Doom the world? Doesn't matter, baby, it ain't over till it's over. There's still content in this game and we'll be damned if we don't see it through. We do it because this obviously isn't the end - we still have control of the prince, we can still move with Elika in our arms, never mind the rolling credits. Interpreting this final act as proof of romantic attachment to this admittedly attractive heap of pixels and repeating dialogue would be a misinterpretation of every gamer's basic motivations. There is no real emotional dilemma involved. Prince of Persia's final test of the player's love is an illusion, a smokescreen. Prince of Persia's end was designed to be a testament to love's power, and also to the medium's power of making us fall in love. Sarcasm aside, this notion of the player loving Elika was definitely the developer's intention, and to prove it, the game sets up an illusionary test: At the end of Prince of Persia, we, the player, sacrifice the world for our love for Elika. If this is actually this reviewer's definition of love, their real-life partners will have a hard time dissuading their spouse from cheating on them with a variety of useful household aplliances. If Elika were just a little bit more real or I was just a tad more insane, I'd marry her. (.) She's your greatest asset and far more likeable than the boorish Prince. Miss a ledge and about to fall to your death? No sweat. Want some help in combat? Elika patrols the arena, ready to attack at your command. Come across a gap too great for the Prince to leap? Elika can assist with a double-jump move. She is your constant guide, able to cast a spell at any time to show you the path to your goal.
Not the love between the Prince and Elika, but between you and Elika. So we save the girl she lives, and Ahriman rises the (really) final scene of the game sees the prince and his girl flee from the scene of the Dark God's triumphant return. That this is hardly a choice worth pondering more than a few seconds should be clear to any player of games: Traditionally, we're here to save the girl, from whatever castle. Or, on the other hand, we could undo what we worked so hard to achieve and doom the world to destruction by Ahriman's hand. Instead, we are given a choice - the only choice, really, in an extraordinarily linear game: Accept her death, turn off the console and sigh melancholically - the credits have rolled, the fat lady's sung her last note - why are we still standing here? Surely she can't be dead? We'd have expected a final kiss, their first one too, a light-hearted walk into the sunset, and they lived happily ever after. Elika is, after all, the prince's romantic interest - a subplot that is arguably only weakly realized in the game. This is not the happy end we're used to getting, the one we feel entitled to: Elika, the nameless prince's magical and sexy sidekick, lies dead in our arms, and the player is astonished and shocked to see the credits roll. Everything is achieved the world is saved. After hours of basically one-button action and mostly linear exploration of its gorgeous game world, the player finally succeeds - the evil god Ahriman is defeated and the world is not only safe, but also rejuvenated and purified by the player's actions: deserts have become gardens, ghastly tombs have become peaceful shrines.
Prince of percia rule 34 series#
It's the end of Prince of Persia (2008), Ubisoft's short-lived re-imagining of the series in all its cel-shaded glory. There is no romance. There's nothing but trouble and desire. This post is an entry into Critical Distance's Blogs of the Round Table February 2012 on the theme of 'Love'. Dooming the world for the 100% achievement.