Review: PoP: TFS

[Gryfer]

Following up on my last review, I thought I'd post another. I think I'll aim for a bit more brevity on this attempt -- which shouldn't be hard because I can't think of terribly much to say on it because the game didn't do terribly much in the first place.

 

After getting a bit daring in the 2008 cel-shaded reboot of Prince of Persia and pissing off a surprising number of gamers, this entry into the series is very much so a return to the Sands of Time trilogy formula; even fully reincorporating the Sands and Dagger of Time into the game.

 

The combat is one of the bigger improvements in this game. Leaving behind the duel-style combat in the 2008 reboot, this game goes back to the familiar combat of The Two Thrones, albeit much improved in my opinion. It's still not great, but it's a big improvement. Although it felt very clunky at first, I got used to it and was getting through most battles near the end of the game unscathed and when I was getting hit, I knew it was my fault and because I was taking risks, not because the combat mechanics were broken. One new feature with respect to the combat is a sort of RPG-style upgrade system where you can customize how your character advances. Killing enemies offers experience and you can choose how you spend that experience: gain one of four powers, gain health, gain more energy (to rewind time more often or use powers), or upgrade your attack strength. Two of the "powers" were absolutely useless in my opinion, but two others were certainly useful at certain times.

 

Overall, though, Prince of Persia is about platforming, so let's get to the meat of the game. This game has perhaps the best platforming controls and fluidity of the series. One of the biggest problems I had in the original trilogy (Sands of Time, Warrior Within, and The Two Thrones) was accidentally jumping off of a ledge when I intended to run. Thankfully, the developers mapped the wallrun function to a separate key, so I no longer accidentally jumped into an abyss of nothingness when I was simply intending to run upwards. They also added a twist to the platforming via water and the ability to freeze it. By holding down L2, you can freeze a stream of water coming down into a column, coming sideways out of a wall into a bar to swing on, or coming down as a sheet into a wall to jump off of. The timing is usually pretty fair, but on a few occasions, it required a lot of precision. The platforming sections requiring extensive water/ice jumping definitely provided the most difficult challenges of the game, especially towards the end when you have to cross rooms by freezing and unfreezing sheets of falling water so you can pass through some and wall jump off of others. That said, when I got through those sections, I got that feeling of "Hell yeah!" that I don't really get much nowadays.

 

My biggest gripe with the platforming is the spacing. It might seem like a weird complaint, but some of the "platforms" are really far apart and I recall being "stuck" a few times looking for a way to get to some far away bar only to get frustrated and jump at it and watch the Prince miraculously jump about 4+ feet further than I expected. Annoyingly, though, I suppose on a few occasions (always after two or three of the extra-long jump parts) I suppose I got a bit overconfident in the Prince's long-jump abilities and the game would gleefully laugh as I plummeted to my death.

 

Also, maybe I'm just wildly incompetent, but the rooms with the traps (e.g. the spinning spiky columns, saw blades, etc.) actually seemed pretty difficult in this game, but not because of positioning or timing but rather the controls. The Prince seemed a bit lurchy to me -- that is, if you pressed forward he would start to move forward at a normal human speed before bursting out into his full speed run. It's that effect where you don't feel like the controls and the movement are perfectly synced up until the player-character gets up to full speed. Again, maybe it was just me, but I had a bit of difficulty navigating the Prince through the trap rooms, particularly over the new addition of a sort of swinging spike pole. Jumping over it while it's at its low point seems to be the obvious method (or rolling under when it's at its high point), but the Prince does not jump perfectly in sync with when you press the button and when he does jump it's more of an angle than I expected, leading to a few spikes in the bum. It did lead me to try to discover a few crafty ways around the poles, but overall the trap rooms were more annoyance than they were in previous entries. Thankfully, they were sparse throughout the game.

 

Positives: Fun, fluid platforming.

 

Negatives: Very, very little challenge. Even at the hardest difficulty level (I believe it was 'Normal'), the game is incredibly easy. Not memorable.

 

Overall, is the game fun?

Yes, but it's very vanilla. It doesn't add much and doesn't take any risks. Not everything needs to and sometimes you just want a fun game to plow through over a weekend or a little snack between huge games, but the platforming is mostly a delight and is fluid.

 

Overall, would I recommend the game?

