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[SolidSnakex]

Here's a gameplay trailer of it:

http://www.gametrailers.com/gt_vault/t_princeofpersia2_e3_2k4_gp.html

 

[LittleTokyo]

I could care less about the series, but I must admit, this game looks fantastic.

 

[StrikerObi]

You don't KNOW what the story will be, though. Darker tones do not necessarily mean the story will be poorly directed.

Let us wait and see before judging so harshly. It isn't as if SoT presented much in the way of storyline to us prior to release. The in game dialog was very well done, but it was something I was not even aware of until the final game. They tried to talk SoT up as a rather casual game as well...but that didn't actually reflect back on the product itself.

They said the story will have darker tones. Just saying that is already saying the story probably won't be near as good. The first title didn't sell as well as they wanted it to, despite amazing critical praise. It even won the AIAS award for Game of the Year. Now they're resigned themselves to making the game darker and edgier, and thus more in line with the kind of games that sell well.

I don't want a game that sells well. I want a GOOD game. Lots of the time these critically amazing games sell poorly. They're the fantastic indie movies of the videogame world.

They are goring the game up so it will sell better. Blood != more fun dammit.

I really wish these asshats wouldn't let money get in the way of art.

 

[JasoNsider]

I'll try to dig up the link, Dark, but Yannis Mallat (sp?) stated on multiple occasions in an IGN interview that the focus is going to be more on combat than platforming this time around. Which didn't surprise me after watching the trailers that basically show it as yet another 3rd person combat game.

This isn't just random speculation that they're focusing on combat. They are focusing on it, and it has been said many times already. Otherwise I would have just been holding on for hope that they were just going to be improving on the existing system. This, unfortunately, doesn't seem to be the case.

The prince is dead to me if he turns into another angst-ridden "hero" like every other game character these days.

 

[dark10x]

They said the story will have darker tones. Just saying that is already saying the story probably won't be near as good. The first title didn't sell as well as they wanted it to, despite amazing critical praise. It even won the AIAS award for Game of the Year. Now they're resigned themselves to making the game darker and edgier, and thus more in line with the kind of games that sell well.

I don't want a game that sells well. I want a GOOD game. Lots of the time these critically amazing games sell poorly. They're the fantastic indie movies of the videogame world.

They are goring the game up so it will sell better. Blood != more fun dammit.

I really wish these asshats wouldn't let money get in the way of art.

That still doesn't necessarily mean the story will be crap. Silent Hill 2, for example, is a very mature story...but isn't just derivative crap. SH2's storyline was more interesting than what SoT presented. Of course, that is the exception, not the rule...

We'll see what happens I suppose, but you really must remember that money IS incredibly important. If they don't make money, they don't make games. It's that simple.

This isn't just random speculation that they're focusing on combat. They are focusing on it, and it has been said many times already. Otherwise I would have just been holding on for hope that they were just going to be improving on the existing system. This, unfortunately, doesn't seem to be the case.

See, while I still want to take a wait and see approach, that DOES really upset me.

 

[Azih]

Prince of Persia:SoT had this really amazing story book fairytale Arabian nights feel to it. The prince himself was a great character, arrogant and at times paranoid but a really compellingly decent individual at the base of it. Plus the story kicked ass and the ending ROCKED (summed up the Prince's character really well too).

This is looking like Devil May Cry in Persia.

 

[JasoNsider]

The butcher's bill:

With POP 2 (working title, btw), we are making a clear genre-shift that will blow away anyone's needs for action and combat.

Eventually, I promise you that all POP's fans will feel the same magic but much more energized from pure thrill-packed action-combat gameplay.

If you say that the previous game was 60 % adventure, 30 % combat and 10 % puzzling, I would say that this new opus is definitely making a real genre shift. Although I really don't like breakdowns, for this time only I will tell you that the game revolves around some very heart-pumping Action. Combat oriented action with the same amount of well thought level design and realization. The initial adventure masterpiece will be replaced by the most incredible action masterpiece featuring an evolved hero. Get ready!

What a dissapointment.

 

[StrikerObi]

We'll see what happens I suppose, but you really must remember that money IS incredibly important. If they don't make money, they don't make games. It's that simple.

Money is important. But instead of turning their beautiful franchise into crap they should use their crap franchies that make tons of money to fund their wonderful ones.

The initial adventure masterpiece will be replaced by the most incredible action masterpiece featuring an evolved hero.

Fuck fuck fuck, they are totally runing this game.

 

[funcojoe]

To Dark.

 

[dark10x]

To Dark.

Yes?

Ohhh, you meant 'TOO dark', right?

 

[Prospero]

We'll see what happens I suppose, but you really must remember that money IS incredibly important. If they don't make money, they don't make games. It's that simple.

It's actually more complicated than that. There are three ways to phrase the question:

1. Does the company as a whole have to make a profit, even if some of the games the company makes lose money?

2. Does every individual game the company makes have to earn a profit, even if making a certain game into a profit-making venture requires the cost of artistic integrity and innovation?

