Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Epilogue DLC Coming To Prince of Persia

Posted by Soulskill on from the still-not-dead dept.

IGN reports that Prince of Persia will be getting downloadable content on February 26th for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game. It will be an epilogue to the original game, and it will add about three hours of gameplay. "Expect everything to be at a higher pace and to keep you on the edge of your seat. Figuring out how to succeed passing this long acrobatic sequence mined with traps or how to defeat this boss before he regenerates his energy will definitely be more intense. What hardcore Prince of Persia gamers want is a challenge and some of them found the game too easy. We understand this. Seeing such feedback, our vision and intentions with the DLC coincided with their comments quite well. We wanted to build a challenge and experience even greater with all the tools at our disposal, and let me say that there are a lot: Elika's power, traps, combat system, etc."

36 comments

  1. Wat by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    I still haven't managed to get past that purple guard in prince of Persia 1

    1. Re:Wat by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fatso you mean? Or someone else? :D

    2. Re:Wat by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Go left instead of right. He's a lot easier to beat once you've got a sword :)

    3. Re:Wat by rotteneffekt · · Score: 1

      what are you talking about, they all had 3 shades of yellow on my screen :/

    4. Re:Wat by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You don't NEED a sword. Just lead him to the left of the screen and get him to move to the screen left to you along with yourself. Lad him to the left of THAT screen, go UP and take a detour. Pass the first screen where you start, go down and RIGHT.

      He won't catch up with you. ;)

  2. Just tried it, don't like it. by Freaky+Spook · · Score: 2, Informative

    I actually hired it tonight, gave it 3 hours and will return it tomorrow with no intent to play it again.
    I realised after about 20 minutes that it was going to get pretty repetitive and the story didn't grab me.

    1. Re:Just tried it, don't like it. by nine-times · · Score: 1

      Yeah, the fact that this DLC seems to be focused on making it harder seems like a bad sign to me. I know lots of people complained that the game was too easy, but I don't think that was the problem.

      The bigger problem is the game wasn't very interesting. The characters weren't great, and the look/design of the game was trying a little too hard. The combat was annoying and unrewarding.

      And the worst part: the level design feel like the designers were bored with the game before they started work, and just strung a path of ledges and poles and holds together without trying to make it feel like you were going somewhere. Some of the older Prince of Persia games somehow made it feel like you were in a real building, though perhaps one that was falling apart, and that there was a sensible reason to go from A to B. This new one feels like every hold was put there just specifically for an acrobat to climb around on, and your only real reason to go to point B was because the game said so. Even when you go someplace, it's not because you really need anything that's there, but you just need to go there and plant your flag, and then you're done. All for a girl that's not the slightest bit compelling.

    2. Re:Just tried it, don't like it. by Aladrin · · Score: 1

      I played it all the way through.

      While it was indeed repetitive, it keeps adding new things as you go... Enemies change a bit, traps are added, new 'magic' is added...

      Each of the 4 areas has a different boss, but you probably already knew that.

      The story itself is... minimal. But it wasn't bad, just skimpy.

      --
      "If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
    3. Re:Just tried it, don't like it. by empraptor · · Score: 2, Insightful

      What he said. It sucks. Buy something fun with your money. Like a hooker.

    4. Re:Just tried it, don't like it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can I get hookers at The Pirate Bay?

    5. Re:Just tried it, don't like it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't recall any new magic being added.
      Or were you referring to those power plates, which you can stand on and press 'e' to get teleported somewhere in a 1/2 minute long preset animation? You know those were just four different colours of keycard, right?

  3. Thanks for releasing half a game. by dotar · · Score: 2, Informative

    Perhaps Ubisoft could explain how this will benefit me, having exchanged this (very pretty, I'll admit) POS two days after I bought it.

    Another case of "uhh, we realise now maybe we rushed production a little... sorry guys... Here's.. err.. a bit more game."

    The problem with world-roaming games is that gameplay tend to be a bit homogenous, see: crackdown, oblivion, etc. Oblivion had a varied enough mechanic to keep me entertained for most of the game, but POP is:

    Press A... wait.
    Press A
    Press A... wait.
    Press A... Push stick and press A.
    Press A.

    The game plays itself. Hardly thrilling.

    1. Re:Thanks for releasing half a game. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I thought the game mixed things up enough with the different areas. They switched up between vertical and horizontal traversing and added new traps as you opened up new areas.

      The dialog kept me interested throughout the whole game. I received it as a gift, but wouldn't have regretted spending full price on POP.

      Only think that ticked me off was the yellow/green wall plate sequences.

      I couldn't get into Oblivion, though, and it's leveling system pissed me off immensely. I really wanted to like it because of how great everyone thought it was. It had great production values, but it felt more like a chore to play than an entertaining distraction.

