Prince of Persia based on Assassin's Creed game engine

More polygons used in the new Prince's hair than in the entire Prince model in the previous game.

Prince of Persia producer Ben Mattes has revealed that the upcoming Prince of Persia for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC is being developed using an adapted version of the engine developed internally at Ubisoft for Assassin's Creed.

"We have improved and adapted the engine developed internally for Assassin's Creed. It is a great tool for our artists and engineers and we want to push it even further," explained Mattes. "We have added a lot of new systems that will help create the seamless fluidity and the overall look & feel we are looking for."

Mattes continued: "Since it is the first next gen game in the PoP saga, we have developed a lot of new systems and technologies. We have in a way started from scratch using the Assassin's Creed engine as a basis for our developments."

One area in which the increase in visual quality will be seen is in the Prince himself.

"The new Prince will displays 13 times more polygons than the previous Prince, and even more than Altair in Assassin's Creed," said Mattes. "To give you a reference, there will be more polygons in the next-gen Prince's hair than in the "old" Prince himself. Every detail of the faces, clothes and accessories of the characters will feel next-gen thanks to hi-res textures, specific lighting systems and shaders. We have developed new systems such as skin morph, wrinkle map, indirect lighting and occlusion to beautify our universe and characters in a way which was not possible on old gen."

Prince of Persia is scheduled for release in holiday 2008 for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. A version for Nintendo DS is also in development. For more from Mattes on Prince of Persia check out the complete and very in depth interview.