No -- although I should clarify. I would recommend this to someone who was already a fan of Prince of Persia, but I probably wouldn't need to. I would not recommend this to someone who hadn't played the series yet. Yes, the plot is loosely tied to Sands of Time, but honestly it's fine to play without context so the hesitation has nothing to do with any sort of "You have to start with Sands of Time" logic. There are better games to waste your time on over a weekend and there are worse, but if I want my recommendation to hold any weight, I gotta draw the line somewhere and this is where I do so. Like I said, it's just vanilla. Sometimes that's fine. Vanilla is good for birthday parties and peach cobbler, but all I'm saying is I'm not sending someone on a special trip to the grocery store for it like I would for Moose Tracks or Phish Food.

 

Was it worth it?

I'd be very underwhelmed at both the play time and quality for the $20 that it's currently available for on the PlayStation Store, but $5 pre-owned at GameStop for a quick weekend game (and easy platinum) is a steal.

Edited January 18, 2016 by Gryfer

[Kittens Are Awesome]

I'm sorry, why do you all of the sudden feel the need to post reviews here? It's not like you're an active psnp forum user. Just curiosity strikes me.

[Gryfer]

I'm sorry, why do you all of the sudden feel the need to post reviews here? It's not like you're an active psnp forum user. Just curiosity strikes me.

 

Probably the most important reason is simply because I'd like to do so.

 

Beyond that, it helps me critically analyze the game and remember it (not only does it convert it to my long term memory by thinking about it and writing it, but I can come back and read it). I also think I approach things with generally a different viewpoint than many that may add value for others who want to read a review. I am an extremely fair person by nature and I hope that can be helpful and can generate meaningful discussion about a game. I also write and give my opinions for a living (although in a completely unrelated field) so it's kind of in my nature and combines what I do with what I love. If I can help someone in their decision or just generate said meaningful discussion, it's a 'successful' review for me. If everyone disagrees or hates what I have to say, then I've got it for my own recollection.

Edited January 18, 2016 by Gryfer

[Kittens Are Awesome]

I see. Fair enough.

Related to my previous question: why not be an active member on the forums? I'm sure people in this community would respect your review more if they knew who it was coming from.

[effdeegee]

Not a bad review; shorter than the PoP08 review but, still worth the read.

As a huge PoP fan, I was totally delighted to see the ramped up graphics, after 8 playthroughs of the HD Trilogy games. It felt like playing Warrior Within on Atari, and then again on a PS4 remake. I was all

Lastly, it looks like Darth Vader is following you around. If he starts with all that "join the Darkside" mumbo jumbo, just cut his hand off and then burn the body.

[Gryfer]

I see. Fair enough.

Related to my previous question: why not be an active member on the forums? I'm sure people in this community would respect your review more if they knew who it was coming from.

 

Well, I'm on my way towards becoming a more active member.

Not a bad review; shorter than the PoP08 review but, still worth the read.

As a huge PoP fan, I was totally delighted to see the ramped up graphics, after 8 playthroughs of the HD Trilogy games. It felt like playing Warrior Within on Atari, and then again on a PS4 remake. I was all

Lastly, it looks like Darth Vader is following you around. If he starts with all that "join the Darkside" mumbo jumbo, just cut his hand off and then burn the body.

Appreciate the kind words. I very intentionally kept this one shorter (although that wasn't difficult).

[Bullstomp]

By far the easiest PoP platinum and very fun!

[StewartBros]

This game is actually sitting in a pile of stuff that I was intending to take down to a charity shop over the next few days.  I've never actually played it though - so should I give it a shot before ditching it?  I did play Sands Of Time a while back and have to admit that I wasn't impressed by it, which explains why TFS has never been played yet.

[Gryfer]

This game is actually sitting in a pile of stuff that I was intending to take down to a charity shop over the next few days.  I've never actually played it though - so should I give it a shot before ditching it?  I did play Sands Of Time a while back and have to admit that I wasn't impressed by it, which explains why TFS has never been played yet.

 

I liked TFS better than Sands of Time if only for the improved combat. Honestly, TFS is such a quick, easy game I'd do a quick run through before giving it away. It's the gaming equivalent of a snack. It's nothing memorable, but some solid platforming isn't a bad way to spend a few hours.

Edited January 19, 2016 by Gryfer