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[TheGreenGiant]

Okay, picked it up the other day for like 13 dollars or something like that - I really don't know what to say. This is meant to be fun? All the talk abotu POP deserving to sell more... are you guys kidding

1. linear gameplay . A ---> B ----> C. So far; I've yet to think; "woah, lateral puzzle" - the visions spell it out for you and even then without them; you can get through pretty easy. Its pretty dull at the moment; for all its visual finesse, I feel like I'm playing through different configurations of the same room (or there abouts). Maybe I'm good at platformers but the challenge factor is pretty low

2. Character design.. servicable really. I find the lack of articulation (emotions) on the prince and the chick really annoying. The cinemas in between so far has been perfunctory and you're meant to care about the whole "SANDS OF TIME" incident? Hardly epic.. The establishment of the story just got into the game so far and it feels really shallow. The prince looks... meh.

3. Combat. Fight.. repeat.. fight clear... suck sand.. fight... falls asleep

4. THIS FUCKING PISSES ME OFF. - The prince's stupid keep his knives animation everytime you clear the room is annoying. After the tedium of the combat sequences; I want to get on with the room.

5. The camera is bad/nasty. I want to see where I am jumping. A few falls were due to not lining up with the stupid palm trees... freaking annoying. Third person view is unituitive. Why not let the gamer user left stick to control the camera... its not like you can move in third person view.

cool factors

1. time reversal is cool. nifty viusals when this happens

2. some of the bloom lighting is really nice; if overdone. I kept looking at the game and thinking... I want this next gen. Its about time we move on I think. Visuals aren't doing so well; especially if the PS2 chokes games back.

 

[BuddyC]

1. linear gameplay . A ---> B ----> C. So far; I've yet to think; "woah, lateral puzzle" - the visions spell it out for you and even then without them; you can get through pretty easy. Its pretty dull at the moment; for all its visual finesse, I feel like I'm playing through different configurations of the same room (or there abouts). Maybe I'm good at platformers but the challenge factor is pretty low

This is why I just skipped past the visions and figured it out on my own. A lot more fun and rewarding that way.

 

[teiresias]

I just started playing it as well, my dad got it as a pack-in game with his 9800 Pro and I installed it on my PC to give it a try.

I like the atmosphere, it has a kind of ICO-ish feel to it but with a more evolved combat system. However, the combat gets annoying in the area I'm in (not sure which percentage I'm at), but right now the only enemies around are those double-ended spear guys, and since they can hit you out of the air when you do any of your jumping abilities (which are my favorites) you're stuck on the ground just doing sword combos. Combine the inability to jump out of a fray, with the insane spawn rate of the enemies, and you have a recipe for immediate and huge frustration.

 

[Mejilan]

The combat does suck. Hard. Easily the game's worst aspect, and one I'm unhappy to see return (even in a slightly expanded form.)

But if you're expecting non-linearity in a game of this type you're a fool. No offense.

The camera was very competent for most of the game, and the environmental puzzles and the Princes acrobatics were all wonderfully implemented.

Not a AAA game as some hyped it to be (GotY, Matt C? BWAHAHAHAA.) But certainly a very well put together and fun game, worth the 40 or 50 I paid (I forget the MSRP) and certainly 13, imho.

 

[TheGreenGiant]

The combat does suck. Hard. Easily the game's worst aspect, and one I'm unhappy to see return (even in a slightly expanded form.)

But if you're expecting non-linearity in a game of this type you're a fool. No offense.

The camera was very competent for most of the game, and the environmental puzzles and the Princes acrobatics were all wonderfully implemented.

Not a AAA game as some hyped it to be (GotY, Matt C? BWAHAHAHAA.) But certainly a very well put together and fun game, worth the 40 or 50 I paid (I forget the MSRP) and certainly 13, imho.

I normally get really excited about games I play/buy - give them a good go before I think "eh" but for all the hype, its just been an okay game so far. Pretty looking; not fantastically involving "I MUST PLAY POP now" type title.

They could do with some rooms that are a tad less linear - even differing rooms to get to the same spot . The fact that its enter a room - camera pans about to show the exit; makes it incredbily... eh? A--> B with no optional rooms... Why is expecting some degree of flexibility in the room challenges = fool? At least have MORE THAN ONE WAY TO CLEAR A ROOM? Dependent on you skill you should have more than 1 way to get somewhere.

I think POP 2 should have this as a minimum

some sort of treasure collection feature. There are items in POP you can break.. Why not chests/jars where you collect coins. etc. to unlock cinemas etc etc

 

[BuddyC]

some sort of treasure collection feature. There are items in POP you can break.. Why not chests/jars where you collect coins. etc. to unlock cinemas etc etc

No.

