Prince of Persia (2008)

Overview

Prince of Persia is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the seventh main game in the Prince of Persia series and the second reboot, starting a new continuity separate from the others. It was released in the United States on December 2, 2008 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and on December 9 for Windows.

You play a nameless adventurer who ends up in a mysterious land after a sandstorm. There he meets a princess named Elika, and the two work to lock the evil entity Ahriman away again after Elika's father released him. The story and setting borrow some ideas from Zoroastrianism.

The game is built around acrobatics, combat and puzzle solving. You heal specific areas of land, which clears them of Ahriman's Corruption and its traps. The world is open, so you can go to any spot at any time. You cannot die in the usual way. When an enemy is about to land a killing blow or you fall, Elika saves you, and there is no limit on how often. Combat is mostly one on one duels rather than fighting hordes.

Proof of concept art leaked in September 2006, and Ubisoft announced the game in May 2008. The game uses a heavily modified version of the Scimitar engine, also used in Assassin's Creed. Producer Ben Mattes said that playing with an AI partner was the hook meant to replace the Sands of Time idea from the earlier games.

The game was well received. Review aggregates came to 81 for Xbox 360, 85 for PS3 and 82 for PC. Many critics said it was too easy. It sold over 2.5 million copies by November 2009. A downloadable epilogue, Epilogue, came out on March 5, 2009 for PS3 and Xbox 360 after a one week delay, with new areas, enemies and a new power for Elika. Ubisoft did not release it for PC.

Official trailer

Prince of Persia Theatrical trailer, Ubisoft. Watch on YouTube

Gameplay

Prince of Persia (2008) Xbox 360 Gameplay, BenedictPlays. Watch on YouTube

Screenshots

Game details

Genres

Action-adventure, Platform

Developer

Ubisoft Montreal

Publisher

Ubisoft

Series

Prince of Persia

Engine

Scimitar

Composers

Stuart Chatwood, Inon Zur

Designers

Thomas Delbuguet, Kevin Guillemette

Writers

Andrew Walsh

Producers

Bertrand Helias, Ben Mattes

Directors

Jean-Christophe Guyot

Modes

Single player

Yes

Local multiplayer

No

Online multiplayer

No

Release dates

Editions

Buy this game

Achievements

Achievements60 (1,250G)

1000G possibleYes

Total

60

Gamerscore

1250

100% time

15 to 25 hours

Difficulty

4 out of 10

Playthroughs for 1000G

1

Playthroughs for 100%

1

1000G without online

Yes

Online trophies

0

Online note

All 60 achievements are single-player.

DLC has trophies

Yes

1000G includes DLC

No

100% includes DLC

Yes

DLC still for sale

Yes

DLC note

Epilogue adds 10 achievements worth 250G and is US$9.99 on the Xbox store.

Missable trophies

16

Chapter select fixes a miss

No

Separate trophy lists by region

No

Only in a language other than English

No

Languages

English, Japanese

Online-only version

No

Digital-only

No

Disc-only

No

Players with 1000G

5.8%

Gamerscore, base game

1000

Gamerscore with DLC

1250

Grind

• All 1,001 Light Seeds for Light Seeds master
• Time and limited-death challenges

