Players once again take control of the Prince, although he is much more troubled this time around. In saving the sultan's palace from destruction the Prince created a rift in the timeline. The only way this can be rectified is if the Dahaka (giant mythical creature) kills the prince; the prince knows this and the only way he can save his own life is to travel into the past and stop the sands from being created. The story is a bit confusing, but it serves as a good excuse for the prince's more aggresive attitude.
Which one should i take on first?
Everything that was included in Warrior Within has also made the cut here, but this doesn't necessary make the game better than Warrior Within. There have also been extra maps and environments added to the game so occasionally you'll encounter a new area that will throw you off a little bit. The new areas are fairly basic though, and don't really add much to the game, which is disappointing.
There are problems though; if the game was just a direct port of Warrior Within without any issues it would still be a fairly enjoyable title, but ultimately it feels like the game has had to be rushed out for the christmas period. There are issues with the game that are just too problematic and indicate that the game was under a tight deadline.
The environments are large, but extremely dark. The dark nature of the game makes it difficult to play in sunlight; this means that if you're not playing the game in ideal conditions then you won't be able to see the traps, ledges and other areas in the game. We haven't really had this issue with many other PSP games, but it's really disappointing that you can die by mistiming a jump because you cannot see it properly.
On the whole it really doesn't feel like Pipeworks has optimised the game to the strengths of the PSP. For example you're still only able to save when you come across a water fountain; which doesn't work well on a portable title. Loading is simply hideous as well and just getting into the game can take a few minutes. The game also sees fit to load at any stage during the game as well, which means that you could be jumping or battling and the game will pause to load the next segment. This is extremely disappointing and there is nothing more frustrating than getting ready to pull off a risky jump and the game will freeze for a few seconds.
We also encountered a few other bugs that make the game feel incomplete. When there is a lot happening on screen the frame-rate will drop significantly which can be extremely off putting, and sometimes the enemies will get stuck on objects or behind some walls. This is a real shame, and even more so because SoT had such an incredible amount of polish.
In my spare time i train for the circus
The one thing we can commend the developers for is the camera. Since there is no second analog stick on the PSP the game uses the d-pad to rotate the camera. You also have the option of holding down the left shoulder button to rotate the camera, this is effective most of the time as well. There are a few times when the camera gets in the way but it's very simple to control.
The visuals in the game are impressive, as the environments are large and the cut-scenes look good. Somes the camera zooms in on the prince during a cut-scene and it looks like his mouth has been removed which takes away from the immersion a little. The disappointment is that the frame-rate suffers from the visuals; given the choice we'd rather smaller environments and less interruptions.
Revelations has a rock soundtrack that is supposed to give the game an edgier feel; this would have worked better if we could actually hear the sound properly. In the retail copy we tested there were serious sound issues; at times during a cut-scene the prince's speech will cut out and you cannot hear what he is saying. This is even more irritating when he is saying something important. A huge disappointment, and even though there were sound issues in Warrior Within, we assumed that they would have been one of the first things addressed in Revelations.
Overall the new environments probably add about half an hour of extra content to the game, which means the single player campaign will last about fifteen hours - extremely respectable for a portable title. The main problem is that you're unlikely to have the patience to sit through a fifteen hour game when you're having to strain to hear the story and when you're subjected to a loading screen far too frequently. There is also no real reason to come back to the game once you've completed it once, as there is no multiplayer and the single player campaign is linear even though it is well disguised.
It's a long way to the top
During the development of Revelations a few decisions were made that make us question how seriously this disguised port was taken. It makes no sense to port the weakest game in the series to the PSP, but in doing so the game has also actually gained problems that make the experience feel very messy. It's disappointing that the game feels so rushed and unpolished with frequent loading, slowdown and sound issues when The Sands of Time was so polished. Those that think that the idea of Warrior Within on a portable is enough of a selling point should consider that they're getting a worse experience than the console versions; even fans of the series may want to reconsider purchasing this game; it may look like Prince of Persia, but it ultimately doesn't play like it.
Related Reviews:
XBOX: Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
XBOX: Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
PS2: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
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