Prince of Persia franchise takes new direction in these scans

by Nick Doerr { May 1st 2008 at 11:30PM }

It's been a while since we've been able to really show anything off regarding the new story arc coming up in the next Prince of Persia game. Finally, some scans from the magazine Joypad show off the art style being utilized as well as some gameplay elements. We think. See, we don't speak French very well, but we can definitely look at pretty pictures. What do you guys think? The new prince and the new cel-shading: pass or fail? We'll find out.

Tags: prince-of-persia, ubisoft

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

greg.r.keller @ May 1st 2008 11:44PM

So much for "If it ain't broke don't fix it"

Roto13 @ May 2nd 2008 12:08AM

What the hell is this?

LAZoftheTamarinds @ May 2nd 2008 12:21AM

Hmm... They weren't kidding when they said they'd have a different type of art style. Not sure if I like this... unique look.

deusmecha @ May 2nd 2008 12:22AM

Looks great, to be honest.

hey_big_dck psn:fuliano626 @ May 2nd 2008 12:42AM

oh not the way i would have liked it to be but owell. kinda reminds me of sly coooper now.

ryan @ May 2nd 2008 12:52AM

reminds of taking crazy cool concept art like "The Skillful Huntsman" (google it) and making direct models from it, textures and all.

it's more unique looking than the old prince games, yet not as cell shaded like Sly Cooper.

I love it to death personally.

Shon S. @ May 2nd 2008 1:00AM

i think it will look better in action rather than these stills.

Hashbrown Hunter @ May 2nd 2008 6:14AM

Agreed. I can't tell if I like it or not, so I'm gonna wait until some kind of footage comes out.

russell @ May 2nd 2008 8:38AM

I agree. I say have a little faith. The PoP series hasn't let us down yet.

dave @ May 2nd 2008 1:12AM

I'm with the "looks great" group. But, although the new art direction appeals to me, if they don't get the character right, it won't be fun. That's what was so good about the Sands of Time. The Prince has real character, even to the muttering to himself about the princess, while he was making his way acrobatically through the castle.

That's what really sucked about the Warrior Within. They ripped the character right out of the Prince, and it became just a substandard fighting game with environment puzzles. Let's hope they learn from their mistakes.

Thomas @ May 2nd 2008 3:28AM

It definitely beautiful,but they should have just made this into a new franchise. The Prince of Persia franchise was going down so they probably felt compelled to take it in a different direction.

Ogre722 @ May 2nd 2008 3:52AM

Last generation cel shading sucked and games made with it usually sucked as well. I can see by Team Fortress 2 that cel shading can look refined and nice. If these screenshots are genuinely "in game" then a) this game looks like a hi quality comic and b) I will certainly buy it.

tristan88 @ May 2nd 2008 6:42AM

probably the nicest looking cel shading ive seen. only others i can think of are the new dragon ball z and naruto games. but this looks a lot more detailed then they do

player-who-plays @ May 2nd 2008 8:17AM

nit liking the bad guy, but the prince looks pretty cool. That being said, they better make some off the hook crazy effects with the art style.

ryan @ May 2nd 2008 11:36AM

dude, as a concept artist who's seen many character designs, you don't know how much i'm loving that new enemy. he just looks so primitive yet has those glowing eyes.

yog-sothot @ May 2nd 2008 8:39AM

None of you speak french in PS3Fanboy team ? I am belgian (french speaker) and I own this "Joypad" (grat mag imo)... If you want to know what they say about the game, I can make a small summary... But I guess all that information will soon come to english and american websites/magazines

Cornerman8 @ May 2nd 2008 9:22AM

I love the look. I'm a fan of the series, and I think most anyone who's played all 3 of last gen's offerings will tell you that Sands of Time was the best. The gameplay, story, and character design was unified. Although gameplay mechanics were improved (save boss battles which seemed loose) in the following sequels, the nostalgia and personality was completely absent. They had GodSmack playing in the background. That was a good example of the companies seeking to darken their games in an effort to appeal to the masses, and overall lessening the quality of game. Cel-shading is merely the medium by which display the gameplay. As long as the gameplay is solid, I don't care. I want a broad palette of game choices and experiences. I like bald space marine games, artistically-driven style-oriented games, super photorealistic games, puzzle games, RPGs, you know the whole nine. If I wanted all my quality games of the same design, I'd go with the other two consoles. That's not a diss on the 360 or Wii, but a matter of personal preference.

Robert Smith @ May 2nd 2008 9:45AM

As much as I like it when they do things like this, I still prefer the other more realistic way.

ryan @ May 2nd 2008 11:34AM

like...this:
http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/9994/popsottoscoveruz6.jpg

CROSSe0 @ May 2nd 2008 11:47AM

it looks crazy but the character looks like a noob i heard he is the original prince's son. they need to fix his outfit and that claw thing on his hand. i dont know why people hate warrior within but it was my favorite in the series. ihope they dont mess up this game likem 2 thrones. it looks great

ryan @ May 2nd 2008 3:51PM

i hated how they infused it with a supposed "rougher hard core" theme by adding death metal music to it. seriously Death Metal?? comon we're not that stupid...or are we?

the outfit is great! the claw thing is pretty cool too. you just hate change that's all. that's forgivable i guess.

James @ May 2nd 2008 12:10PM

Wow. I really, really like this style. I felt like the Sands of Time series had a pretty good art style, but it didn't stand out from other similar games of the generation. Replace the prince with a big-titted gun-toting chick and you'd have a Tomb Raider game. This new style, I haven't seen done anywhere else. If the game looks this good in motion, it'll be a real killer app.