There isn't much combat in Prince of Persia. Corruption soldiers will manifest at certain hot spots, but they are relatively few. Most of the fighting will be with the four boss characters that will confront you right before you can cleanse an area. Although players can string together a fantastic looking string of combo moves, combat - like the rest of the game - is very easy. In many cases, especially with the corruption soldiers, players can back enemies toward a ledge and simply kick them off for a swift victory. The hero never fights more than one adversary at a time. There are also a number of quick time events that occur amid combat, but they're not as annoying as they are in most other games. This is probably because, when it comes right down to it, the entire game is a continuous series of quick time events where players have to hit the right button at the right time. Also, the game generally gives plenty of time for players to react. The edges of the screen fill with red when the hero takes damage, but we never died in any of our fights. So, like with the world puzzles, fighting becomes an exercise in persistence.

We couldn't help liking Prince of Persia. We took to the new look almost immediately, and the graphical style really brings out the differences between the dark world of corruption and the brightly colored healed one. Although we sometimes had trouble telling apart walls covered in corruption from ones covered in dark vines, it wasn't an issue that couldn't be overcome. There's also a lot to be said for a game that doesn't make you want to throw down your controller in frustration half the time. Although the finale got a little tricky with the camera perspective, we enjoyed the game right up the end... and then stopped liking it. Without giving too much away, the story's conclusion makes the player seem foolish for going through all the effort of saving the world.

Fans of the previous trilogy might be disappointed with the ease of play, but newcomers may find it a relief. We didn't like where Prince of Persia's story took us, but we enjoyed the journey, and that's what really counts.