The Prince of Persia games have been around for a long time and while all of them bear the same name, I am recommending the 2008 game simply titled Prince of Persia (which is actually also the name for the 1989 game). Yeah… it can get confusing.
The 2008 action-adventure and platforming game is set in, you guessed it… Persia. You take the role of a nameless protagonist wandering the desert in search of money and treasure. After bumping into a mysterious woman, your fate changes for the worst. Prince of Persia tells the tale of two gods which symbolize your stereotypical good and bad. After saving the woman from a few “attackers”, you follow her and find out that she is actually a princess. Fast forward and you witness a tree being cut down by her mourning father king and boom the story begins. The evil god is released (he was sealed in the tree) and he corrupts the land which you and your new princess friend Elika must now save. Not the best plot summary, but it will work for our purposes.
In traditional Prince of Persia style, the gameplay revolves heavily around acrobatic platforming. The protagonist is purposely agile and acrobatic so that you may traverse the open world freely. That is actually one great thing about this title. The open world allows you to play the game and experience the plot in any way that you want. The end result is always the same, but the path there can be different each time you play.
Prince of Persia is a great game for its story and visuals. At the time, the graphics were amazing and they still are for the most part. The strong plot and a cool combat system makes the game worthy of your time.
My only gripe with the game is the fact that you cannot “die”. In combat, you can not be virtually killed by your enemies. Instead, after taking a specific amount of damage, your partner Elika will save you before you can be killed. This happens for pretty much everything which makes the game a walk in the park. The 2008 version of Prince of Persia may not be for you if you are craving a challenge, but the deep lore-filled world makes the game a fantastic experience.