Born to be king?

With the Prince of Persia being given a make over on the home consoles, it was only natural for him to get a handheld outing. Prince of Persia: The Fallen King is a re-imagination of the classic platforming format on the Nintendo DS.

A new dawn

In Prince of Persia: The Fallen King , the Prince is looking for the King of the City of the New Dawn, who can help him battle the evil Ahriman by summoning the altogether friendlier God, Ormazd. As you traverse your way through The Fallen King’s opening levels you free a being that immediately becomes hostile towards you. After he flees the fight you are told by a Magus that the being you have just fought is the King you are looking for. He has been corrupted and now serves Ahriman. So your journey to begins, and along the way you are joined by the Magus, Zal.

Prince of Persia: The Fallen King is a 2D platformer set against a 3D world, the level of detail on each stage is impressive and it does look like a true Prince of Persia game; lots of jumps and cliffs to climb. The Cel shaded appearance of the prince and his world feels like a nod to Zelda and the Phantom Hourglass. The movement of the Prince and his enemies is exceptionally smooth as he jumps, rolls and fights his way through each stage.

The control scheme used in Prince of Persia: The Fallen King is also a nod to Zelda on the DS, as you do everything using the stylus and touchscreen. This can however cause some problems, especially if you are playing this whilst travelling. Played when sat down – in our case, in the office – the controls are relatively responsive. When playing in a car or bus however, the controls are not so pleasant to use, with accuracy and responsiveness being greatly reduced. Unfortunately there’s no option to switch over to the D-pad and buttons; everything is done with the stylus. Prince of Persia: The Fallen King would have benefited from a second control scheme.

As The Fallen King progresses you will need to combine the Prince's acrobatic skills and fighting style with the magical abilities of Zal, who can fire magic balls of energy at enemies and switches that are out of the Prince's reach. As Prince of Persia: The Fallen King continues you do get the opportunity to unlock new abilities with Zal, but you will need to fight him first.

Far-eastern feel

The music meanwhile is subtle and chimes away in the background nicely, never really getting to the point where you would rather play in silence. The sound effects are also nicely done, never over the top, and create a suitable far-eastern feel. The Fallen King's story itself is told using static pictures and text, though occasionally a small bit of animation using the in-game engine will accompany the actual picture. In that sense, The Fallen King takes cues from portable storytelling successes like Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, and it works a treat.

Presentation in general too is very good. Prince of Persia: The Fallen King oozes time well spent getting the look and feel just right. When in motion it looks and sounds like a Prince of Persia game. Yet overall, The Fallen King is a good game that is slightly jaded by not having a choice of control schemes. Still, with levels perfectly sized for a decent lunch break, an authentic Prince of Persia ambience and some challenging platforming, The Fallen King deserves a look.

GAME's Verdict

• Feels acrobatically free-flowing like a small-screen Prince of Persia should.
• Great fear eastern aesthetic and superb animation.
• Levels feel just the right length for portable play.

• Imprecise stylus control.
• No alternative D-pad control method
• Better played when sitting still indoors than on public transport.

Review by: Tom 'Corrupted' Daly
Version Tested: DS
Review Published: 09.01.09