A few days ago I sat down with the new Prince of Persia (PoP) game, not really sure what to expect. I saw the early clip of PoP at E3 last year and it looked amazing, but so many times this can be misleading. Not so this time. Of course, there are a few minuscule points that were a bit frustrating, but they never took away from the awesome-ness I felt while playing PoP.

Characters-
The Prince - The game itself doesn't really provide much information on this guy: Where did he come from? Is he really a Prince? How is he related to the other Prince of Persia? He looks similar to the other Prince with the same scarf and build, but this new Prince's character is completely different. First thing I noticed is that this guy has a sense of humor while the other Prince had the dark and silent thing going on. And the other most noticeable thing is that he has a partner throughout that helps with some awesome new moves.

Elika - This princess has a tough job - protecting the lands from the Dark Lord who's trying to escape. She's agile, tough, and has some magic that kicks ass. Why does she need the Prince to help her out? Half the time she's saving his butt (which she totally checks out later). But the banter and the back and forth between these two is priceless. It definitely adds to the gameplay.

Gameplay-

Playing this game was a treat. There's nothing like running along walls and leaping from wall to platform to wall. This time around, the developers upped the Prince's moves a bit. The Prince helps Elika restore the fertile grounds which in turn unlock different energy plates. With these plates, the Prince isn't just jumping from one measly wall to the next; he's soaring through the air or running along the walls that seriously defy gravity. It is during these sequences you see how much fun the developers had creating these different areas.

There is a small learning curve, because you have to time most everything just right. This includes the boss fights. There several different fighting sequences that occur and if you don't hit the right button at exactly the right moment, the boss will throw the Prince around like a rag doll. When you do get it right, it’s always a good feeling.

Graphics-
Incredible. The cell shading, the look, the way everything moves, it’s hard to describe how great PoP looks. The design is so different than anything out right now, it is very refreshing. It reminds me of the old Don Bluth cartoons (which I think are still some of the best). If you're not a big PoP fan, at least check it out for the graphics.

Now I've heard from some people that they didn't care for the game because you couldn't die. I say get over it. How many games like this keep track of lives anymore? Just think of Elika as the middle person who eliminates the whole dying sequence and restarting menu. She takes you straight away to the last platform you were at. It actually makes sense and things flow a bit faster this way. (Although watching the Prince die might be entertaining).

Overall, this is a great game that everyone should try. If you're not sure, rent it. It doesn't take very long to play through, just a weekend devoted to the Prince of Persia.