I had a Ubisoft Montreal weekend, investing several hours in that studio's "Prince of Persia" and "Far Cry 2" games.
I approached "Prince of Persia" apprehensively. At E3 in July, I had been impressed with the game's graphics and acrobatic gameplay, but I had heard little of the game since. I suspected that the title's December release and lack of media exposure was a warning of a flawed production.
What I played this weekend, however, is an impressive and satisfying remix of a recent favorite. It has what 2003's "Prince of Persia: Sands of Time" had: lovely graphics, fluid animation, lots of climbing, wall-running, and a gameplay-driven romance between the playable lead character and his female companion. The new "Prince of Persia" is, like that heralded predecessor, a game about people clinging to each other emotionally as they clamber up a gymnasium of fantastic cliffs and towers.
All that gives the new "Prince of Persia" a feeling of video game poetry, the lyrical, smooth and gorgeous type.
The difference, this time, is that more of the game is in the player's hands. The player is responsible for controlling the female companion, Elika, using her to assist in jumps and combat. The player now controls the amount of story being told, by choosing when to have the two main characters talk to each other, expanding the plot and the relationship. And the player controls the order of the game's content, choosing at several junctures from a bouquet of possible level through which next to climb.
All that gives the new "Prince of Persia" a feeling of video game poetry, the lyrical, smooth and gorgeous type. But there's potential for discord. The game also requires lots of item-collecting and backtracking, both of which I disliked at first, then warmed to. Having played the game for a few hours, I can't yet say whether those elements will prove ruinous to the rest or if they, hopefully, will reveal some poetry of their own.
As for "Far Cry 2," that game is about being dropped in the middle of a huge swath of sub-Saharan African landscape with a gun and a single person to kill. How that assassination is accomplished is up to the player,who can choose from opportunities to drive, sneak, shoot, talk and spread fire that are as open-ended as the game's big sky.
As with "Prince of Persia" I found myself enjoying "Far Cry 2" but second-guessing it. The "Far Cry 2" environment is hostile, maybe too hostile. Almost every person you pass along its many dirt roads opens fire on sight. Early in this game, the player is poorly equipped and seriously taxed by all that harassment. Just as I hope the collecting and backtracking won't sour me on "Prince of Persia," I'm hopeful that my "Far Cry 2" protagonist will soon become tough or powerful enough that previous roadblocks are downgraded to bugs on the windshield of his progress. Then, I won't mind.
Next: I'm going to Philadelphia tonight, DS in hand. On the train, I'll have my first-ever session of "Chrono Tigger."