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Battles of Prince of Persia Review

Underneath its modest looks and intimidating, complex battle system is a
turn-based strategy game that is surprisingly fun and satisfying.
by Bob Colayco (/prole/BobC/) on December 19, 2005

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The Prince of Persia series doesn't seem like an ideal candidate to

modify into a turn-based strategy game. The action adventure games
on console are epic and cinematic in their visual splendor, as well as
very story-driven--attributes that are hard to bring out on a handheld
(https://www.gamespot.com/)
strategy game. While Battles of Prince of Persia certainly falls flat in
maintaining an epic presentation, as a strategy game, it's actually ()
fairly deep, offering a satisfying level of complexity for turn-based
strategy buffs. The steep learning curve, however, may be off-putting
()
to those who aren't familiar with the genre.
 (https://www.gamespot.com/)

()

()

Battles of Prince of Persia lls in some plot details from the Sands of Time trilogy.

The story of Battles of Prince of Persia fills in some of the blanks

between the Sands of Time and Warrior Within games on consoles
and PC. As you go through this game's lengthy 24-mission campaign,
you'll learn more about how the Dahaka began pursuing the Prince,
(https://www.gamespot.com/)
and the sorts of measures the Prince takes to dodge his fate. You'll
also be able to play missions as other major characters, such as an ()
Indian general, and see how the story plays out from other
perspectives. The storyline advances through text-laden comic book
()
panels. Unfortunately, there's no voice at all in the game, and the art
style isn't particularly inspired, either--which is even more
disappointing given how stylish the action adventure series has
looked in the past.

The first couple missions in the game serve as a tutorial. Similar to

Advance Wars, the battlefield in Battles of Prince of Persia is a
simple grid, with certain terrain squares offering defensive or
offensive bonuses or penalties. The troops at your disposal range
from melee troops like pikemen, swordsmen, and cavalry to ranged
units like archers, and even artillery like catapults. A general unit is
also available to each side--generals are extremely powerful units,
with varying abilities depending on the general. The Prince is an
accomplished swordsman, obviously, but other generals may
specialize in ranged or magic attacks. All generals carry a command
aura around them to offer bonuses to nearby units. Battles of Prince
of Persia goes beyond the basics with some added complexity--every
unit has a facing, so you can gain an advantage by flanking around
the side or the back when you attack. Morale for each unit is also a
factor. An extremely crushing attack, for example, can cause a unit to
begin fleeing the battlefield. Overwhelming attacks can also push a
unit back a square--if they're pinned by another unit or a part of the
environment, like a river, then the pinned unit suffers additional
damage. This discourages you from just stacking all your units up
together. You also need to be careful when you use your ranged units,
like archers or artillery. Their fire actually affects any units
surrounding the target, which is nice if the enemy has lots of units
stacked together, but it also means you need to consider friendly fire
before you shoot.
It all seems like a lot to keep track of, and while the tutorial does a
(https://www.gamespot.com/)
good job at conveying the basics, a lot of the subtleties of the game
need to be learned on the fly. For example, it does seem like there is()
a logical rock-scissors-paper relationship between swordsmen,
pikemen, and cavalry in Battles of Prince of Persia. While this
()
relationship is intuitively obvious to anyone who plays a lot of
strategy games, the tutorials and manual don't seem to address the
point very clearly. Once you digest all the nuances of the game,
however, you'll find yourself putting a lot of thought into every move
you make. If you're sloppy, the computer is often quick to take
advantage of your errors and punish you for them, whether it's raining
catapult shots on clumped-up troops or pouncing on an unprotected
archer unit.

