"Prince of Persia"
For: Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC
From: Ubisoft
ESRB Rating: Teen (alcohol reference, mild language, mild suggestive themes, violence)

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The last time a game simply called itself "Prince of Persia," nothing about it was difficult to understand. You were a prince, you ran and jumped from left to right, and you died a lot because it was really hard.

Nineteen years later, the new "Persia" - which marks the second series reboot in barely five years - is exponentially easier to play but not quite so easy to understand.

Like the subtitled "Persia" games that appeared on the Xbox, PS2 and Gamecube, the new "Persia" takes place in 3D and stars you as an acrobatic hero who can leap ledges, run along walls and scale impossible heights without hesitation. If you played any of those games, the base fundamentals of this game - which stars you as a new character in a new universe - will make sense on some level.

From here, though, things get a little weird, and your understanding and acceptance of this weirdness will dictate whether you adore "Persia" or get it at all.

For starters? You can't die. "Persia's" enjoyable and surprisingly bubbly story satisfactorily explains (a) why you're paired up with a princess and (b) why she possesses a brand of magic that rescues you whenever you miss a jump or lose a fight, but it's an unusual design choice all the same. Failure still begets consequence, but it's minimal, and anyone with any kind of drive ultimately will see "Persia" all the way through. (Those hungry for some real consequence, don't fret: "Persia" doles out a reward for beating the game without failing more than 99 times.)

On the other end of the coin: the controls, which simply have to be practiced to be appreciated. "Persia" explains what each button does, but doesn't satisfactory explain how best to use them in relation to the environment, and you might find yourself fighting the game early on while the prince continually disobeys your intentions and takes a dive. The sooner you learn not to overdo it, the sooner the game's magic shines through, and once you finally "get" it, "Persia's" beautiful, non-linear levels become a serious joy to traverse.

"Persia's" combat, while not nearly as exhilarating, is similarly nuanced: Every fight is a one-on-one encounter, and good rhythmic skills will get you farther than button-mashing and brute force. Some greater enemy variety would've done wonders for making these fights more intriguing, but "Persia" at least is smart about spacing them out. Most encounters are brief, and then it's back to running through the world, which is precisely the way it should be.

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  (c) 2008, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.