3. Does every single game made by the company have to make, not just a profit, but as much money as it possibly can, with artistic integrity and innovation being of little or no importance?

The book publishing industry went through this debate in last decades of the twentieth century, and it looks like the videogame industry (or at least Ubisoft) is going through it now. For example, it used to be standard practice for book publishers to use the profits from mass-market commercial fiction to fund the publication of literary or experimental literature with niche audiences, even though it was certain that such books wouldn't make as much money as a Stephen King or a Tom Clancy novel, if they made money at all. The reward came in the form of critical acclaim and a diverse backlist, not massive profits. Now that shareholders in publishing companies are demanding larger returns (14% on average as opposed to 4-6%), that practice has fallen by the wayside, and American literature is arguably suffering greatly as a result.

The reason that the possibility of Ubisoft going in this direction is particularly troublesome is that they're in a really good position to do innovative work for the sake of innovation itself. They're cranking out Tom Clancy games left and right, and those are like a license to print money. But they're also doing innovative, imaginative games like Beyond Good and Evil and PoP: Sands of Time, games that are doing a lot to push the artistic limits of the medium. If they stop doing that, and take up the philosophy that profit motive is the primary concern for every single game, that'll be bad news. Think about Lucasarts, and how it's changed from doing games like Day of the Tentacle and Sam and Max into cranking out one repetitive Star Wars game after another--if all major companies take that path, real innovation in gaming will grind to a halt.

 

[Wario64]

The first PoP was alright but I didn't feel it was GotY material as most publications made it out to be. The platforming is nice, and I loved it towards the end, gave a very ICO feeling. But the fighting wasn't all that great, and I didn't like how it just kept respawning enemies. I don't like it when it's just 'enter room, kill all enemies.' And I also didn't like how the game kept spoiling you (is that even possible?) by showing you how to solve the puzzles before you even get to them. I'm still excited about PoP2 though, looks very awesome so far. And I hear they are improving the fighting system, so I'm all up for that

 

[StrikerObi]

The reason that the possibility of Ubisoft going in this direction is particularly troublesome is that they're in a really good position to do innovative work for the sake of innovation itself. They're cranking out Tom Clancy games left and right, and those are like a license to print money. But they're also doing innovative, imaginative games like Beyond Good and Evil and PoP: Sands of Time, games that are doing a lot to push the artistic limits of the medium. If they stop doing that, and take up the philosophy that profit motive is the primary concern for every single game, that'll be bad news. Think about Lucasarts, and how it's changed from doing games like Day of the Tentacle and Sam and Max into cranking out one repetitive Star Wars game after another--if all major companies take that path, real innovation in gaming will grind to a halt.

Bingo, except that not all the Tom Clancy games are derivative. Splinter Cell is that rare game (especially Pandora Tomorrow's multiplayer) that manages to break genre boundries (stealth games can't do multiplayer) and be both critically and financially successful.

Ubi has some remarkable talent. Michel Ancel is genius, and there is basically no chance of a sequel to Beyond Good & Evil. It sucks, because the first was so fantastic on so many levels.

Prince of Persia did well enough to garner a sequel, but they're slaughtering their integrity as artists in favor of making sure it sells.

 

[DrM]

Ubisoft, please make it longer&harder...
first one was a great game, but WAY too short and easy

 

[SaitoH]

If this new look nets more sales, I'm all for it. Too many people didn't bother with PoP and It was a wonderful game.

 

[StrikerObi]

If this new look nets more sales, I'm all for it. Too many people didn't bother with PoP and It was a wonderful game.

You're retarded.

 

[Mr_Furious]

I loved the first game and this will definitely be better. I can't wait!

 

[SaitoH]

You're retarded.

Thanks!

^w^

 

[SaitoH]

Actually, I want to add something, Mr StrikerObi. You are making an awful lot of assumptions about an unfinished game. A lot of people replying to this thread like the new look. Personally, I don't care what it looks like, because I just want a good game and Prince of Persia was a very good game. I see no reason why the sequel should suck simply because they went for a different look.

 

[6.8]

While I'll wait to hear impressions and more detail about it, I don't like this new focus on action. I would've agreed on making it better, but PoP needed more puzzles (better ones too), and better platforming as well. Hopefully they'll keep that in mind.

 

[JasoNsider]

Actually, I want to add something, Mr StrikerObi. You are making an awful lot of assumptions about an unfinished game. A lot of people replying to this thread like the new look. Personally, I don't care what it looks like, because I just want a good game and Prince of Persia was a very good game. I see no reason why the sequel should suck simply because they went for a different look.

That's kind of funny, because it seems you are the one not reading the thread. Mr. Striker has done his homework and read the thread in its entirety. Did you even read the quotes saying the game is not just going for a different look, but rather an entire genre shift?

I think the word you guys used here is "0wned", right?

 

[dark10x]

While I'll wait to hear impressions and more detail about it, I don't like this new focus on action. I would've agreed on making it better, but PoP needed more puzzles (better ones too), and better platforming as well. Hopefully they'll keep that in mind.