Don't get your collect-a-thon bullshit stuck all up in my nice relaxing gameplay.

 

[Mejilan]

Thank g-d a developer doesn't turn a classic idea into a freaking collectathon.

And PoP was always about very specifically crafted environmental puzzles with very specific solutions to them. Have you played the other games in the series? Sure, some very PoP elements have been changed, but they at least attempted to retain some spirit of the classic games. And yes, they were pretty linear as well.

I agree with you on the overall challenge level, however. Too easy. Way too easy. Both the repetitive and easily exploitable combat system, and the environmental puzzle challenge level. I too skipped the "visions" since they made the game even easier.

 

[TheGreenGiant]

No.

Don't get your collect-a-thon bullshit stuck all up in my nice relaxing gameplay.

didn't think that fighting spawning clones = nice relaxing gameplay.

 

[Mejilan]

didn't think that fighting spawning clones = nice relaxing gameplay.

Sure it is. It's easy, repetitive, and exploitable. Once you get the "deeper" nuances and learn which enemies are susceptible to which one-hit-kill patterns and combos, it does get pretty laid back. Also serves to make the combat sequences end that much quicker.

 

[BuddyC]

didn't think that fighting spawning clones = nice relaxing gameplay.

I recall just holding down block until they stopped attacking and slaughtering them.

 

[TheGreenGiant]

Thank g-d a developer doesn't turn a classic idea into a freaking collectathon.

And PoP was always about very specifically crafted environmental puzzles with very specific solutions to them. Have you played the other games in the series? Sure, some very PoP elements have been changed, but they at least attempted to retain some spirit of the classic games. And yes, they were pretty linear as well.

I agree with you on the overall challenge level, however. Too easy. Way too easy. Both the repetitive and easily exploitable combat system, and the environmental puzzle challenge level. I too skipped the "visions" since they made the game even easier.

you guys are missing my point. Not a SMS/R+C collectathon but the whole POP experience is based around the Prince's athetleism. if Ubisoft slotted in say 15 icons in the game to be collected - you see them right away but they're HARD to get. Then you can choose to get them or not. Not 2000 fucking coins like in SMS (even I had a problem.. and I don't have 120 shines - not especially when some shines come out only in certain stages for doing certain specific tasks)

 

[drohne]

yeah, nonlinearity and particularly item collecting have no place in prince of persia. not everything needs to be zelda. a lot of the game's pleasure is in its straightforward, frictionless progression. i've played through it three times. most adventure games i can't stand to finish once.

as mejilan says, the fighting is just a matter of learning which two-move-kill works on which enemy. i don't remember specifically, but it's vault/dagger on most enemies and wall bounce/dagger on the rest. makes it quick and painless, if still fairly unengaging.

 

[Mejilan]

There is no room in the Prince of Persia set of games for fucking collecting bullshit icons or anything. There's no reason for it. The game has a couple of hidden goodies (particularly the Cube version) for you to look around and discover. And there are a couple of unlockables too (less so in the PS2 version.)

Go play the rest of the PoP series before telling us that WE'RE missing the point.

 

[Wario64]

Overrated game, only cool part was climbing the 'tower' at the end with the ICO-ish feeling. And the battle music towards the end with the vocals. Other than that, I was disappointed


p.s. someone explain my tag.

 

[seismologist]

i thought it sucked

i only played the first 10 or so rooms though

 

[BuddyC]

There is no room in the Prince of Persia set of games for fucking collecting bullshit icons or anything. There's no reason for it. The game has a couple of hidden goodies (particularly the Cube version) for you to look around and discover. And there are a couple of unlockables too (less so in the PS2 version.)

Go play the rest of the PoP series before telling us that WE'RE missing the point.

I played it on Xbox, what'd I miss?

i thought it sucked

i only played the first 10 or so rooms though

Well, good for you.

 

[Mejilan]

Not much, BC. All three versions had PoP1 unlockable as a very poorly emulated classic. The GCN and Xbox versions have a couple of delevoper interview and artwork gallery videos to unlock (PS2 may have some, but less, iirc.) Xbox also has PoP2 as another very poorly emulated classic.

GCN version has these three "trigger" boxes scattered in remote areas of the game. If you find and shatter all 3 (kinda tricky to do without prior knowledge of their locations, as one or two of them are very cleverly hidden) you unlock a flag. Synch up with the GBA game to have it detect that flag and unlock a couple of stages in the GBA adventure.

Honestly, finding and figuring out how to get to the triggers was more fun than playing the GBA game.

 

[Deku Tree]

I agree with all the people who said it was very overrated. POP was fun but not close to deserving of all the praise it got. But it was worth the $20 I paid for it.

 

[Shompola]

I thought it rocked.

