Zero Punctuation: Prince of Persia
- Thread starter Yahtzee Croshaw
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It's almost scary how much I totally agree with the review, just having finished the game last night... everything except tits exploding =p... but what he had to say about the combat was OMG dead on.
I'm kind of having troubles deciding whether I liked the game or not but I don't regret buying it.
I'm kind of having troubles deciding whether I liked the game or not but I don't regret buying it.
*insert pointless and stupid rant about franchise milking here*Vlane said:
But seriously though, I'll add Megaman to that list as well.
And Metal Slug.
Being a newbie to the PoP series, I really enjoy it and can't make any kind of judgement on how the Prince is compared to the previous. I sort-of agree with his take on the personalities, but honestly I find Elica to be a very likable character. She doesn't do the annoying ***** routine of many female side kicks, she doesn't do the gutless damsel in distress of others. She sits a little in the middle. Self assured but needing help when things go bad. Strong, but fragile at the same time.
But I agree with the combat. The combat is the single most weak part of the whole game. I see what they were trying to do, but it kinda didn't work, feeling really stiff and awkward. And the reaction time for the QTEs is rediculous at parts.
And he summed up the counter to the "It's too easy" argument nicely, better than I ever could.
But I agree with the combat. The combat is the single most weak part of the whole game. I see what they were trying to do, but it kinda didn't work, feeling really stiff and awkward. And the reaction time for the QTEs is rediculous at parts.
And he summed up the counter to the "It's too easy" argument nicely, better than I ever could.
"Wahhh wahh wahhh stop making fun of Americans wahhh"
Jesus people all he said is that he hated the American accented voice actors, no need to get butthurt about it.
Jesus people all he said is that he hated the American accented voice actors, no need to get butthurt about it.
Ubisoft tends to create these mind-blowing, industry-changing engines...and then forget to build proper games around them. Assassin's Creed did the same thing; it was like once they figured out the gameplay mechanics and slung around the phrase 'design philosophy' a bit, they decided it was done, shove it out the door.
You already know the instant-pickup-not-die-Elika-Save-Thingy will be hijacked into every game for the next six years until something better comes along. And the next Prince of Persia will take this engine, build upon it, expand on some good ideas, and then make some horrible missteps that seem almost nonsensical; ie, the Prince will be more likeable and slide faster, but will be one-legged and have a Scottish accent. It will be hyped and hyped, given 10's by all those magazines that 'never give tens', and a few tentative voices will call out flaws from the back of the auditorium but no one will hear them over the clamoring waves of an artifically-regulated industry.
And then the cycle repeats :O
On a side note, the idea behind the battle system was pretty solid, I think it just needed some more fleshing out. A good example to take notes from was the Path of Neo Matrix game-- over all pretty horrible, but the contextual combat had the effect of occasionally making the player go 'Holy shit that was awesome how did I do that?!' in a way that I think the Prince of Persia combat engine could refine and improve upon. They claim (repeatedly) to be striving for a cinematic feel. Pretty camera movements do not a cinematic feel make. A 'cinematic battle' should be a sudden, chaotic affair that leaves you tense and breathless, not an exercise in 'patience' (read: hair-trigger buttonmashing). FEELING like a movie and PLAYING like a movie are two different things entirely.
On an up note, however, I would give the developers some strong praise for the ending (obligatory sequel-pimping aside). The way in which the last fifteen minutes of gameplay unfold were the sort of eyes-wide, speechless immersion I wish could be distilled into an entire game just once (COUGHshadowofthecholossusCOUGH).
It's telling that the player feels most involved/driven when suddenly all the world's shiny buttons and prompts drop away, and he is given only a vague and inevitable idea of what has to be done. This is why Bioshock felt so immediately immersive to me the first time I played it; from the moment you wake up in the ocean, your only prompts are aesthetic (no glowing arrows or voices screaming "GO FORWARD), and every step is taken with the kind of hesitance and uncertainty the character is supposed to be feeling. The beginning of The Elder Scrolls: Morrowwind had a similar feel; you're dropped in a swamp with some underwear and knife, and sort of given a shove out the door without really any sort of prompt or direction. Instant fear/wonder/immersion (as, say, a ten-year-old child would feel somewhat 'immersed' and emotionally impacted if you suddenly opened the door of the car, kicked him into the middle of Times Square with ten dollars and a mini-map, and sped away)
But I digress.
Overall I'd give the new PoP a solid B+. You continue to shine above the other students, Ubi, but we both know you can do better :\
You already know the instant-pickup-not-die-Elika-Save-Thingy will be hijacked into every game for the next six years until something better comes along. And the next Prince of Persia will take this engine, build upon it, expand on some good ideas, and then make some horrible missteps that seem almost nonsensical; ie, the Prince will be more likeable and slide faster, but will be one-legged and have a Scottish accent. It will be hyped and hyped, given 10's by all those magazines that 'never give tens', and a few tentative voices will call out flaws from the back of the auditorium but no one will hear them over the clamoring waves of an artifically-regulated industry.
