{"id":69986,"date":"2023-12-27T14:21:37","date_gmt":"2023-12-27T14:21:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chancespin.org\/?p=69986"},"modified":"2023-12-27T14:21:37","modified_gmt":"2023-12-27T14:21:37","slug":"prince-of-persia-the-lost-crown-first-new-prince-of-persia-game-in-13-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chancespin-org.staticserve.dev\/prince-of-persia-the-lost-crown-first-new-prince-of-persia-game-in-13-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Prince of Persia The Lost Crown.First new Prince of Persia game in 13 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prince of Persia games were once a big enough deal that they made them into a movie, controversially starring Jake Gyllenhaal. In fact, before the arrival of Assassin\u2019s Creed in 2007, Prince of Persia was probably Ubisoft\u2019s premier franchise, due in large part to the reputation of 2003 classic The Sands of Time<\/em>. But the series has fallen on hard times. There hasn\u2019t been a significant Prince of Persia release in the 13 long years since 2010\u2019s\u00a0The Forgotten Sands<\/em>, while a planned remake of\u00a0The Sands of Time<\/em>\u00a0has\u00a0gone back to the drawing board.<\/p>\n

In this context comes\u00a0Prince of Persi<\/em>a<\/em><\/a>: The Lost Crown<\/em>, a low-budget, low-stakes, sort of soft reboot for the franchise. It\u2019s a tribute to the series\u2019 side-scrolling roots in Jordan Mechner\u2019s 1989 original and can be read as a gentle reminder to the world at large that these games exist. Perhaps it\u2019s also a toe in the water from Ubisoft to gauge the real-world popularity of a series it has been struggling to keep relevant, as well as a relatively safe space in which to figure out how a series rooted in both traditional Middle Eastern folklore and a certain strain of colonialist adventure fiction can work in the 2020s, representationally speaking.<\/p>\n

The Lost Crown<\/em>, developed by Ubisoft\u2019s Montpellier studio in the south of France \u2014 the home of Rayman \u2014\u00a0<\/em>is due out on Jan. 18, 2024, for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. I had a chance to play it for a few hours via a remote preview event, and found it to be a brisk, entertaining Metroidvania-style game with crisp combat and engrossing level design\u2026 and it\u2019s a game that doesn\u2019t star the Prince of Persia at all.<\/p>\n

Find It Here<\/a> and Play with Us!<\/p>\n

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In terms of its mechanics, \u201cThe Lost Crown<\/a>\u201d stands on a solid foundation. With the expertise of game director Mounir Radi at Ubisoft Montpellier, drawing from the successful development of games like \u201cRayman Origins\u201d and \u201cLegends,\u201d the team excels in crafting engaging 2D platform experiences. The game places a strong emphasis on combat, prioritizing the mastery of Sargon\u2019s forceful attacks, precise parries, and agile dodges.<\/p>\n

Combat training in \u201cThe Lost Crown\u201d introduces players to a variety of techniques, including launches, juggles, and aerial attacks. Additionally, players can unlock powerful moves by strategically dealing damage without succumbing to it. Notably, enemies are formidable but not overly resilient; the focus of combat lies in adeptly managing spatial awareness and understanding the attack patterns of diverse enemy types.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

This might be the most puzzling choice Ubisoft Montpellier has made. The character of the swashbuckling Prince has been at the heart of the series since day one; it was his acrobatic move set, as captured in Mechner\u2019s amazingly lifelike rotoscoped animation, that won the first game its acclaim. But while the character you play in\u00a0The Lost Crown<\/em>\u00a0bears a strong resemblance to many previous incarnations of the Prince \u2014 swapping those 2003 curtains for a more aggressive mohawk, but keeping the trademark white pantaloons and bare chest \u2014 the Prince he is not. He is Sargon, one of seven legendary Persian warriors called the Immortals, and it\u2019s the titular Prince, Ghassan, whom he\u2019s out to save.<\/p>\n

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