 

[nitewulf]

i think its fucking fantastic, a joy to control and seamlessly move from one move to another. camera was a bit frustrating for me at times, but lining up w/ the palm trees is a cinch, cant see how anyone could get that wrong.
as for combat? vault and slash, done, enemy is dead.

 

[Deku Tree]

as for combat? vault and slash, done, enemy is dead.

that's exactly the problem i had with the combat. fun at the start, but very repetitive.

 

[Mzo]

Not much, BC. All three versions had PoP1 unlockable as a very poorly emulated classic. The GCN and Xbox versions have a couple of delevoper interview and artwork gallery videos to unlock (PS2 may have some, but less, iirc.) Xbox also has PoP2 as another very poorly emulated classic.

They all have the Mac version of PoP, surprisingly, and only the Xbox one has the PC original PoP2. You unlock PoP simply by beating the game, and PoP2 by finding one secret room. I don't know what all the talk about collection is about.

Having played them before, I don't think the emulation was bad at all.

This is one of my favorite games this generation. It was just fun to play... but I love these PoP, Out Of This World, Heart of Darkness types. Just using a quick and nimble character is fun for me. My only complaint is that the game was over 7 hours after I started =(

 

[Vlad]

i think its fucking fantastic, a joy to control and seamlessly move from one move to another. camera was a bit frustrating for me at times, but lining up w/ the palm trees is a cinch, cant see how anyone could get that wrong.
as for combat? vault and slash, done, enemy is dead.

Yeah, I've always wondered why people say that the combat is too hard. I found it to be way too easy, as there's three moves that can pretty much dominate any enemy. The vault-slash works great in the beginning. I pretty much constantly relied on the dagger counter, which instantly kills practically any enemy in the game. For the ones that would repeatedly block the dagger counter (or those that were tough to counter, like the guys with the chains), I'd just use the wall-bounce slash to knock them down, then hit them with the dagger. Of course, any longer battles could always be made signifgantly shorter by using the haste attack.

What I would have really loved to see is more of an integration of the fighting and puzzles. In the original game, there were parts where you had to watch your step while fighting, else you'd end up falling to your death, or you could even end up forcing your enemy to fall onto a pit of spikes, step into a chomper, etc. There's no such mixing in SoT. The fighting and exploration elements always end up completely seperated, which was a little irritating.

 

[nitewulf]

This is one of my favorite games this generation. It was just fun to play... but I love these PoP, Out Of This World, Heart of Darkness types. Just using a quick and nimble character is fun for me. My only complaint is that the game was over 7 hours after I started =(

wasnt blackthorne amazing as well? ah, i loved that era of gaming, they dont make them like those anymore.

 

[TheGreenGiant]

wasnt blackthorne amazing as well? ah, i loved that era of gaming, they dont make them like those anymore.

maybe it is the 3d realm of games that makes these games less compelling - blackthorne; fade to black and even the orginal 2 oddworlds were faptastic. They really had a lot more ambience and trickery then the 3d games in the same milieu does.

 

[FoneBone]

maybe it is the 3d realm of games that makes these games less compelling - blackthorne; fade to black and even the orginal 2 oddworlds were faptastic. They really had a lot more ambience and trickery then the 3d games in the same milieu does.

You're thinking of Flashback. Fade to Black was the (reportedly inferior) 3D sequel.

 

[shpankey]

i loved it, would've hated it if it had anything to do with collecting anything. i hate that shit and usually avoid those games like the plague they are.

 

[Solid]

I loved everything except the fights.. bleh!

Oh and I hope Ubi has subtitles in PoP2 cause I didn't hear a goddamn thing...

 

[dark10x]

Xbox also has PoP2 as another very poorly emulated classic.

What is so bad about the PoP2 emulation? It seems fine to me (outside of a glitch that was said to occur when you finish it). It runs smoothly, features all of the sound, and controls well.

 

[DSN2K]

combat is terrible in this game, I found moments where I just had stop playing it out of frustration.

but the overall game was very good.

 

[refreshZ]

I didn't have a problem with the combat - if anything its one of the most fast, fluid and intuitive combat mechanisms yet concieved for a game of this type.

And simply NO to bullshit collectables. Really, NO.

 

[Deg]

Very boring game most of the time. I wish i didnt buy it brand new.

 

[AssMan]

3. Combat. Fight.. repeat.. fight clear... suck sand.. fight... falls asleep

Welcome to about 90% of the other action titles out there.

 

[Optimistic]

Without the fighting I'd find the game enjoyable...nothing remarkable (as a platformer perhaps, but I'm not fond of platformers in general), but as it is...well I still find it enjoyable, but I haven't played it for a couple of days (got it around a week ago), and don't really have the urge to go back to it, because I know I'll have to wade through a bunch of shitty fights. Anyway, the game's missing something for me to make it really great. It just doesn't have anything that grabs me; something's missing and I'm not sure what it is.

