When Ubisoft announced a Prince of Persia game for the PSP a month ago, many players were confused. The screen shots released made the game look an awful lot like last year's Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, but it was hard to tell for certain if it was the same game, and the announcement from Ubisoft was similarly vague. So we went to Prince of Persia series executive producer Yannis Mallat to find out more about this latest project.

As it turns out, the PSP game is both a port of Warrior Within and a bit of a new game -- perhaps best thought of as an expanded version of Warrior Within. Under the new subtitle, "Revelations," the game will include much of what players of the previous game were familiar with, while adding new areas, a new structure, etc. "We wanted to take most of Warrior Within and add some brand new levels and rooms," says Mallat. "If I had to say how much is new/old, I would say that around 1/3 of the game is new."

Mallat makes it clear, however, that the new content in the game is all about making the game itself more expansive; it's not about adding new modes or abilities for the Prince. "There are not really any new 'features' per se," he notes. "This said...we can and should emphasize that we've added approximately 30% more than the original PS2 game. And for hardcore POP players, they will find the new content more challenging. The temple alone has a two-hour learning curve for the first time through. The new Guard Towers and Dungeons also ratchet up the challenge level of the game significantly. The new levels require players to learn more sophisticated moves and methods of gameplay (i.e. wall runs w/jumps extended to the very last second of the run, many collapsing swing poles and broken columns). The new gameplay should excite veteran players, while also offering fresh challenges to the casual or newbie gamer."

Read the full article [here].