Le téléchargement de Prince of Persia refait parler de lui avec ce trailer qu'Ubisoft vient de nous transmettre. A cela se rajoute 2 images et une interview malheureusement pour vous en anglais.

Ce DLC sera dispo le 26 février prochain.



Why did you decide to make a DLC for Prince of Persia?

We felt we had a strong opportunity with POP to do create an exciting DLC. Not only do we have two strong characters, an interesting world and a story that begs to be continued, but the team also developed a few very strong ideas late in the production period that we simply did not have time to implement in the retail game. As an added incentive, the feedback from the community made it clear that the hardcore fans were looking for an additional challenge, something we feel that DLC as a concept is particularly suited for. As soon as we decided to do a DLC for POP we immediately set to work to making it significant – this is easily one of the most ambitious DLC projects Ubisoft has yet undertaken.

How does the story connect with the retail game?

The story serves as an epilogue to the retail game. It starts just minutes after the end of POP and has allowed us to add considerably to the character development of Elika and the Prince as well as to the back-story of our new universe.

Can you give us a little bit on the story?

As mentioned above, expect to learn more about Elika, more about the Prince, and more about the significant peril they face. In addition players will discover the immense and once glorious Underground Palace – a once magnificent royal home now ravaged not only by time but by the spreading forces of Ahriman’s corruption.

Is the Epilogue the ending of the retail game? What does it had to the game?

Prince of Persia is a complete game and the ending is definitely the one we had in mind, literally, from day one. The Prince of Persia epilogue (or DLC) is a special added bonus that goes on to illustrate events in the characters’ lives following the closure of the game. In fact, that’s basically the definition of an epilogue – it’s a passage that is not integral to the story but that gives an insight into the future of the characters.

The creative team behind Prince of Persia developed a story that they hoped would make players reflect upon the adventure that they had lived and why the story unfolded as it did. Sometimes, wrapping up all of the mysteries of a story is not the best way to conclude – we wanted to leave some doors open to mystery. There is a short narrative text at the beginning of Prince of Persia:

“The wind is free, but the sand goes where it is blown.

Unaware of the world around it, whirling on the breath of the Gods, at the mercy of the storm that engulfs it.

What is one grain of sand in the desert?

One grain amongst the storm?”

It was our hope that people’s interpretation of this text would change as they played the game and as they lived the adventure of Prince of Persia. What did this phrase mean to you when you first started, when did it mean when you finished? And, possibly, does your perception change once again once you play the Epilogue?

Why did you decide to make the DLC a linear experience?

Simply put – there are things we are able to do with a linear experience that the open nature of the rest of the retail game makes difficult. This is particularly important given that a major objective for us was to create a DLC that offers a significant challenge with a consistently increasing difficulty curve and a carefully crafted sequence of “Wow” moments. We also feel this choice of structure allows us to give those fans who purchase the DLC the best of both worlds: the “old” style of PoP focusing on discovering your path with a constant wariness for the timing of traps, and the new style with its spectacular chains of movement and a sense of rhythm and grace navigating through the world.

What can we expect of the level design?

Given the Epilogue nature of the DLC we have at our disposal all of the forms of corruption to allow us to create some spectacular and challenging sequences. Of course, having the production of an entire game under our belts we’ve also learned some excellent tricks in terms of acrobatic sequences that feel great upon completion – the level design in the DLC is definitely some of our best.

In addition, the new power of Elika brings an additional timing challenge to the mix that helps us raise the challenge factor even further.

What can we expect of puzzles this time around?

Some of the feedback we received from fans of POP is that they wanted more puzzles – the DLC was an excellent opportunity for us to service this request. We kept the philosophy of large ‘set piece’ puzzles that fill an entire room or area (and the rooms in the DLC are huge) but put additional focus on the need to use switches to modify and create pathways that your acrobatic abilities will then allow you to follow. There is one particular puzzle that I’m really looking forward to reading fan feedback on. It’s a clever one!

Will player have to heal regions?

No - players won’t be able to heal the land when they are in the Underground Palace. There are no fertile grounds in the underground palace. We hope this helps make the Corruption feel denser and even more imposing in the DLC.

How do I access the new content? Do I have to have finished POP in order to play the DLC?

The content will be downloadable via XBL and PSN. It is not necessary to have finished Prince of Persia game to play the DLC. That said, the DLC does continue the story of the main game, so it will help to at least be aware of how the game ends if you haven’t finished it yourself.

There are four powers in the retail game, all of which are travel based. Is this the same for the new power? How does it work?

Elika’s new power “Energize” facilitates acrobatics but is different in that it adds a timing challenge. This power allows Elika to “materialize” an area of the environment for a short period that was previously destroyed. This then allows the Prince and Elika to reach destinations that were previously unreachable, assuming they move quickly enough.

Explain the new enemy we will have in the DLC.

The Shapeshifter is an enemy that takes the form of two of Ahrimans most fearsome Lieutenants, The Warrior and The Hunter. Though the physical form is familiar to our heroes and the player, it will requires a particular strategy to defeat the Shapeshifter rewarding the player that takes advantage of the new sprint feature exclusive to the Epilogue.

What’s the new attack being added and how does that affect the combo strings in Prince of Persia?

In order to push the intensity of combat and reward players who focus on offense, we added the “sprint” move to both the Prince and his foes. When at a distance from the enemy, the player can mash the Acrobatic button to sprint which leads to an opportunity for the player to stun his opponent and therefore take the offensive. I’m very proud of this feature as I feel it has the potential to really change the dynamics of combat!

Has the fight system changed in any other way?

All the Enemies are more aggressive in the Epilogue. For example, they won’t hold back from attacking when the Prince fails to block an attack. But most notably, the enemies all have the new ability to “sprint”, making them dangerous even at a distance. In addition the Mourning King is now even more powerful as his powers are constantly growing. So much so, that the Prince will not be able to defeat him on his own. This forces the player to adopt a new fight strategy - thanks to her abilities inherited by Ormazd, Elika attacks can temporarily weaken the Mourning King, making him vulnerable the Prince’s attacks. This further encourages team work between the Prince and Elika with spectacular results.



What are the "trap challenges"?

The trap challenge is based on understanding the patterns in a series of traps and timing your acrobatics properly to pass through them. For the main game, players could discern the proper timing by focusing on just the first and second trap of the sequence. Now, in the DLC, the number of traps for one sequence will be higher and player will need to look at the third, fourth and further traps to understand the pattern and find the right timing.

In general – more traps and more diverse patterns per sequence so a significantly increase challenge.

How are you adapting the DLC to player reaction to the retail game?

We heard our fans loud and clear - what the hardcore Prince of Persia gamer missed in our main game is some of the hair-pulling challenge that featured so prominently in the past POPs. We understand this and feel the DLC has is the perfect opportunity to provide our fans with that sort of gameplay. Figuring out how to pass through a long acrobatic sequence mined with a tough trap challenge, or how to defeat a more aggressive boss before he regenerates his energy will definitely be more intense.

One thing that helped POP stand out was its visual look. What can we expect, visually, from this new area?

We’ve kept the “illustrative” art style and created a completely new region – the Underground Palace – which is entirely corrupted. This new region takes place in huge rooms, inspired by the feeling of awe we felt when seeing the “Mines of the Moria” in “The Fellowship Of The Ring”. It creates a dark ambiance and claustrophobic feelings that we feel nicely contrasts the large open colorful world from the main game.

Is there going to be as much history and available optional dialogue for this new locale as there was in the other lands in POP?

Definitely! Let me assure you that there will be a lot of up and down moments in the DLC and the story and character development will reach new heights.

Are there new Achievements/Trophies?

Yes