 

[TheGreenGiant]

Welcome to about 90% of the other action titles out there.

90% of the actions out there sucks sand? MEGATON!

 

[Korranator]

A fun but flawed game that was highly overrated.

 

[AssMan]

90% of the actions out there sucks sand? MEGATON!

You know what I meant. Stop being a jack ass.

 

[COCKLES]

Worst combat in a game for some time. Fable had the right amount of enemies to fight at one time with a sword, in POP they just never seem to end....

 

[TheGreenGiant]

You know what I meant. Stop being a jack ass.

I was being Ironic. At least with some of the 90%; the combat is fun :|

Just wanted to say.. before this thread....

GODDAMN GAF + reviews had me convinced that this game would be worth the time/money. Its meant to be like TEH AWESOME. I'm with Optimistic -

Without the fighting I'd find the game enjoyable...nothing remarkable (as a platformer perhaps, but I'm not fond of platformers in general), but as it is...well I still find it enjoyable, but I haven't played it for a couple of days (got it around a week ago), and don't really have the urge to go back to it, because I know I'll have to wade through a bunch of shitty fights. Anyway, the game's missing something for me to make it really great. It just doesn't have anything that grabs me; something's missing and I'm not sure what it is.

the minute I decided to post my impressions on GAF - I don't think I can go back sit down and play this game (if you can call it that) again; Really don't care enough about the game... might go play FSA or ICO.


c-

 

[Meier]

Most overrated game this gen. Soooo boring and repetitive.

 

[Ranger X]

My god. I'm reading this thread and you guys are having a fucking problem with hype on games. Prince of Persia The Sands of Time is a 8/10 game and i wasn't expecting a 10/10 but a 8/10.
The fighting system wasn't working right but the game is FAR from being bad. Gamers don't like simple/clever games anymore?

Oh and by the way, in POP2 the combat system is redone and ALOT better.

 

[TheGreenGiant]

My god. I'm reading this thread and you guys are having a fucking problem with hype on games. Prince of Persia The Sands of Time is a 8/10 game and i wasn't expecting a 10/10 but a 8/10.
The fighting system wasn't working right but the game is FAR from being bad. Gamers don't like simple/clever games anymore?

Oh and by the way, in POP2 the combat system is redone and ALOT better.

c-. what's simple / clever about it?

I'm glad you're done with your retail copy of POP2 to make that assessment.

 

[Ranger X]

c-. what's simple / clever about it?

I'm glad you're done with your retail copy of POP2 to make that assessment.

This game was pretty straightforward and fun (for me at least). The platforming was nice and fast. There's no big fat story either. It's overall simple i think. Pretty mindless when you play and also beautifull to look at. Now if it wasn't for the long and bad fighting sequences...

And as for POP2 dude, i work at Ubi Montreal and play this game almost everyday.

 

[TheGreenGiant]

This game was pretty straightforward and fun (for me at least). The platforming was nice and fast. There's no big fat story either. It's overall simple i think. Pretty mindless when you play and also beautifull to look at. Now if it wasn't for the long and bad fighting sequences...

And as for POP2 dude, i work at Ubi Montreal and play this game almost everyday.

the sound of self-promotion is deafening. you'd have vested interest to keep your job then. Tell me does POP2 teh suck as much as POP1?

 

[Ranger X]

lol i'm not that type and i don't really care about what you believe you know.

Take a search on Ubi stuff on this board if you want and you'll notice something: If i have something good to say about Ubi and it's games - i say it. If i have something bad to say: i keep silent.

Now i told you what i find bad about POP1 but this is different because the game is on retail since a long time.

 

[lordmrw]

I'm glad you're done with your retail copy of POP2 to make that assessment.

And as for POP2 dude, i work at Ubi Montreal and play this game almost everyday.

Someone got owned hard. I remember reading that one of the unlockables in Sands of Time is the first level of the original PoP redone in 3d. Never got around to seeing it, and i don't have it here with me right now.

 

[Littleberu]

Ninja Gaiden is as fun as Prince of Persia. THERE I SAID IT!!

 

[refreshZ]

Ninja Gaiden is as overrated as POP

 

[seismologist]

The platforming puzzles each one was more frustrating than the last, since they seemed to be blocking my way from getting to the good part of the game.

They shouldn't try copying a game like ICO because it's so subtle. There's a very fine line between shitty and masterpiece. It's like trying to immitate The Beatles.

 

[Doom_Bringer]

yeah some puzzels in PoP are really annoying. I have been stuck at 53% since JUNE!!!!! Thinking of uninstalling the game :/