A Frustrating Tale of Two Cities

On the surface, the new Prince of Persia is a straightforward and inoffensive experience, but Ubisoft Montreal has gotten me thinking through their myriad of design choices toward minimizing frustration above all else, because for the most part they succeed. Between the subtle auto-correction of angles that were just a bit off or distances that were just a bit too short and Elika's "integrated quick-load," I never felt like the game was trying to get in the way. I recognize that this is an utterly challenge-neutralizing move, but it did what it attempted to do, as I had no problem cruising through and seeing everything the game had to offer. Were the game offering something a little more interesting, this would have been an extremely welcome addition. It wasn't, so the design choices only served to streamline and hurry you through an pleasant but ultimately vapid experience. Prince's design choices did at least get my mind percolating, and after finishing it, I found myself going back to, of all things, Mirror's Edge.