    2. Re:Thanks for releasing half a game. by flitty · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Which game are you describing? That could be 90% of platformers. IF you don't like platformers, don't play them.

      Oblivion had a varied enough mechanic to keep me entertained for most of the game

      Now, that's funny.

      Hold W.
      Hold W.
      Hold Mousebutton 2 while occasionally pressing mousebutton 1.
      Heal.
      Hold W. (etc.)

      --
      Whether or not there is some sort of god, I'm not supposed to say/god is a word and the argument ends there-Smog
    3. Re:Thanks for releasing half a game. by dotar · · Score: 1

      Most platformers have different buttons for different functions: jump, shoot, etc etc. POP has one button for all moves (barring the too infrequent, too short fights).

      Maybe you played Oblivion like a deadhead, but you missed out blocking and attacking strategically, working the magic system, managing weight, interacting with other characters, going into all the little details, and most importantly in combat: moving around and keeping the opponent in view/range.

      I wouldn't even class this POP as a platformer. There is only ever one path between places, and once you've started a sequence you hardly even need to give him direction. It's more of a movie with intermittent button presses. If you had played POP you would know that I didn't leave out any of the controls. You can literally take your hand off the controller and use but a single button to play most of the game.

    4. Re:Thanks for releasing half a game. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, in Oblivion, pressing the mouse buttons at different times and in different orders results in different games. Similarly, in most platformers, depending on when you press A you'll end up with a slightly different jump/whatever. In POP, it's a simple binary choice. "Did the player press A sometime within this 2 second period? If yes, play the animation of them jumping to the pole thing. If no, play the animation of them falling, and Elika grabbing them and putting them back on the last platform."
      Also, in Oblivion you can press A and D to go left and right, you can move the mouse to choose in which direction you go. In Prince of Persia you have a set of premade, mostly one-way roads, with occasional intersections.

  4. What are they doing with the story line? by ndogg · · Score: 2, Funny

    Elika must be fucking pissed. I wouldn't blame her if she wants to stab the Prince with his own sword.

    --
    // file: mice.h
    #include "frickin_lasers.h"
    1. Re:What are they doing with the story line? by Mystery00 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Now that would be a great ending.

      --
      "we've got trenchcoats and bad attitudes" - John Constantine, HellBlazer
    2. Re:What are they doing with the story line? by Thanshin · · Score: 3, Funny

      Elika must be fucking pissed. I wouldn't blame her if she wants to stab the Prince with his own sword.

      1 - Start DLC.
      2 - Jump over huge bottomless chasm.
      3 - Press Elika button to make double jump.
      4 - Acknowledge Elika's comment about going to have relations with yourself.
      5 - die.

    3. Re:What are they doing with the story line? by Blakey+Rat · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I actually want to stab the voice actor who played the Prince and whoever wrote his dialog. Maybe I'm crazy, but when I see something like a "Prince of Persia", I don't want them to talk like a skateboarder circa 1988.

      Here's my review, if anybody cares to read it:
      http://blakeyrat.com/2009/01/14/prince-of-persia-review/

      --
      Comment of the year
    4. Re:What are they doing with the story line? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree 100%. And you can't skip the dialogue either, although you can not start it in the first place. I was just hoping, just once, that they would say something un-stupid. Never happened.

    5. Re:What are they doing with the story line? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      6 - ???
      7 - Profit!

  5. Give us more money! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    More and more games seem to be doing the DLC thing.

    Release half of a buggy unfinished beta game and then sell us the missing pieces but never fix the bugs.

    It's CRAP.

    Since they don't seem to get it. Lets just spell it out real clear.

    STOP BEING STUPID GREEDY FUCKS AND JUST MAKE GOOD GAMES!

    before you piss off all your customers, blame piracy for your losses, and end up going broke.

    Game companys need customers far more than customers need games. And yet they make these stupid ass decisions. With all that money you'd think they could at least BUY a clue. But no. Nobody has yet.

    1. Re:Give us more money! by cluke · · Score: 1

      Like in so many other areas of life, the games industry are condemned to repeat their mistakes. The industry managed to wean itself off expansion packs a few years ago when they realised that instead of an audience of all potential gamers, they were limiting themselves solely to gamers who bought the original game, which led to much diminishing returns.
      So they launched into the standalone yearly sequel with gusto, but now digital distribution makes the costs of expansion packs seem attractive again. Plus it allows them the possibiltiy of a bit of sleight of hand and charging money to unlock stuff that is already in the original download (e.g. Megaman 9)

      They'll grow out of it. Again.

  6. PC? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    What about PC?

  7. From strength to strength by Crumplecorn · · Score: 2, Informative

    The only way to make a platformer where you can't fall better is to make the end of the story a platform-specific long-term rental.

