Q&A: Prince Of Persia 3's Speed Kill System

This is a recent press release regarding Ubisoft's upcoming Prince Of Persia 3 (POP3), and it explains about the new Speed Kill System and its implementations throughout the third POP game by the game designers.



Q1: What is the Speed Kill System?
The Speed Kill System is a whole new gameplay system we're introducing in POP3. It allows you to perform very dramatic moves that take your enemy down in a single shot. Speed Kills require excellent timing and reflexes but are hugely rewarding. They really make the most of the Prince and Dark Prince's athletic abilities in fast-paced action-packed sequences.



Q2: Why did you develop this new Speed Kill System for POP3?
In POP3, the Prince is back in Babylon and finds his city ravaged by war. He soon becomes a fugitive in his hometown, hunted by the numerous and relentless invading army. The Prince must adapt his fighting skills to this new situation and try to take the upper hand by developing new techniques, such as the Speed Kill System. Speed Kill will be a chance for the player to kill one or several enemies in a single shot before engaging in fierce sword combats. Nevertheless, the player will always have the choice between using the Speed Kill System or the expanded Free Form Fighting System that was originally developed for Warrior Within.



Q3: What does this new system imply in terms of AI?
Speed Kill is about killing your enemy BEFORE being detected. This new system made us rethink the whole AI of the enemies in the game, and the results so far are very impressive. Patrolling enemies will be able to detect the Prince, either by seeing him or by hearing him.
If the Prince goes undetected, he will be able to trigger a series of Speed Kill attacks that lead to spectacular finishing moves. The Prince will often have to use his environment and his athletic skills to reach upper positions in order to take his enemies by surprise from above. If patrolling enemies detect the Prince, they will call for reinforcement and the Prince will not be able to trigger his Speed Kills anymore: he will have to fight his enemies heads-on.



Q4: In POP3, there are two playable characters: the Prince and the Dark Prince. Will they both use the Speed Kill System?
Yes, both the Dark Prince and the Prince will use the Speed Kill System. However, the gameplay mechanism to launch the Speed Kills will vary between the Prince and the Dark Prince as a reflection of their very different personalities. The Dark Prince is a corrupt version of the Prince; he is ruthless, reckless, and only out for himself. This dark and sadistic personality particularly shines through the violent nature of his Speed Kills. The Dark Prince's Speed Kills will be launched by a fast-paced combination of buttons, whereas the Prince's Speed Kills will be based on specific button sequences and very precise timing during a window of opportunity. Also, their finishing moves will be very different as the Prince uses the Dagger of Time for his Speed Kills and the Dark Prince uses the Daggertail, a powerful mid range chain-like weapon.

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