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The Prince of Persia series has come along way from it's humble roots as a PC game created in 1989. It spawned two sequels in the early '90s, and then the game was reinvented in 2003 which itself saw two more sequels. The game's clever puzzle and platformer mechanics has helped it reach a massive audience over the years. So with such a recognizable franchise, what does developer Ubisoft plan on doing with the property? Why reinvent it all over again of course!

Major changes are underway. Gone is the prince from the 'Sands of Time' trilogy, instead we're given control of a completely new character. The new prince is described as a vagabond, modeled after Sinbad of Arabian Nights fame. The graphics have received a massive overhaul as well, and we're not just talking about the next gen upgrade treatment. In reaching towards a more artistic goal, the visuals look as if they've been ripped from the pages of a comic book, similar to cel-shaded and yet entirely different. The backgrounds are huge and aesthetically beautiful, the world expansive and free for exploring.

One of the biggest differences in gameplay is the major move away from the rather linear gameplay of the 'Sand of Time' trilogy. The world you occupy on the new Prince of Persia is an ever changing environment. Based on the Assassin's Creed engine, the world is now dynamic; no longer will you be able to predict the traps you come across in areas that you've already visited.

Another major change in the gameplay is a larger focus on-one-on one combat rather than taking on hordes of enemies. This will supposedly make "each enemy..a unique challenge in itself" rather than having to use the same tactics for each mindless monster. The game will also feature an interesting new foe called The Hunter. The Hunter will do just as his name implies, hunt you throughout the game;this will hopefully give a much more intense feeling to the game, as in you'll never know when The Hunter will come around the corner and try to engage you in combat.

At first I was skeptic at changing the format of a series I really enjoyed, but the new Prince of Persia just looks too good to stay upset for long. Expect the game to drop sometime late this year for both the Xbox 360 and the PS3.

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