  8. I liked it... by ji777 · · Score: 1

    Errr... I'm kinda surprised that the only comments here are bashing the game. I actually kinda liked it.

    1. Re:I liked it... by Serenissima · · Score: 1

      Welcome to Slashdot where the motto is, "Why spend time making a valid, well thought-out opinion, when you can just insult something and make sarcastic remarks and get modded up."

      --
      Give a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day. But light a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
    2. Re:I liked it... by Macthorpe · · Score: 1

      Pfft. That comment was stupid. I'm so glad I wasted my time reading it.

      *waits for the precious karma to come rolling in*

      --
      "It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him." - Tolkien
    3. Re:I liked it... by Theoboley · · Score: 0

      If i had mod points i'd do it. Sadly, you get nothing.

      --
      Stupidity only gets you so far, then you've gotta try
    4. Re:I liked it... by MemoryDragon · · Score: 1

      Well I gave a lenthy review a while ago and was branded as flamebait. I can see that someone might like the game who has never played one of the better Tomb Raiders or Sands of Time or even the last PoP which also was way better. Compared to all of those this PoP is a desaster. Reason, dreadful speakers, almost entire lack of puzzles, repetitive easy gameplay (which feels more like an easy version of Dragons Lair than a PoP game) pointless stupid dialogs, and voice actors from hell ahem Zelda cartoons! The plus side the graphics are gorgeous.
      Ah yes I forgot even the fact that you have to beat each boss about five times without having him/her adjust the strategies in any way before having him/her beaten finally.

      I did not even mention the do not die thing which I personally did not dislike nor like, I am somewhat agnostic to it, and I didnÂt even care that they basically prolonged the gameplay by playing packman...
      Sorry if you want to get a good PoP either play Sands of Time or Two Thrones...
      Or geht latest Tomb Raider, which is awesome!

  9. Problems with platforming games. by MaWeiTao · · Score: 1

    This Prince of Persia has the same problem I've encountered with essentially every single 3D game that features any level of platforming. There's no sense of place. I feel like I'm going through some sort of studio where each room is done up to convey a particular theme; I never feel like I'm actually going anywhere. The platform elements only serve to enhance the sense of artificiality.

    Not many developers seem capable of conveying the sense of being in an actual location introducing platforming to that setting. The Metroid Prime games, excluding the goofy morph ball sequences, and Mirror's Edge I think do it fairly well.

    A second problem, which pertains specifically to gameplay is the problem of platforming itself within a 3D game. A lack of depth perception and awkward cameras always make platforming more frustrating than fun. In every one of these games I die not because of real challenge but because I couldn't appropriately gauge how far I needed to go or because I've encountered a scenario I had no possible way of anticipating. And the problem, of course, is that if a developer tries to account for these problems more often than not the platforming sequences become excessively easy.

    Ultimately, I find it frustrating that developers without fail resort to tired old gameplay formulas. For what ever reason a hack'n'slash game MUST have platforming sequences. Just like many current FPSs have to have a vehicle sequence. Instead of trying to shoehorn a poorly designed mechanic into the game how about focusing on the main aspect and make that engaging.

    Of course, Prince of Persia has originally about the platforming and fighting secondary. Either way, I can't help but wonder if the game wouldn't be more entertaining restricted to a 2D plane.

    1. Re:Problems with platforming games. by TheSambassador · · Score: 1

      Have you ever played Sands of Time? Honestly, that game is the BEST 3D Platformer that I have ever played. This current PoP has the problem of always being too easy (because all 4 of the places you can go have the same difficulty due to the "open world"). However, SoT had almost no camera problems to speak of, the "rewind time" feature allowed the developers to make some very difficult levels (some of which were VERY hard to do on the first try) without becoming too frustrating, and the combat was excellent (you could attack straight on or use the environment). Not to mention that it actually has a decent story... nothing thought-provoking but still good.

    2. Re:Problems with platforming games. by HeronBlademaster · · Score: 1

      I found Assassin's Creed to be pretty immersive. I also have to second the Metroid Prime experience as being quite well done (I own MP and MP: Echoes, but I don't own a system to play them on...).

    3. Re:Problems with platforming games. by MemoryDragon · · Score: 1

      Actually the camera problem is basically besides tha graphics itself pretty much the only thing I cannot complain about, the latest prince of persia has almost no camera problems at all. That does not change the fact that the game itself is flamed to death by almost every gamer there is and highly rated by most professional reviewers. I tend to be more on the gamer side, the game is a stinker...

  10. Harder? by Solus_Emsu · · Score: 1

    I wonder if by "harder" they mean you can actually die?!