Prince of Persia (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)

The Prince of Persia franchise gets a royal makeover. The latest adventure, known simply as PRINCE OF PERSIA, combines elegant platforming with solid combat. The prince's journey pits him against villain Ahriman, who has corrupted Persia and engulfed the land in darkness. With the assistance of ally Elika, the prince must wipe out the Corruption in each land and restore light.

For the first time, Prince of Persia incorporates a cooperative element with the introduction of Elika. During platforming sections, Elika assists you on large jumps and will rescue the prince if he plunges toward his death. The biggest changes take place during combat. Instead of confronting multiple foes at once, the prince and Elika encounter one enemy at a time. As a result, the enemies are tougher and the fights longer. The prince can execute a series of acrobatic and sword attacks, while Elika can dish magical strikes. You can combine attacks from both to create unique combos. Once you defeat enemies, Elika uses her powers to restore regions of Persia to normal. This paves the way for more open-world platforming where you snag light orbs to replenish Elika's strength and access new areas.

Prince of Persia is both graceful and gorgeous. The cel-shaded visuals breathe new life into the franchise by adding bright colors and vibrant landscapes. Watching the prince run along walls and swing between platforms is exhilarating. Since collecting light orbs are key to unlocking new areas of the game, there's plenty of incentive to explore the restored environments. Advanced gamers may find the platforming a bit easy. Because Elika saves you every time you miss a jump, there's no real feeling that you're making perilous leaps. But this safety net makes this game a more accessible to average players.

The cooperative combat is mostly entertaining. Fighting requires you to really study your opponents' moves to properly time attacks, blocks, and counterstrikes. Adding Elika to the mix spices up the swordfights between the prince and enemies. After a while, the battles grow repetitive because all enemies employ similar fighting tactics. Fortunately, just navigating the mesmerizing environments is enough incentive to give Prince of Persia a chance.