I have to agree with Venom to a certain degree here. Designer name doesn't count for **** generally. But Venom, I gotta say: I hate platform games. This one, however, is so damn good you have to give it a try.
What is important here is that the studio focused on game play and art and music and NOT on trying to make an innovative or "important" game. The artists, not the focus groups, dictated the way this game would be put together. The result is a truly cinematic and spectacular experience.
The storytelling is spectacular. You're not playing the game. You're the person the Prince is telling his story to. So he's narrating this adventure and you're just kind of visualizing it. When something goes wrong, the Prince stops and says, "Wait, that's not what happened. Where was I?" and you begin again and work your way through. The voice acting is absolutely perfect. Flawless. I do not say that lightly.
What's really cool is that the game fools you. Its so intuitive and well made that it makes you think you're more skillful than you really are. When you finish a massive brawl and your character sheathes the Dagger and his scimitar, you just sit there and think, "I am the MAN." But what you don't realize is that the game is constantly working around you making you fight for the victory but always keeping it in your grasp.
The acrobatics are incredible. Running along a wall--so done before, right?--is spectacular. You begin to think you really could do this stuff yourself. Every move you make, from climbing and jumping to dives and rolls, feels natural.
The camera is freakishly well done. I don't care what anyone says. You can switch between a first person view, a standard third person view, and a "landscape" (zoomed out large area) view. Generally, you'll stay with third person for most things, switching to first person only to look around at details or landscape for an overall idea of what you need to do. I never felt like I had to fight the camera while playing.
I really can't say enough good things about this game.