• Into the Storm… Congratulations, you have started the adventure! 10G 99.91% of players
• Saved! Congratulations, you have unlocked Elika's saving ability. 10G 97.97% of players
• Wallrunner Congratulations, you have learned the basic moves. 10G 96.62% of players
• Compass Congratulations, Elika can now guide you. 10G 94.34% of players
• Heal the Land Congratulations, the first part of the world is healed. 30G 89.15% of players
• Saviour of the City of Light Congratulations, the world has been healed. 50G 38.04% of players
• Now who's the Hunter? Congratulations, you have killed the Hunter. 20G 42.23% of players
• Death of a Warrior King Congratulations, you have killed the Warrior. 20G 40.77% of players
• Death of a Concubine Congratulations, you have killed the Concubine. 20G 40.39% of players
• Traitor's End Congratulations, you have killed the Alchemist. 20G 40.84% of players
• From Darkness…Light! Congratulations, you have reimprisoned Ahriman. 30G 37.73% of players
• Explorer Congratulations, you have explored the whole land. 20G 37.9% of players
• Block Master Congratulations, you have mastered the art of Blocking. 20G 79.54% of players
• Deflect Master Congratulations, you have mastered the art of Deflecting. 20G 53.98% of players
• Sword Master Congratulations, you have performed the most powerful combo. 20G 10% of players
• Be gentle with her Congratulations, you have been kind to Elika. 100G 18.91% of players
• Improviser Congratulations, you used the environment to your advantage. 10G 49.86% of players
• Up against it Congratulations, you have survived a close encounter. 10G 98.78% of players
• Ruined Citadel Runner Congratulations, you have run the Ruined Citadel! 10G 14.73% of players
• Vale Runner Congratulations, you have run The Vale! 20G 14.54% of players
• Royal Palace Runner Congratulations, you have run The Royal Palace! 30G 14.94% of players
• City of Light Runner Congratulations, you have run the City of Light! 40G 14.62% of players
• Warrior Special Congratulations, you have mastered fighting the Warrior! 20G 20.71% of players
• Hunter Special Congratulations, you can deflect the Hunter's attacks. 20G 44.39% of players
• Alchemist Special Congratulations, you can dominate the Alchemist. 20G 53.4% of players
• Concubine Special Congratulations, you kept your distance. 20G 35.58% of players
• Light Seeds Finder Congratulations, you have collected 100 Light Seeds. 10G 64.23% of players
• Light Seeds Collector Congratulations, you have collected 200 Light Seeds. 10G 52.1% of players
• Light Seeds Provider Congratulations, you have collected 300 Light Seeds. 10G 46.28% of players
• Light Seeds Locator Congratulations, you have collected 400 Light Seeds. 10G 42.71% of players
• Light Seeds Harvester Congratulations, you have collected 500 Light Seeds. 10G 40.34% of players
• Light Seeds Hoarder Congratulations, you have collected 600 Light Seeds. 10G 38.79% of players
• Light Seeds Gatherer Congratulations, you have collected 700 Light Seeds. 10G 26.02% of players
• Light Seeds Accumulator Congratulations, you have collected 800 Light Seeds. 10G 18.11% of players
• Light Seeds Protector Congratulations, you have collected 900 Light Seeds. 10G 13.89% of players
• Light Seeds master Congratulations, you have collected all 1001 Light Seeds. 50G 10.44% of players
• Speed Kill Congratulations, you have killed 10 enemies before they spawned. 10G 35.27% of players
• Throw Master Congratulations, you have mastered throwing enemies. 10G 44.81% of players
• Assassin View Congratulations, enjoy the view but don't jump, we ran out of straw. 10G 24.49% of players
• Titanic view Congratulations, enjoy the view…you are Prince of the World! 10G 30.65% of players
• In Harmony Congratulations, you have learned to work with Elika. 10G 29.05% of players
• Precious Time Congratulations, you know when to stop. 10G 17.79% of players
• Where's that Temple? Congratulations, you have talked to Elika. 10G 96.3% of players
• Getting to Know You Congratulations, you are learning about Elika and her world. 10G 74.68% of players
• Good Company Congratulations, you have an inquisitive mind. 10G 63.96% of players
• Climbing to New Heights! Congratulations, you have found the highest place in the world. 10G 40.76% of players
• Sinking to New Depths! Congratulations, you have found the lowest place in the world. 10G 24.05% of players
• Speed Demon Congratulations, you finished the game in under 12 hours. 10G 27.02% of players
• To be continued… Congratulations, the game is complete..the story has only just begun... 80G 37.41% of players
• Combo Specialist Congratulations, you have completed every combo in the game. 50G 6.99% of players
• All The Frescos Congratulations, you have reached all of Ormazd's Frescos. 20G 3.95% of players
• A Fresco Of Light Congratulations, you have reached your first Ormazd's fresco. 10G 8.13% of players
• Born Dead Congratulations, you have killed all the soldiers of the Epilogue before they spawned. 40G 3.94% of players
• What Once Was There Congratulations, you've unlocked the Energize power. 10G 8.24% of players
• Bouncing From Here to There Congratulations, you have completed the puzzle with rebound. 20G 7.84% of players
• Leaving The Storm Congratulations, the Epilogue is complete. 30G 7.6% of players
• I Only Need a Hand or Twenty Congratulations, you have been kind to Elika. 40G 3.95% of players
• No Time to Waste Congratulations, you have completed the Epilogue in less than 2 hours. 40G 4.76% of players
• The Best Offence Is Good Defence Congratulations, you have defeated an enemy only by deflecting and counter-attacking. 20G 7.77% of players
• Change Once, Then Die Congratulations, you have defeated the Shapeshifter with only one shape change. 20G 7.55% of players

Space and patches

Space needed6.3 GB

Update patchTitle update 1

The title updates on record for this game.

DLC

One story expansion, Epilogue, for PS3 and Xbox 360, with its own achievements. The game itself can no longer be bought on the Xbox store, but Epilogue is still sold for the backward compatible version on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.

Items

Name	Date	Adds	Price	Obtainable today
Epilogue	2009-03-05	New areas, new enemies, new combat moves and a new power for Elika, set after the main story. 10 achievements worth 250G.	US$9.99	yes

Playable today

Playable offline todayYes

Single-player only, and the disc still plays on Xbox 360, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.

Online

Plays offlineYes

The game has no online features.

Reception

Aggregates

Outlet	Platform	Score	Scale
Metacritic	Xbox 360	81	100

Critics

Outlet	Score	Scale
IGN	9.3	10
Game Informer	8.75	10
GameSpot	8	10
GameTrailers	8.7	10
GameZone	9	10
Electronic Gaming Monthly	8	10
Eurogamer	6	10
Edge	5	10
GamePro	5	5

Staff and cast

Staff

Role	Name
Director	Jean-Christophe Guyot
Producer	Bertrand Helias
Producer	Ben Mattes
Designer	Thomas Delbuguet
Designer	Kevin Guillemette
Programmer	Charles Jacob
Artist	Mickael Labat
Writer	Andrew Walsh
Composer	Stuart Chatwood
Composer	Inon Zur

Cast

Character	Actor
The Prince	Nolan North
Elika	Kari Wahlgren

Notes for collectors

• The Prince cannot die. Elika saves you from every fall and killing blow, and there is no way to die in the usual sense.
• Be gentle with her is worth 100 gamerscore, the biggest single award in the list.
• The list has 60 achievements: 50 for the main game and 10 for the Epilogue expansion.
• The Epilogue was not released for PC.
• Light Seeds have an achievement at every 100, from 100 to 900, and one for finding all 1,001.
• One US retailer's pre-orders came with a code for a classic Prince character skin.

Credits

Publisher

Ubisoft

Developer

Ubisoft Montreal

Director

Jean-Christophe Guyot

Released

2008-12-02

Age rating

T (Teen)

Disc ID

5553080C

Region

US

Time to beat

about 11.5 hours

Copies in the shop

• Prince of Persia (XBOX 360) CA$14.99