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I wanted to stop playing Prince of Persia: The Shadow and The Flame after 5 minutes. That’s not a joke, either. My brain actively sent messages saying ‘Whatever this is you’re doing, stop it, and stop it now.’ It was one of the worst gaming moments I’ve had in recent memory.
A remake of the second PoP game that was originally released in 1993, this follows the same setup up as the original title which was thrown on the App Store last year. It’s simple platforming from an era gone by (think run, jump, wave sword for anyone born into the ‘modern’ gaming world) dolled up with visuals that look very comfortable on a mobile device. It even has the Prince as we all recognise him today. Unfortunately, while a lot of effort has gone into making it comparable to other, similar titles, someone clearly forgot to pay attention to the controls.
Given that the game fundamentally relies on fast reactions and impeccable timing, The Shadow and The Flame is a nightmare to try and enjoy because it’s the equivalent of driving a forklift truck after downing a packet of medication despite the ‘Warning: Causes Drowsiness’ precaution. Unless you time a jump or sword swipe to perfection – and we’re talking down to the millisecond here – the Prince will completely ignore what you asked him to do. Not the greatest travesty when you’re trying to grab hold of a ledge but it all falls apart when attempting to, for example, evade one of PoP’s many traps.
If you’re absolutely desperate to relive a game just to engage your nostalgia receptors then fine: put down £1.99 on this. When you start to question whether it was ever such a nightmare, though, remember the answer is ‘no’. This is just gubbins.
Played for 4 hours. Click here to read about VideoGamer.com’s new review policy.
