Korben_Dallas
Zwame Advisor
Preview - http://previews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1626/Prince-of-Persia-Classic/p1/
When Prince of Persia came out in the late ’80s, it featured a revolutionary animation process called “rotoscoping” to make the character’s movement much more realistic. According to the lore, designer Jordan Mechner filmed his brother doing such things as running, leaping and swinging a sword, then used the frame-by-frame changes to better translate the actions into those of his game’s protagonist.
Now we’re on the verge of the ground-breaking title being launched on Xbox Live Arcade—under the title Prince of Persia Classic—and while the original would be a perfectly good addition to the catalog, Ubisoft decided that the old master could use some fresh brush strokes to bring it up to the present day. It’s especially fitting, though, considering how Ubisoft has enhanced the Prince’s repertoire of actions with its recent PoP releases, such as Sands of Time and Warrior Within.
The initial game was essentially a 2-D platformer, though its design gave it more of a 3-D look than many of its era. In this Classic remake, the designers took full advantage of the Xbox 360’s hardware, adding 3-D character models; present-day shadow and lighting techniques; and extensive particle effects. When the Prince hits a section of the walkway that is unsupported (and will therefore drop away) or a switch plate, there’s a nice effect of dust dropping off the tile. Torches on the wall flicker, and naturally illuminate anyone who passes them. The exciting sword fights of the premiere title now include flashes when metal hits metal, and when the Prince dodges away from an opponent’s slash, the screen blurs in slowed motion, reminiscent of time effects in Sands of Time.
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