Prince of Persia: Epilogue review

Those of us who played and beat Prince of Persia (click to see the original review) earlier this year were left feeling somewhat unfulfilled at the end of the game. Thankfully, Ubisoft has delivered some sort of ailment, albeit a $10 one. Question is, does fix the problem or just cause more?

For those not in the mood for riddles, I'll say it much easier in a spoiler free manner; when most gamers finished Prince of Persia, the ending left much to be desired as far as closure is concerned. Therefore, Ubisoft heard the cries of gamers and released "Epilogue" a new chapter in the game's story that takes place directly after the ending, so as far as story is concerned, that's all I can tell you. However, I think it should be noted that due to the way Prince of Persia saves after you beat the game, a.k.a. it doesn't, you don't need to have beaten the game in order to play the Epilogue, as it saves in its own separate file within the game. But, if you're buying this expansion, chances are you've beaten the game anyways.

But what exactly does Epilogue give you for its $10 price tag? First off, the game takes place in an entirely new setting, The Underground Palace, which sadly, doesn't contain the lush colorful environments of a Fertile Ground in the main game, instead opting for heavy use of Corruption. Don't get me wrong, it's the same game and still looks beautiful, but I personally would've liked to see more of that rich color that made the rest of the game stand out for me. To add to this new environment is a new Power Plate, which in addition to 3/4 of the ones from the main game add for some neat visuals and gameplay mechanics.

Also included is a new battle technique, which allows you or an enemy to trigger a charge sequence which can end in your favor or not, its a neat addition, but one that does not exist in the main game. On that topic, it should also be noted, there are no new characters, which means sadly, you'll have to deal with familiar bosses all over again, which can be a pain when you have to fight the same annoying boss six times just to get him in the right spot for defeat. "Epilogue" also adds two character skins to unlock once the chapter is beaten, as well as 10 new Trophies for you to try to unlock within the expansion, which adds some nice replayability for those looking to ride the Trophy Train to Platinumsville.

My biggest gripes about "Epilogue" though are: 1) the length of the title, and 2) the price. While I understand it's not a whole new game, and there's not much Ubisoft can add without making it another game entirely, I think even $10 may be steep when the experience only lasts for about three hours. A three hour experience, mind you, that in the end still leaves gamers with a cliffhanger, presumably meaning we'll have to shill out another $10 for an experience that should've been included in the $60 game to begin with. Yes, "Epilogue" is certainly a fun, worthwhile buy if you enjoyed Prince of Persia that much, which I did, but I can't help but feel slightly cheated when I expected closure and was once again given the short stick.

Overall Score: 7.5/10

"Epilogue" is also available on the Xbox Live Marketplace for 800 Microsoft Points.