GC 2008: Prince of Persia - The prince makes an appearance in Leipzig and we checked out how the game is shaping up

There were some promising builds of Ubisoft's reinvented prince at Ubidays and E3, and at Leipzig he was back for another appearance. We saw the same level that was on show at E3 2008, but rather than take the same route as before, our presenter chose to take us through a different area and used it to show off a new ability.

We'd seen the prince pull off wall runs and gap jumps and use his hand to slide down walls, but we were shown a new move at Leipzig that allows him to run upside down along roofs for short distances. The section we saw had a series of pillars hanging from the ceiling, interspersed with conveniently located iron rings. By running between them the prince and Elika were able to leapfrog across a divide and move to a new area of the game.

Ubisoft also highlighted the compass ability Elika has--she'll show you which direction you need to go if you're unsure what to do next. Hitting the appropriate button will make her point in a specific direction, allowing you to continue your journey, which in this case was a nearby platform. We then encountered the hunter, a formidable beast made from the corruption of evil that the prince needs to purge from the world around him. In addition to the prince's own impressive skills, Elika is a helpful companion who assists you in pulling off a variety of moves on the hunter. Once the hunter has been dealt enough punishment, he will retreat to the healing well, which becomes the next objective to reach.

While exploring the stage, we encountered several pools of the liquid-like corruption, which will suffocate you immediately if you get too close. Thankfully Elika can come to your rescue as a sort of "rolling savepoint" that will restore you to the last safe point. Arriving at the healing ground, the hunter turned into a corrupted mode, which made it impervious to attack. Elika was directed to perform some sort of magic on it, which broke the corruption barrier, making the hunter vulnerable again. Defeating our foe, Elika activated the well in a cinematic that restored colour and life to the region, with butterflies aflutter and grass springing up to represent the healed state.

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