And then the cycle repeats :O
On a side note, the idea behind the battle system was pretty solid, I think it just needed some more fleshing out. A good example to take notes from was the Path of Neo Matrix game-- over all pretty horrible, but the contextual combat had the effect of occasionally making the player go 'Holy shit that was awesome how did I do that?!' in a way that I think the Prince of Persia combat engine could refine and improve upon. They claim (repeatedly) to be striving for a cinematic feel. Pretty camera movements do not a cinematic feel make. A 'cinematic battle' should be a sudden, chaotic affair that leaves you tense and breathless, not an exercise in 'patience' (read: hair-trigger buttonmashing). FEELING like a movie and PLAYING like a movie are two different things entirely.
On an up note, however, I would give the developers some strong praise for the ending (obligatory sequel-pimping aside). The way in which the last fifteen minutes of gameplay unfold were the sort of eyes-wide, speechless immersion I wish could be distilled into an entire game just once (COUGHshadowofthecholossusCOUGH).
It's telling that the player feels most involved/driven when suddenly all the world's shiny buttons and prompts drop away, and he is given only a vague and inevitable idea of what has to be done. This is why Bioshock felt so immediately immersive to me the first time I played it; from the moment you wake up in the ocean, your only prompts are aesthetic (no glowing arrows or voices screaming "GO FORWARD), and every step is taken with the kind of hesitance and uncertainty the character is supposed to be feeling. The beginning of The Elder Scrolls: Morrowwind had a similar feel; you're dropped in a swamp with some underwear and knife, and sort of given a shove out the door without really any sort of prompt or direction. Instant fear/wonder/immersion (as, say, a ten-year-old child would feel somewhat 'immersed' and emotionally impacted if you suddenly opened the door of the car, kicked him into the middle of Times Square with ten dollars and a mini-map, and sped away)
But I digress.
Overall I'd give the new PoP a solid B+. You continue to shine above the other students, Ubi, but we both know you can do better :\
You don't need to know squat about these games for the reviews to be hilarious. All the more reason I want a Zero Punctuation DVD...or 2 or 3....
You was sort of insulting in a ways. I normally never get annoyed, but I am Persian, and the moment you decided to say that you imagined a Persian with an Indian accent pissed me off in ways. Why don't you go look at a map, or maybe a history book before saying stuff that will make you look foolish, and I don't mean your usual comedic style. The Persian empire never had control of India.
As for the accent, if you actually knew any Persian people, I'm sure you wouldn't have said what you said, because our accents are almost non-existent. By that I mean, that our accents aren't the stereotypical Indian/Arabic accents you're most likely imagining.
Other then that, decent review.
As for the accent, if you actually knew any Persian people, I'm sure you wouldn't have said what you said, because our accents are almost non-existent. By that I mean, that our accents aren't the stereotypical Indian/Arabic accents you're most likely imagining.
Other then that, decent review.
Oh no, a Persian person missed the point of a joke entirely and got all offended! Better stop making video reviews forever.
The definition of a joke is to be funny to all. Secondly I saw nothing funny in that,but I never said he should stop reviewing anything. I enjoy his reviews a lot, so stop uttering ridiculously asinine things.Gregorus Prime said:
I didn't mind the American accents. For me it brought a Disney sort of feel to the thing, a bit like Aladdin.
Regarding the combat, I would have liked more variety, but I find one-on-one fights more dramatic and personal. The Prince may be an acrobat, but he isn't a superhero. Once you get used to how combat works in the game, it flows just as well as the platforming segments, being based on timing rather than random button mashing.
And Elika is definitely one of the best sidekicks in a game so far, she doesn't get in your way, she becomes an in-game, narratively explained reason for gameplay mechanics (double jump, 'death'/checkpoint system) and lots of the interaction you can have with her is completely optional. I actually thought the dialogue between the Prince and Elika was very well written, and it was fun to just kick back after a long string of jumps and watch them flirt with each other.
The final 15 minutes of gameplay were also fantastic.
I've never played the old PoP titles, but I enjoyed this one, and hope for greater things to come in the future.
Regarding the combat, I would have liked more variety, but I find one-on-one fights more dramatic and personal. The Prince may be an acrobat, but he isn't a superhero. Once you get used to how combat works in the game, it flows just as well as the platforming segments, being based on timing rather than random button mashing.
And Elika is definitely one of the best sidekicks in a game so far, she doesn't get in your way, she becomes an in-game, narratively explained reason for gameplay mechanics (double jump, 'death'/checkpoint system) and lots of the interaction you can have with her is completely optional. I actually thought the dialogue between the Prince and Elika was very well written, and it was fun to just kick back after a long string of jumps and watch them flirt with each other.
The final 15 minutes of gameplay were also fantastic.
I've never played the old PoP titles, but I enjoyed this one, and hope for greater things to come in the future.
QFT.DismantleRepair said:
I liked having Elika around for pretty much those same reasons. And had the game forced a save/reload system or even an SoT-like limited-use rewind function on me I no doubt would have already thrown the controller against the wall in frustration and stalked off. As it is, I've enjoyed the game so far and I keep coming back to it. (I'm only about 2/3 of the way through at the moment, and I've just realised that the order I've done some of the levels in will make things a bit harder for me, but oh well.)
Most of the combat works fine too, and I like the one-on-one battles (and the way that if I can pull off a combo at the right moment I can hurl the enemy off the cliff and bypass the rest of the fight). The QTEs are a bit annoying, though, and the gauntlet-attack-only shield completely sucks (I hate the gauntlet attack). But overall it's not too bad.
(I've unlocked some of the extra skins already, but I keep using the originals anyway. They're just more appealing to me than the "classic" prince/princess skins.)