The score it got was

8/10

.

Hopefully the review embargo lifts tonight (the game is out in the States on Tuesday) and we can see what the general consensus is.

Mr E

By the way, if you have Sky, you can watch Playr on Film24 (about 6 pages down the main channel list). Its on Sunday morning around noon, and repeated Monday night at 6:30 (so set the Sky+). Good reviews for Split Second and 3D Dot Game Heroes too.

Antar Bolaeisk

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

I wish I was more excited about this, but it falls smack bang in the middle of yet another heavy release month (Alan Wake, Blur, Red Dead Redemption and Mario Galaxy 2 all in a few short weeks). I kinda forgot about it til I saw the prebooking cases Gamestop t'other day. I know it's been six months since the announcement, but compared to most games these days the release seems relatively rushed, and the generally hype loving gaming media seems relatively quiet on it too. I'm hoping it won't be a rush job, as the SoT core mechanics are still pretty impressive, so there's potential. We shall see when the reviews etc... start flooding in.

Although with Blitzkrieg in holding out some sort of vague hope they'll return to the reboot universe at some point.

If it's anything like with the film industry the quality of the film is indirectly
proportional to the level of advertising it receives, let's hope it holds true for this game

Also, for some reason I seem to recall reading that games would progress in both universes and that there would be a sequel to the 2008 PoP though I cannot find a source anywhere to back this up. It would be good to see another game in the same style but hopefully without the stupid inability to die mechanic.

Mr. K

Mr E wrote: »

The bottom line was if you liked the SOT trilogy, this is more of the same. The score it got was

8/10

.

Well, now I'm interested in this game. It's quite a clever sort of tie-in for the movie, hopefully other reviews are as good!

Star Bingo

i just hope the movie is based on the game, n not vice versa. but if its a commercial tie-in in general who knows maybe the greatest product it will spawn is a BK whopper w/ 'persian' sauce. and onion rings

Mr. K

Star Bingo wrote: »

i just hope the movie is based on the game, n not vice versa.

The movie is loosely based on the Sands of Time game trilogy, but this new game is actually a story set in the SoT continuity. So the game has just been released to coincide with the movie's release, as opposed to the usual method of releasing a game based directly on the movie.

Does anyone know what shops are getting the Collector's Edition? It looks sweet, but the only place I see selling it is Amazon!

Star Bingo

any SOT fans got this yet? opinions..

Mr E

Got it Friday (rental), and 1k'ed it this morning. Took about 8 hours I reckon. I'd be pissed off if I paid more than €8 for it.

Very short, and if I have to be honest, pretty easy too (and I've played and finished all POP games, apart from POP3D). For the first 70% of the game, I wasn't really challenged. The last 30% (say from the second boss fight onwards) was fantastic, very inventive and a decent challenge too. Having to combine the different powers and think on your feet (and in the air) is classic POP. The King's Tower, The Final Climb, and the bit after that on the way to the final boss were gaming bliss. I loved the way the final climb was

on one plane, so it was largely 2D - a very clever idea and it worked well

.

100% worth a rental, or wait a few months for it to pop up on the preowned shelf (and it will - there is no replay value at all).

AnCapaillMor

Feck thats sad to hear, then again pops were never really that long.

Was flying through it yesterday until i got to one of those bits with the alternating water jets well into the old city. For the life of me i just could not unfreeze and freeze the 2nd jet in time to grasp, always just missed it.

Mr E

Freeze the first one just before its about to disappear.

AnCapaillMor

Yeah its definately timing, we're talking milliseconds here the jets themselves altrnate pretty quikcly, quickest i've come across so far. The pain in the a**e is the savepoint is a bit back and i've to fight a bucketload of those bugs and enemies to get back there.

gizmo

Mr E wrote: »

Got it Friday (rental), and 1k'ed it this morning. Took about 8 hours I reckon. I'd be pissed off if I paid more than €8 for it.

€1 an hour to be entertained? Now here's a man that values his time

Reviews are pretty much in line with what I was expecting so I'll definitely be picking this one up at some point.

