Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands Preview
We use our Wiimote to channel the Sands of Time.
by
Arthur Gies
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US, April 27, 2010 -
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands for the Wii is a different beast entirely from its HD cousins, and
Ubisoft Quebec has finally given us a chance for some serious playtime with it. Our build was focused on giving a taste of the gameplay on offer in Forgotten Sands, rather than the story, so that's where my focus for this preview will stay as well.
Forgotten Sands is a graphically impressive title as Wii games go. There's some very strong use of color in well-modeled environments that helps to set some really great ambiance, and Ubisoft Quebec is particularly proud of Sands's framerate, which they stress spends most of its time at 60. The quality of the character animation is a bit mixed though, as the Prince exhibits a strange sort of bow-legged run on the ground, but he retains his character grace in battle and amidst the acrobatics for which the series is known.
There's also quite a lot of variety in level design on display in Sands, from a collapsing city, to a castle overcome by sickly red and green plant growth, to caverns bathed in brilliant blue light. While there's a great deal of eye candy, all that visual flair occasionally made navigating the levels difficult. There were a number of points where I died over and over as I struggled to determine where the developers intended for me to go, and while other Prince of Persia titles over the last decade have mitigated this somewhat through a rewind mechanic and variations thereof, Forgotten Sands Wii instead relies on checkpoints liberally peppered throughout its missions; should you have Sand left, you'll respawn at one of these checkpoints and try the section again. If you've run out of sand, then you'll be thrown back to the last save fountain you had occasion to visit.
Put simply, this doesn't feel like Prince of Persia, or at least, the Prince we've come to know. While this made sense for POP 2008, with its new hero and mechanics, Forgotten Sands bridges the gap between Sands of Time and Warrior Within, both of which had time manipulation. Instead of the ability to control time directly, the Prince has new abilities that differ from the HD release of Forgotten Sands. Where the PS3 and 360 versions of the game focus on manipulation of the environment, Ubisoft Quebec has chosen a different direction for the Wii version of the game. Players instead have abilities tailored toward traversing the platforming areas of the game, whether by creating handholds on walls with the Sand Ring, making higher jumps with the Sand Platform, or redeeming a missed jump with the Sand Bubble.
In the sections I played, there's less of an emphasis on creativity in platforming using these new abilities - instead, it's all about problem solving and platform-puzzles. In this regard, Forgotten Sands Wii is very much in keeping with the Sands of Time tradition. Ubisoft Quebec has also added a small but important addition to the game: a sort of guide-line that shoots out from the Prince, letting you know when a piece of architecture can be reached from your position. While the execution can sometimes come off as a little... well, tasteless (it's a blue beam of energy that always seems to erupt forward from the Prince's, er, center of gravity, if you will), its a neat trick that can really help mitigate some frustrating trial and error gameplay that would otherwise be sure to result from the game's camera (which as of this build could only be re-centered, not directly controlled).
Combat is also reminiscent of Sands of Time. While it's possible to slash away at enemies some of the time, I found much more success somersaulting off enemies' backs and attacking from the air. Attacks are tied to swings of the Wii-mote. Unfortunately, the in-game pointer is tied to the Wiimote as well, so attacks require very sharp slashes and stabs of the Wiimote. Anything less than swinging from my hips failed to register as an attack, which was a problem when surrounded by enemies that seemed willing to gang up on me.
The sand powers' application in combat was harder for me to get a feel for in my time with Forgotten Sands, as each section of the build I was playing was divided into very clear segments requiring very specific power usage. This element could very well make for some interesting battles later on though; Ubisoft has already implemented enemy encounters with mini-bosses that make their underlings stronger, which forces tough decisions as players must choose to risk destroying the mini-boss while avoiding attacks from other enemies or instead take out each enemy one by one.
Finally, Ubisoft Quebec has an additional gift for Wii owners that the HD consoles won't receive: co-op. Sort of.
Forgotten Sands's co-op is similar to that found in Super Mario Galaxy: rather than controlling a second Prince or similarly equipped character, the second player controls the Prince's Djinn, guiding her over treasure and plotting out paths around the world for the other player to traverse. She can also slow down enemies somewhat, but partners shouldn't expect a serious challenge of their abilities in this respect.
Minor issues aside, Ubisoft Quebec seems to be the right track for their Wii release of Forgotten Sands. While certain compromises have been made for the platform, the game doesn't feel particularly compromised - Forgotten Sands on Wii looks to be shaping up as a full featured, unique experience for the Wii that exists as more than a dumbed down version of its HD console big brothers. We'll know for sure one way or the other when Forgotten Sands releases on May 18th.