I agree with you on this. However, I still think it is a bit unfair to damn the game before actually playing it...

When a developer releases a high quality game, I think they at least deserve some support and faith as they work on their next game. While this new game may be a bit different, I'm still willing to put my faith in the team and hope for a really good game.

That doens't mean I'm not disappointed in the direction they are going, of course...

 

[mjq jazz bar]

I've found the fact that all gameplay videos and previews talk about the combat and action in this game very suspect since day one. No one played SoT for combat -- I can assure you of that. They loved the combat and the level design.

This is a step in the wrong direction. Fuck them.

 

[SaitoH]

That's kind of funny, because it seems you are the one not reading the thread. Mr. Striker has done his homework and read the thread in its entirety. Did you even read the quotes saying the game is not just going for a different look, but rather an entire genre shift?

I think the word you guys used here is "0wned", right?

My point is change doesn't have to equal bad and you're still judging something before it's completed.

He said himself:

I don't want a game that sells well. I want a GOOD game. Lots of the time these critically amazing games sell poorly. They're the fantastic indie movies of the videogame world.

Games can be popular and *gasp* good. So maybe ... just maybe, it will be a good game, but I'm going to wait till the game is completed, before I judge for myself. The first PoP was a wonderful game, so I have every reason to have high hopes for the sequel and those pics do look fantastic.

^w^

 

[AssMan]

Sands of Time was about platforming and combat in a wonderful looking world with bloom lighting effects up the wang, like ICO. POP 2 seems a little darker and the combat has been fixed according to Ubisoft. What's there not to like?

 

[belgurdo]

The more people who won't buy the game because it's "teh dark" means more stock available for those of us who don't complain about every move a developer makes and will happily buy

 

[mjq jazz bar]

I don't care that it's dark. I care that all the developers and game designers seem concerned with is giving us lots of neat moves with which to fight hordes of boring and derivative enemies. Me, I'm much more interested in some sort of evolution of the previous game's platforming, with an extended emphasis on puzzles.

But that's just me. I know it's crazy to expect a game in the Prince of Persia series to focus heavily on platforming and puzzles; it's always been about combat...

Sheesh.

 

[SaitoH]

I don't care that it's dark. I care that all the developers and game designers seem concerned with is giving us lots of neat moves with which to fight hordes of boring and derivative enemies. Me, I'm much more interested in some sort of evolution of the previous game's platforming, with an extended emphasis on puzzles.

But that's just me. I know it's crazy to expect a game in the Prince of Persia series to focus heavily on platforming and puzzles; it's always been about combat...

Sheesh.

Combat was a weak element in the first game, so how would focusing on improving that aspect be bad? The way some people are talking you'd think they are removing everything to do with platforming and puzzles.

 

[drohne]

they're turning it into an action game? that's depressing. sands of time was brilliant, and i'd love to give the developers the benefit of the doubt, but it seems like they're intent on turning prince of persia into something deeply ordinary.

 

[Yusaku]

Interest -1

 

[JasoNsider]

Combat was a weak element in the first game, so how would focusing on improving that aspect be bad? The way some people are talking you'd think they are removing everything to do with platforming and puzzles.

I hate to sound like a broken record here, but have you even bothered to read the thread? Seriously now, this is getting tiring.

The interview with Yannis Mallat dodged almost any sort of talk of platforming completely. Every second word out of his mouth was "combat." He has said on numerous occasions "genre shift."

Genre shift! As in, they are focusing on combat and not platforming! They aren't improving on the combat so much as make it the focal point. Big difference.

 

[mjq jazz bar]

Combat was a weak element in the first game, so how would focusing on improving that aspect be bad? The way some people are talking you'd think they are removing everything to do with platforming and puzzles.

Because I haven't seen one video, screenshot, paragraph, or mention of platforming anywhere. I'd actually be happy if combat were removed completely. I'm much more fond of environmental interaction than I am of violence.

 

[Seth C]

Pirates of Persia?
Prince of the Caribbean?
Pirates of the Prince of the Persian Caribbean!

 

[Agent X]

The screens look really nice! On the other hand, the trailer (that SolidSnakex mentioned earlier in this thread) doesn't look so good in motion. The music also doesn't fit the game at all--hopefully that's just placeholder material.

People also need to stop referring to this game as Prince of Persia 2, because this is not the second game in this long-running series.

 

[SaitoH]

I hate to sound like a broken record here, but have you even bothered to read the thread? Seriously now, this is getting tiring.

The interview with Yannis Mallat dodged almost any sort of talk of platforming completely. Every second word out of his mouth was "combat." He has said on numerous occasions "genre shift."

Genre shift! As in, they are focusing on combat and not platforming! They aren't improving on the combat so much as make it the focal point. Big difference.

Alright, you've convinced me. I should of just listened to you in the first place, but my desire for PoP 2 to be good, was SO great, it blinded me from the truth so readily available in this thread. This game is going to suck. Hard.

Anyone for tennis?

Anyone?

=_=;;