Star Bingo

i'm not bothered about how short this may turn out to be, tbh i just wanted more classic POP platforming in a more classic version of persia. enjoyed it over the weekend in particular with the sultry weather its befitting. i'm nowhere near finished only at the prison - going back in 4 days as a sizeable chunk of the cost of UFC 2010 anyow so i'm enjoying it. i'd recommend finding all sarcophagus via a guide and doing all upgrades cos thats 2 gold trophies right there

cherryghost

Didn't like. God... they've dragged POP through the dirt in the few releases

AnCapaillMor

Looks like i found a bug in the game last night. Towards the end of the game(i hope), its at the bit where he has to go up to do the final battle, via L1 and bird jumps etc, anyways on my way up i saw a sarcophagus and went for it and promptly died, had no rewinds left. so the game loaded, i was nowhere near the ascent to the end. i spawned just after the last portal between 2 locked doors, previously i fought a bucketload of enemies and that triggered the doors opening. Not this time, no enemies nothing, just 4 swinging axe traps and 2 locked doors. spent an hour running, jmping looking around nothing. reloaded, restarted, rebooted same again. Had to start the game in the end, autosave only is a bit of a pain. The only good thing is the upgrades carried into the new game.


Just checking the ubisoft forums apparently its a known bug.

Star Bingo

if that happens me i'm demanding cash back. main reason i'm playing this is not just to complete it but to platinum, as it appears easy - i simply don't do 'restarts'

any title w/ a glitch that prevents continuation = full refund. plain-as. heck i might claim it happened anyways

Mr E

There is a fix for this glitch, apparently.

First, a disclaimer: If you've yet to finish Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, then tread carefully though this news story, because there's a light spoiler or two in this here news story.

Right - towards the end of the latest Prince of Persia, there's a certain point in the game - after receiving the Djinn sword - where if you die, you'll end up being thrown back to an old checkpoint, where you'll find yourself trapped and unable to progress any further. Here's a hint - be very careful when jumping between those wretched sand vultures and ensure you have plenty of rewinds.

When we died and the glitch happened to us, we were absolutely gutted and thought that our game was over. That is until Ubisoft contacted us with the solution for rescuing your game.

If you get caught out by the ruinous glitch, just follow these simple steps to head back to an earlier checkpoint.:

1. Enter System Settings from the Xbox 360 Dashboard
2. Select Memory from the list
3. Choose 'All Devices' from the list
4. Select “Games” from the list
5. Choose 'Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands'
6. Select the first 'Autosave' and delete it
7. Confirm that you want to delete 'Autosave'
8. Restart Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
9. Select 'Continue'
10. When the error message appears on the screen, choose 'OK'

You might have to go through some of the stuff you've already done, but it beats the hell out of starting all over again.

Taken from here.

Star Bingo

i enjoyed the back to basics here but they'll need to follow it up with a better plot - the enemies are lame; would prefer to battle humans - the water / platform freezing provided some tricky platforming towards the end.. this game provided my first ever Platinum, all trophies attained in the first playthrough it is a doddle. with a guide of course

AnCapaillMor

You've a guide, how many Sarcophagus in total in the game?

Star Bingo

21. here's the Sarcophagus guide:

http://www.gamesradar.com/f/prince-of-persia-the-forgotten-sands-sarcophagus-guide/a-20100519101822699031


here's the Trophy guide:

http://www.ps3trophies.org/forum/prince-persia-forgotten-sands/51483-pop-forgotten-sands-roadmap-trophy-guide.html

only required it for a few but still essential

paramount

As i see the Trailer...
I think this is a very good movie.
It story is not common that get my interest a lot.
Can wait to have a copy of it.

AnCapaillMor

Was finally able to pull myself away from BFBC2 to finish this after last weeks debacle. It was overall meh, not a bad meh, just a dunphy it was good but was'nt great. It was SOT with better obstacles. The story and the characters just did'nt grab me, the fighting was basic as feck. But some of the obstacles but just frustratingly brilliant, some of the water runs\jumps were ingenious. Nevermind an enemy horde bonus game, just give a "get from here to here" bonus game.

Last 2 pops have been great in some aspects but dissapointing in other aspects. Last years story and characters were top notch but the whole being aved by yer one and the "here's where you go" guiding light took alot out of it. If you combined the good from the POP and POP:TFS you'd have one hell of a game.

Mr E

The minigame was completely pointless. It's unlocked at the end of the game (when you're pretty much fully powered up), so it is no challenge at all. I had to grind through it about 10 times to max out my character, and got it down to 4½ minutes per run.

It was an afterthought (without much thought) - solely tacked on to facilitate grinding.