Battles of Prince of Persia also has a card-strategy component to it,

and this plays in to how each army trades turns. Time on the
battlefield is divided into hours, and these are further subdivided into
turns in which each general can play a card from his hand. You can
enter a battle with a deck of 30 cards. Most of these cards are going
to be standard-order cards, which you can play to give orders to two,
three, or four units during the turn. Much like land cards in a game of
Magic: The Gathering, the standard-orders cards are going to form
the bulk of your deck. However, you can intersperse a number of
special cards into the deck that can enhance your chances at battle.
These cards have widely varying abilities, like allowing your missile
units to move and shoot in the same turn, or giving temporary
movement or combat bonuses to certain units. Other cards can put
auras on specific units for added bonuses in battle, or add negative
effects to enemy units. Once you've played a card and given the
requisite orders to your troops, the opponent plays a card and does
the same. As you give orders, troops become used for the rest of the
hour and cannot be moved again. Only after both generals pass on a
turn does the hour advance, and all the used troops are available for
orders again. At that point you'll also draw more cards into your hand
and return to the battle.
(https://www.gamespot.com/)

You'll earn cards with every battle you win, and you can begin mixing
()
these into your deck in between battles using the included deck
()
manager. And much like a game of Magic, the special cards you have
in your deck and the luck you have in getting your more powerful
cards to come up all play a big role in how well you can fight.
Unfortunately, the deck manager in the game is cumbersome to use.
It's difficult to see at a glance which cards you have and what their
strength is relative to other cards. You'll also find that some cards
end up having fairly redundant functionality to other cards; so while
the back of the game box trumpets "more than 200 cards" in the
game, the actual variety is less than that number implies. Even so,
the card system in the game adds yet another fun layer of complexity
to the fights in Battles of Prince of Persia and helps differentiate the
game from other similar strategy games.

While the actual gameplay in Battles of Prince of Persia is certainly

meaty and appealing for turn-based strategy buffs, the dressing
doesn't do much to appeal to fans of the series who may not be as
familiar with the conventions of the genre. As mentioned earlier, the
text-heavy cutscenes used to advance the story aren't particularly
stylish; neither are the primitive-looking animations you see in the top
screen each time you engage a unit in a skirmish. The battlefield and
icons used for each of the units are all pretty basic-looking. Even the
artwork on each of the cards--often a highlight for card-based
strategy games--is generally plain and unappealing. The truth is, even
if Battles of Prince of Persia was a Game Boy Advance game, it
wouldn't look like much. As a DS game it just leaves a lot to be
desired. The sound effects in the game are pretty ordinary and thin,
as well. The few songs used for menu screens and battle get
repetitive pretty quickly, and there's no speech at all. What saves the
overall presentation is the game's pretty good use of the touch
screen for giving orders in battle and managing the battlefield. You'll
need one hand on the(https://www.gamespot.com/)
D pad and shoulder button as you poke at the
screen, but thankfully for lefties, the game mirrors the control
()
mechanisms on the D pad to the four face buttons and right shoulder
button.
()
()

The game's modest graphics belie what is actually a deep and satisfying turn-based strategy
 game.
(https://www.gamespot.com/)

Battles of Prince of Persia also includes a head-to-head multiplayer

()
option, and you're rewarded with different cards for trying out the
mode, as well as the ability to trade cards with friends using the DS's()
wireless capability. Given the deliberate pacing of the battles, though,
the game doesn't really lend itself to a quick multiplayer game.
There's also no game-sharing functionality, but two players can play
on the same DS via hotseat mode.

While the Sands of Time series doesn't seem like it would lend itself
well to a turn-based strategy spin-off, Battles of Prince of Persia is
actually worth a look if you're familiar with turn-based strategy
games. The modest presentation and steep learning curve in the
game may be a turnoff for some people, but if you can get past those
flaws, there's a worthwhile game underneath the sometimes ugly and
intimidating exterior.

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Battles of Prince of Persia (/battles-of-prince-of-persia/) / DS

THE GOOD

Deep turn-based strategy engine

7.4
Card system adds interesting twist to battles
Makes good use of the touch screen
GOOD
Ties in to Sands of Time trilogy's plot

THE BAD

Somewhat steep learning curve

 Deck management is a chore
(https://www.gamespot.com/)
Modest graphics
()

()

About the Author

Bob Colayco (/prole/BobC/)

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