I tried so so hard to like this game, after all the previous Trilogy was one of my fave experiences in entertainment full stop... I really wanted to like it... but it's making it so hard for the following reasons...

The platforming has been dumbed down to the point where you no longer feel the satisfaction of stringing together a cool looking series of leaps and wall runs. You just press the button and watch it go.

The combat is truly truly appalling. Making me fight the same annoying, boring, endlessly long boss fights 5 TIMES EACH was not fun. At all. And due to the fantastic combat in the SOT trilogy it was even more frustrating to trudge through. When I fight in a game I want to feel at risk but feel like a badass for overcoming the threat. This game did neither. You always felt overpowered by every enemy and even though you knew you couldn't die the fights seemed unfair, slow and so so repetitive. Ugh.

However, the prince, although annoying at first, does grow on you and the ending was to me a moment of pure genius, 5 minutes of engaging original gameplay that broke every rule in the book.

I don't think I need to point out that it looks great but I actually felt much more immersed in the atmosphere of the previous games, it was more gritty and effective IMO.

What do other people think?

Based on my own private survey of the three people I've asked, there are two types of people who played (and finished) the game. Those who really liked the game, and those who really liked the ending. You fall into the latter class, as do I.

- J

I played small parts of Pop: SoT and played most of WW. My friend says I should get this but im not sure on it. Should I give it a try?

Sarcastic Chimp:
I played small parts of Pop: SoT and played most of WW. My friend says I should get this but im not sure on it. Should I give it a try?

Eh... it's worth a rental. It's nowhere near as interactive as the Sands of Time trilogy, the combat isn't as good, and there's zero replay value. You lose the time powers but you gain a double jump and a ridiculous looking glove. In short, don't go in expecting those other games.

What I will recommend is that you also rent and complete Sands of Time and Two Thrones, at least. Play Warrior Within with the sound turned down and it's not bad either.

- J

tiredinnuendo:
Based on my own private survey of the three people I've asked, there are two types of people who played (and finished) the game. Those who really liked the game, and those who really liked the ending. You fall into the latter class, as do I.

- J

I defy your classifications! I enjoyed both the game and the ending, having never played the original trilogy, I went into it with zero expectations. And I came out of it with an enjoyable experience.

That ending made the whole story pointless, i also hated the combat and i hated elika

Bling Cat:

tiredinnuendo:
Based on my own private survey of the three people I've asked, there are two types of people who played (and finished) the game. Those who really liked the game, and those who really liked the ending. You fall into the latter class, as do I.

- J

I defy your classifications! I enjoyed both the game and the ending, having never played the original trilogy, I went into it with zero expectations. And I came out of it with an enjoyable experience.

Go play the Sands of Time trilogy immediately. Once you do, you'll see why a lot of people are disappointed with PoP7.

My 2% of a dollar? The combat is a massive step backwards, especially given that they'd pretty much perfected it by Two Thrones, the parkour moves don't feel anywhere near as impressive given how little control over them you have, the dialogue was awful at times, Elika is nowhere near as charming or likeable as Farrah (who's magically turned into a donkey - another complaint of mine, but it's a minor one so we won't focus on it),the story is clichéd and lackluster, with the exception of the ending, and, finally, it's criminally short.

For me, the only positive points it has over the SoT trilogy were the stunning graphics and the never-die mechanic, which are hardly the best of recommendations.

Bling Cat:

tiredinnuendo:
Based on my own private survey of the three people I've asked, there are two types of people who played (and finished) the game. Those who really liked the game, and those who really liked the ending. You fall into the latter class, as do I.

- J

I defy your classifications! I enjoyed both the game and the ending, having never played the original trilogy, I went into it with zero expectations. And I came out of it with an enjoyable experience.

You must be mistaken. I did an exhaustive survey to come to my results. Clearly you're just lying in an attempt to skew my numbers. I know treachery when I see it.

- J

The positive thing for me is that it inspired me to dust off the old PS2 and get back into the sands of time trilogy, all 3 of which I love to bits despite thier niggling little flaws.

And I have now finally come to terms with the apparent fact that I seem to be the only person in the known universe who actually quite liked the music in Warrior Within! lol

Bling Cat:

tiredinnuendo:
Based on my own private survey of the three people I've asked, there are two types of people who played (and finished) the game. Those who really liked the game, and those who really liked the ending. You fall into the latter class, as do I.

- J

I defy your classifications! I enjoyed both the game and the ending, having never played the original trilogy, I went into it with zero expectations. And I came out of it with an enjoyable experience.

Then I was not the only one. I too had never played the originals and had no expectations. I do think the combat was absolute shit, but the free running was fun. Yes fun free running, not frustrating free running *stares at Mirror's Edge*. The repeated boss battles got old very fast, but the ending did make up for it.

tiredinnuendo:
Based on my own private survey of the three people I've asked, there are two types of people who played (and finished) the game. Those who really liked the game, and those who really liked the ending. You fall into the latter class, as do I.

- J

As do I! The ending was a stroke of genius, a sweet and epic gesture. The rest of the game is ass.

wgreer25:

Bling Cat:

tiredinnuendo:
Based on my own private survey of the three people I've asked, there are two types of people who played (and finished) the game. Those who really liked the game, and those who really liked the ending. You fall into the latter class, as do I.

- J

I defy your classifications! I enjoyed both the game and the ending, having never played the original trilogy, I went into it with zero expectations. And I came out of it with an enjoyable experience.

Then I was not the only one. I too had never played the originals and had no expectations. I do think the combat was absolute shit, but the free running was fun. Yes fun free running, not frustrating free running *stares at Mirror's Edge*. The repeated boss battles got old very fast, but the ending did make up for it.

I can stress enough that you NEED to play the origanal trilogy. Combat is a hell of a lot better, as is the platforming, and the story and characters are just...incredible. Sands of Time is the best love story in a game, ever, end of.

The New Prince of Persia isnt terrible, but in comparison its a huge turd.

I've really been enjoying the new Prince of Persia, and I too am one of the heathens that has never played the previous games. I suck pretty badly at games in general, so it poses a decent challenge to me.

The multiple boss fights can be a little wearisome, but I always have a sense of accomplishment when I finish one, and there are some decent mix-ups here and there (fighting the boss before you even reach the fertile ground, etc.)

The "autopilot" aspect to the platforming I will agree is annoying - a more traditional degree of control would have been welcome. But the "save from death" mechanic is really cool, much better than having to reload. And I find the "magic compass" useful as well - the levels are so huge and sprawling that it would be frustrating to not have it.

The graphics and artwork are simply amazing. And the banter between the Prince and Elika is great. The four Corrupted are cool, with pretty interesting backstories.

From reading the comments here, I'm excited to see what the ending has in store!

I haven't played the others so I can't compare.

The fighting was annoying, very much so, normally when I game I always look for a fight but in this game I tried as hard as possible to get to and kill the enemies before they could appear. The parkour bits were ok but they were repetitive, the wall running was tiresome after a while.

It looked great though and I loved the cliff hanger ending but it was confusing.

Overall I liked and I'll buy the rest of the series.