Current developers have caught a niche in the market; adding downloadable content (or known as DLC) to their existing games. Content can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, from huge expansions such as The Shivering Isles (Elder Scrolls IV) to the smaller transactions such as the extra available vehicles in Motorstorm. However , calculating whether the content developers have cooked up will be a success is another question altogether. Personally, the kind of DLC I purchase is the episodic content to games I already own, hopefully extending gameplay and adding new features. It may sounds like a good process, but like all market twists, the DLC market has its downsides. The most recent issue brought to light is that of Eidos’ most recent instalment of the Tomb Raider series: Underworld. Sources revealed that Underworld would definitely be receiving episodic content, but there are two things worth mentioning that questions the good nature of DLC. Firstly, Microsoft had brought the series of content exclusively for the Xbox 360, just as they did with Fallout 3 and Grand Theft Auto. I personally found this annoying, because developers should be working on giving every platform the same experience and shifting copies of the game itself instead of hardware. The second point is that sources within the Tomb Raider staff revealed that the DLC Eidos were selling as “extras” was in fact just cut from the original game and stalled so the developers could extract more money from a deliberately shortened title.

          If you are a visitor to the site, you may already be aware of the golden score that was granted to Prince of Persia, now heralded as one of our favourite games of 2008. The announcement for extra content was only a month or so after release and had already triggered both good and bad expectations. If you don’t know already, Prince of Persia ended on a vague cliff-hanger and most gamers believed that another Prince game would be in the works, so you can imagine how they might be annoyed that DLC has to fill in for the time being. Luckily, after playing the episodic content through, I can confirm that Epilogue isn’t just part of the original game they decided to slap on for some extra bucks, and also it managed to escape the 360-exclusive net too.

          Epilogue begins at the very split second the game left you, the Prince and Elika flee Ahriman into the desert and find themselves in an underground palace where they seal themselves away. However, Ahriman is still hot on their trail, and you will have to plough through the underground caverns to escape the dark God, and seek freedom. The actual story behind Epilogue is kind of confusing, especially if you played the game some time ago. The Prince had torn down the trees of life to save Elika from death, like her father before, supposedly breaking the seal that bound Ahriman to the great temple. However, the Prince reveals that Ahriman was capable of breaking free all along, but needed Elika out of the way for reasons unknown. As you progress through the dark underground palace, you will keep running into Elika’s father, still corrupted by Ahriman and still hunting his daughter. The only breakthrough in the narrative is the ending of the Epilogue, which I won’t detail to you for obvious reasons, but one thing is for certain; more episodic content in on its way for Prince of Persia.

          The actual content itself is accessed via a sub menu in the game’s main menu instead of continuing a completed game-save. Epilogue roughly lasts for around three and a half hours, longer if you search for in-game collectables. The game is once again evenly divided into combat and plat-forming, with a few new added features including:

Dashing Attacks: Double tapping X will trigger a quick-time event, leading to a strike that can potentially knock your opponent out of stance.

Dark Plates: These purple power plates thrust you into the air such as the red plate does, but also forms temporary walls to travel across huge gaps.

Frescos: Instead of gathering orbs in the full game, Epilogue will have you running over plates which will count as gathering a collectable.

          The game doesn’t go without its flaws either. The difficulty is ramped steeply in Epilogue, making it all that much more frustrating when the game’s autopilot plat-forming become unreceptive. Dark ooze will trickle down walls, and puzzles will require a lot more critical thinking, instead of ploughing through a series of wall runs. Also, you will be fighting the same two bosses throughout the Epilogue; either the corrupted king, or the shape shifter, a new type of corrupt that can alternate between the foes you met in the full version of the game. Though the combat is still quite fun, the techniques for vanquishing these opponents will still remain the same.

         

One thing that worried me about Epilogue was that the voice actors may not return from the original game, something that may sound irrational, but what is a game without the smile-evoking charm of North Nolan? Elika doesn’t speak at all for the first ten or twenty minutes of game time, but thankfully hasn’t lost her voice, the excuse being that she was annoyed with the Prince for the first segment of the epilogue.

          To conclude, Epilogue was just what I expected in terms of gameplay and environment, but the narrative properties fell short of great, with very few set-pieces and the like. Also with a hefty price of £7.99, it had a lot to live up to, and only just managed to ease out the hole in my wallet. Those who really enjoyed the full game and want a new challenge should definitely get it, but those who casually played through it should try to avoid.