The Prince of Persia series has gone through many style changes as well as story re-imaginations. Ubisoft once again alters the story, but the adventure is still suspenseful and entertaining. The newly re-imagined story revolves around the Prince along with a new sidekick named Elika who is on the run in the desert. After a short meet and greet and tutorial battle, both characters will come across a garden containing the Tree of Life only to find out that the evil Ahriman has been set free to corrupt the world. This is just the beginning of a huge adventure for the Prince, along with Elika, who must once again defeat the forces of evil and heal the corrupted landscape.

After the opening sequences, the game opens up to an expansive adventure with the garden becoming a central location for the Prince. Each of the four huge worlds contain four different levels featuring two states: corrupted and healed. Making your way from one level to the next means moving close to a wall while looking for a junction point, break the wall, and enter. Each level features a set of puzzles to solve as well as enemies to defeat. With Elika along for the ride, she has specific powers that she can use to help in your progression through the quest. She can also be used in combat as well especially if you get stuck in a sticky situation.

The controls of Prince of Persia are very easy, so there is no need for button mashing like most hack-n-slash games. Each button executes a specific command for your sword, gauntlet, Elika's magic, and acrobatics. The combat system is very easy to work with here, but it's not to say that Prince of Persia is easy. It's a tough game where you must combine acrobatics and combat to succeed especially against some of the really tough bosses. With regards to the combat system, it's very slow paced so that the button presses match with the choreographed style gameplay. The enemies each have specific weaknesses whether it's against a sword, the gauntlet, or Elika's magic so this will get you into using all the buttons. They are shown in different colored states so you must match it up with the specific button, but watch out because the states can also change mid-combat so pay close attention.

The acrobatics, on the other hand, is Prince of Persia's strongest aspect. Once again each button performs a specific function as the Prince will run, jump, and zig-zag across multiple platforms. Solving various puzzles will have the Prince along with Elika leaping across poles, scaling walls, and trying to reach what looks like an unreachable area. Acrobatics also come in hand when in combat situations so expect a mix of both if you wish to survive the quest.

Elika is a unique charactrer to the Prince of Persia universe. Elika is a magic user capable of helping the Prince heal the corrupted worlds. As you play, Elika is practically attached to you by the hip or in this case by the hand. Her powers are the key to progression in the game as well as reaching areas at one point seem unattainable by the Prince alone. Even though she is good in magic, Elika is also quite useful in melee combat as she can help the Prince get out of troubling situations. Elika is not your typical sidekick, she is good backup, so take advanage of it or you may not make it through the game.

Prince of Persia gives their fans an all new adventure while keeping to the series roots of acrobatic combat. Although the story keeps changing, longtime fans as well as newcomers will get a kick out of the expansive gameplay. Even though the Prince's acrobatics will keep you on the edge of your seat, the combat will yield all the rewards. The cell-shaded graphics give the game a whole new look. In the end, it looks like Ubisoft may have another winner in the stable.

Prince of Persia releases on December 2.