From a geeky web developer poinjt of view I really like it, the controls are dead easy, almost too easy. The visual ques work really well, again almost too easy. The map “looks” nice and the menu system very sexy. But then beyond that it’s very synthetic and artificial. I got to the forth boss and I’m begining to get bored of pressing a, a, a, b, a, a, b, a, a, a, a, b, b.

I finally beat the game the other night. The ending was pretty mediocre and certainly did not make up for the rest of the game. The series could get better if they learn from their mistakes, but this installment is kind of weak.

Theres no denying thats its a very pretty looking game, but it makes you wonder after the endless drones and battles of the last two that they’ve subtitued most of the substance for the stylish asthetics.

Sure you can’t die, sure the bosses are repetitive but something kept me going I really can’t put my finger on it. Maybe it was just nice being in a fantasy world rather than shooting people in the face, maybe it was Elika’s perfectly formed body (: maybe it was the amazing art direction but after 12 hours I got to the end and enjoyed every minute of it.

Having said that I’m pretty sure you could train a monkey to play, and complete POP. Plus the ending was terrible, I mean really terrible. It annoys me when you get that sort of ending from a film that you have invested one and a half hours in but a 12 hour game booooo, as we say in the UK that’s just not cricket.

…though I may still do just that, as I do have a few friends who enjoyed it (another love/hate game a la Assassin’s Creed?).

Could be, I suppose. I haven’t heard anyone raving about it, though. But makes me wonder about the reviews. Maybe it’s one of those games that has an incredible ending that makes you forget about all those other issues along the way?

I’m playing Tomb Raider Underworld at the moment, and one of the things I love about it – and TR in general – is how long it can take you to figure out what route you’re meant to take to your desired location. I thought Prince of Persia would be similar in that respect.

Apparently, they’ve done an even better job of creating multiple paths in Tomb Raider Underworld, which definitely has me excited to play it.

Did you play the older Prince of Persia games? They were more like Tomb Raider, with tons of booby traps and obstacles. Lots of timed jumps and rolls, but all of that is lost in this new game. A fair bit of puzzles, too.

You’re not able to jump at all angles and it feels as if I’m moving on a grid when it comes to wall running and jumping.

I noticed that as well. But only when I decided to go off course. If you stick to where you’re supposed to go, everything is set up perfect – which is ironically a huge flaw.

I think PoP is best played in small spurts. I sat there for nearly 3 hours the other night and was ready to smack my head off the wall from the repetitive nature of it. I might keep at it – it’s been a couple days since I’ve touched it now, and I’m sort of wanting to pick it up again.

I just sold my copy of Fallout 3 after about 7 hours – it’s just too much of a commitment for me. I did a side quest that lasted nearly 3 hours and didn’t progress the main story one bit. That’s when I knew I was going to be playing the game for weeks on end, and I’m just not into that. Very slow, too.

I would be happy to see the next POP in the Mirror’s Edge engine with some combat.

Yuck, not me! I thought Mirror’s Edge should have been third person and wasn’t a fan of the controls, and definitely not the combat.

Gavin

Problem being, there’s one way to get there and there might as well be flashing billboards pointing the way

I’m playing Tomb Raider Underworld at the moment, and one of the things I love about it – and TR in general – is how long it can take you to figure out what route you’re meant to take to your desired location. I thought Prince of Persia would be similar in that respect.

Your review paints this as a relatively boring and mediocre game, so I might find myself waiting until it’s discounted. The art direction looks pretty awesome, though.