As far as the "trilogy" angle publishers have recently taken to task with their franchises, the Prince of Persia games from last generation stand as some of the highest regarded three-set experiences. Sands of Time re-introduced a new audience to a once-forgotten PC franchise and the subsequent iterations forgot their acrobatic roots in favor of more action -- to mixed results. Prince of Persia returns with a new art style, open-ended gameplay, and a hobo-genized protagonist this week on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. How does it stack up?

Under the Hood...

PoP runs on the superb Assassin's Creed engine but replaces sandy, middle eastern backdrops with a cel-shaded look and plenty of shadowy villains. The graphics do a great job of conveying an animated look for the game without resorting to heavily-drawn outlines like some games do with the same art style.

Gameplay-wise, the developers have opted out of a strictly directed story and give the player the freedom to go about returning "life seeds" to the Tree of Life in whatever order they please. All the while being followed by an ever-present AI character.

Sidekick System

Elika, the prince's partner-in-crime, will not only guide players through perilous pits and their next objective -- a quick tap of the Y/Triangle button lets you know where to go next -- but is essential to your progression without the usual hangups that are associated with AI sidekicks.

Ubisoft made sure to make Elika reliable by avoiding having to babysit her and adding a button that transports her automatically (and magically) to wherever the player is located. That means no wrangling with the controls to get her unstuck from a nearby wall.

Aside from avoiding nasty hiccups, she'll help the prince in battle by coordinating attacks against enemies and saving him from deadly falls and shortsighted jumps -- essentially replacing the time-control moves from the original trilogy.

Disguise Dilemma

Ok, we admit. We don't necessarily dig the prince's new "hobo" look and if you feel the same, Ubisoft's got your back. Register on the developer's site and you can swap out those threads for Altair's (of Assassin's Creed fame) costume and those of you who pre-ordered at Gamestop should be able to revert back to The Sands of Time's prince outfit. Also, once gamers complete the main quest they can trade in Elika's clothes for that of Beyond Good & Evil's main protagonist, Jade.

Setting personal grudges against character art aside, Prince of Persia looks like a great entry into the series that should cover those not keen on Lara Croft's latest and Mirror's Edge first-person jumping shenanigans. The game is out this week on Xbox 360 and PS3 for $59.99. A PC version is available for $49.99.