I'm a Jumper Not a Fighter

Game: Prince of Persia

System: Xbox 360, PS3, PC

Release: December 2008


Prince of Persia is a franchise that dates back to 1989. A successful reboot of the series was accomplished by Ubisoft in 2003 with Sands of Time. That fantastic game is one of the best experiences available on the original Xbox, and Ubisoft has been attempting to capture that magic with a slew of crappy sequels.

Each Prince of Persia has the same set up. The main character is a prince with amazing acrobatic abilities. This triple AAA protagonist always seems to find himself in deadly scenarios that may or may not involve a female side kick, time manipulation, and magical villains. He will generally jump, skip, and stab his way through each adventure. The plot will either be brilliant yet generic or simply ridiculous.

The 2008 Prince of Persia (there has been a more recent release and movie earlier this year) attempts to reboot the series once more. The Prince finds himself lost in a desert. Surprise surprise a damsel in distress appears named Elika. He rescues her from some attackers, and discovers that she has magical powers. Elika pleads her case and seeks aide in restoring her kingdom that has been taken over by “the corruption.” A handful of jumps, skips, and stabs later the game ends.

I could go on about the crappy plot. How you never really care about anything, and just push on to jump and skip (stabbing is boring) to the next piece of beautiful landscape. Or how Elika shows a range of emotion akin to a fourteen year old drama queen. Or how I have never seen anything remotely close to Persian culture in regards to the characters. I could go on about all that, but that would just be silly.

Gameplay is where the fun is for Prince of Persia. Like Sands of Time the Prince performs a variety of acrobatic moves to navigate through deadly traps. Instead of time manipulation Elika provides a magical safety net to ensure the Prince never dies. This allows players to continue playing. A novel concept for video games. The designers knew that people would fail to make a particular jump so they put in a system to instantly warp them to a checkpoint. No load screens is a huge plus for any game, but especially for a tittle that is dependent on a smooth constant tempo.

Level design is what I would expect from the franchise. The Prince goes up. He goes down. He slides, dives, wall runs, and swings his way about. The graphical presentation is eye popping in a gorgeous cell shaded style. Levels are a bit more repetitive then other Prince of Persia games because of the overall path design. Players can go to any area from the start, which results in a bland difficulty curve. Rising action/challenge would have suited this game better.

Combat is not the strongest point for any Prince of Persia game, and the 2008 addition manages to be even more bland then past releases. You cannot die so no enemy is ever threatening. The combos are entertaining at first, but get old fast. Low level enemies have too little health, and boss fights drag on too long. Fighting is the most boring aspect of this game. Hardcore fans of the hack/slash genre are sure to be disappointed.

Prince of Persia is not a bad game, but does fall under that “Thank Goodness for Gamefly” category. Fans of the series and platforming will enjoy another adventure with the prince of jumps, skips, and stabs--even if the stabs are lackluster. Combat is boring, and the story stinks. Yet the presentations is stylistic and beautiful. The pacing is excellent thanks to the absence of load screens, and exploring this fantasy world is it’s own reward. Snerts Snazzy Score grants the 2008 Prince of Persia a 3.5 out of 5.

Afro Samurai

Game: Afro Samurai

System: Xbox 360, PS3

Released: January 2009

Afro Samurai is a hack and slash adventure game based on the popular anime mini-series staring Samuel Jackson. The game features a beautiful cell shaped art style and a simplistic yet satisfying combat system. The focus ability is fun, and the soundtrack is fantastic. Unfortunately the story feels chopped and incomplete, and I am on the fence about the games short length due to its repetitive nature.

Let us begin with the plot. The game takes Afro on a journey of redemption and revenge in his pursuit for the Number One Headband. Apparently there is a number system in this universe that depicts how badass you are. They say that whoever wears the Number One Headband will become a god. The reason for Afro wanting this headband is very personal. At a young age he saw his father die at the hands of Justice (the main antagonist). He was pursuing the Number One who just so happened to be Afro Sr. Of course Justice told the young Afro Jr. that he could challenge him one day when he was ready.

Afro grows up and gets trained in the ways of the badass samurai. He plays killer detective while slaughtering his friends and foes. He acquires the Number Two Headband, and then kills some more friends and foes. Finally he finds a dead Justice on top of a vast mountain. Faced now with only his inner demons Afro must clear his conscious, which will eventually lead to the destruction of the two headbands.

This story isn’t bad, but I can understand why fans of the series were disappointed. The game does not follow key plot points of the anime. I don’t want to go into detail, but a quick look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro_Samurai_(video_game) will satisfy your curiosity. The modified story, however, does work for the video game.

Enough with this story stuff. Let us move on to gameplay. Afro is granted the basic hack and slash moves. There is a light and heavy attack, kick, block, dodge, and jump. All can be thrown together in a variety of combos. Players can also counter an enemies attack and then perform a gloriously satisfying instant kill. The one unique ability in this game is the focus attack. Engaging focus will turn the screen black and white, and slow down everything around Afro. While in this state Afro can perform a precise vertical or horizontal slash as well as a host of acrobatic maneuvers. Landing a successful sword swing will slice of limbs, heads, feet, and can even deflect bullets.

What makes this combat so satisfying is the visual presentation and audio soundtrack. Each focus attack will send limbs and blood everywhere. When an enemy is cut in half you will see their gory insides and slowing down time is a blast. This all blends beautifully with the music. The cell shaped environments and characters also meld well together. Previous games seem to create bold outlines for character models that detach them from their environment but not Afro Samurai. The sheer excellence of this games presentation warrants at least one play through.

Afro Samurai is a good game. There isn’t anything truly great, but it is fun. Some will be turned off by the repetitive gameplay and butchered story. Others will enjoy a solid hack and slash adventure with stunning style. Snerts Snazzy Score grants this title a 3.5 out of 5.