The well known game Prince of Persia (the follow up to Karateka, 1984) by Jordan Mechner was converted for the C64 by Andreas Varga (aka Mr. SID) and published on 16 October 2011. It is based on the original Apple II code from 1989. Same as with the forerunner, the exact animation of the characters movement catches the eye, but this was the first time that human movements were displayed rather realistically with the help of rotoscoping. This game runs on a real C64/128 only with the help of the EasyFlash cartridge.
The story could be from the "Arabian Nights": The Shah is far from his own palace in the war. During his absence, the power goes to the perfidious vizier Jaffar's head. He tyrannises his people and tries to seize the throne. He captures the lovely daughter of the sultan and gives her 60 minutes time - either she marries him or she will die. The only hope left for her is, that her true love, an adventurer from a far country, will rescue her. But he got already locked in the deep, dark dungeon of the palace. For he may rot there forever...
Now you start in the role of the future (hopefully...) prince in the dungeon and have 60 minutes real time to work your way in the palace through dangers, traps and guards, collect items, fight against the vizier, defeat him and finally embosom the princess. This is not easy, as some obstacles and combinations of obstacles are hard to take. Interesting surprises await thereby the future prince or respectively the player!
The C64 conversion comprises all 13 levels.
The conversion is successful. The game speed is high, the controls precise and easy to learn. Graphics and sound also give a good impression. During the game there is no background music. The used sound effects as the moving noises, the important opening and closing sounds of the gratings, fighting noises or the sounds when traps appear are enough to underline the game and to create tension. If the aim of a level is reached, the screen flickers and a short oriental music sequence is played.
The animated characters are a bit pixellated, but appear very smooth due to the good animation. The graphics gets a 3D -view due to its type of display. The seldom appearing "stuttering" on the C64 was further reduced at the C128 by using the 2,04 MHz storage cycle. Also, there are animated intermediate sequences underlined with music, that continue the story. These relieve the stress of the game and reduce the tension the has been built during playing. The manual is integrated in the game and can be chosen at the beginning by a menu. The score can be saved from level 3 on the EasyFlash cartridge.
The story could be from the "Arabian Nights": The Shah is far from his own palace in the war. During his absence, the power goes to the perfidious vizier Jaffar's head. He tyrannises his people and tries to seize the throne. He captures the lovely daughter of the sultan and gives her 60 minutes time - either she marries him or she will die. The only hope left for her is, that her true love, an adventurer from a far country, will rescue her. But he got already locked in the deep, dark dungeon of the palace. For he may rot there forever...
Now you start in the role of the future (hopefully...) prince in the dungeon and have 60 minutes real time to work your way in the palace through dangers, traps and guards, collect items, fight against the vizier, defeat him and finally embosom the princess. This is not easy, as some obstacles and combinations of obstacles are hard to take. Interesting surprises await thereby the future prince or respectively the player!
The C64 conversion comprises all 13 levels.
The conversion is successful. The game speed is high, the controls precise and easy to learn. Graphics and sound also give a good impression. During the game there is no background music. The used sound effects as the moving noises, the important opening and closing sounds of the gratings, fighting noises or the sounds when traps appear are enough to underline the game and to create tension. If the aim of a level is reached, the screen flickers and a short oriental music sequence is played.
The animated characters are a bit pixellated, but appear very smooth due to the good animation. The graphics gets a 3D -view due to its type of display. The seldom appearing "stuttering" on the C64 was further reduced at the C128 by using the 2,04 MHz storage cycle. Also, there are animated intermediate sequences underlined with music, that continue the story. These relieve the stress of the game and reduce the tension the has been built during playing. The manual is integrated in the game and can be chosen at the beginning by a menu. The score can be saved from level 3 on the EasyFlash cartridge.
