A remake of an old classic game drops onto my desk and I sigh languidly. It's another attempt by a second rate publisher to hit the big time via the shortcut of putting together a poor rehash of an old classic using some new looking, but most likely not cutting edge, graphics. If it wasn't my job to review these things, this wouldn't have gotten closer to me than staring up helplessly from the pre-owned shelf at my local video game store. Even all the other games would have arranged themselves at least a shelf away in embarrassment, except for the other poor remakes of classic games - I think they have a support club or something.

I put the disc in the drive anyway and boot up the pretender to the throne. The original Prince of Pittsburgh was an old school classic, likely to be renowned in the history of video games forever. Any remake will pale in comparison, only fit to be burned in sacrifice to the powers that are offended by its release - in this case, enraged hardcore fans of the original.

The game loads. There's no poor pre-rendered intro movie; cause for some hope, perhaps? Instead I am taken directly to the bathroom door of our protagonist, the steam and sounds coming from behind the door telling me that he's having a shower. How... ordinary. I brace myself for the worst and select 'Start New Game'.


The Story of an Ordinary Man

The shower noises drip to a stop as the sound of a squeaky tap being turned is heard. This is quickly replaced by the noise of teeth being brushed, but this quickly fades into the background as a hazy white border fades around the screen, indicating a flashback cut scene, and a voiceover begins.

"It seemed like it was going to be an ordinary morning. I got out of bed at seven, same time as always, and freshened myself up. But soon after that, my day was about to become a lot more complicated. Sir, this is why I was late for work."

Suddenly, as you're hearing this, and the scenes that follow, one of the clever twists of this game hits you. The whole game is played, and the accompanying story told, as if it was being explained to the main character's manager, as an excuse for why he was late for work! It's a brilliant idea, and it really works as you move into the game, the character chipping in at various points during the action to add an explanatory note, or to add a bit more flavour or apologetic tone to his story. But I'm getting ahead of myself.


The Battle for Breakfast

After the opening cut scene finished, the door to the bathroom opens and out comes Joe Prince, the 'hero' of the game, already in his business suit. From this point in, you are in control. Prince's voice fades back in to further explain his predicament.

"I was all ready to go, all I needed was to find my keys and my briefcase, get some breakfast, and head out the door."

This short speech outlines the objectives for the first section of the game, a prologue of sorts, and also a training level. Handy control hints pop up on screen to teach you how to perform various actions that will get you through the 'training' section, and which will come in useful later on. The action begins immediately as Joe takes a step forwards and the balcony leading to the stairs immediately collapses in front of you.

"I knew I should never have hired those cowboy builders," remarks Joe with hindsight.

Immediately, you see a little message on screen that instructs you how to perform a kick jump off the wall to the side in order to bridge the gap. Didn't I mention already that it seems Joe has taken a few lessons in kung fu? The manoeuvre is easily completed, but it looks really impressive on screen, like you've just accomplished something major. That's one of the great things about this game - you can do things quite easily that look great, and give you a massive feeling of satisfaction.

Approaching the stairs, there is the sound of collapsing masonry, and the central section collapses. So begins the lesson on how to clamber along ledges by Joe's fingertips, as you are instructed on how to make him shuffle along the remains of the banister railing. When he reaches the ground floor and gets into the kitchen, we find it criss-crossed by breakfast bars and fixed tables, which Joe then has to clamber over and between.

"And those builders weren't just cowboys," Joe states thoughtfully. "They were lousy interior designers, too."

Having swung on rails, jumped, climbed, and shimmied, Joe finally gets his breakfast and goes about finding his keys and briefcase. Further acrobatic lessons are learned in the living room and basement, and then, equipped with keys and office baggage, Joe is ready to take on the outside world. Or so he thinks.


Briefcase Battler

"The next door neighbours had never liked me, and had trained their dog to bark and snap at me if I ever got close." Joe sighs as he sees the offending attack-pooch sitting on his lawn, wagging its tail slowly with intent. "It had never been a problem, until he slipped his leash this morning."

Stepping outside causes the game to pause, and you are given a brief lesson in combat. There are some pretty useful moves - kicks with steel-capped shoes, briefcase bashing, acrobatic dodging - all easily controlled, but all looking very impressive. Another moment, and you are set against the neighbour's dog, snapping and barking at you. It's a short and admittedly easy introductory fight, which is interrupted by a cut scene that sees Joe flee back inside the house, accompanied by some subtle but dramatic music.. Another way is needed to reach the driveway.

Lateral thinking puzzles like this one are strewn throughout the game. The solution in this case is to shimmy back up the stair rail, head into Joe's bedroom at the back of the house, and clamber out on to the garage roof just beyond the window ledge. Carefully stepping across this, Joe can grab hold of the drainpipe and lower himself to the driveway on the far side. A cut scene takes hold and Joe jumps into his car before the dog even notices he's there. The car reverses out, but Joe has to dodge the dog trying to attack the rear tyres, causing him to hit and knock over a pole that suspends some power cables connected to nearby houses. Lights on the street flicker out as the damaged car speeds away, watched by the disappointed dog.

"I thought that was the end of my bad luck," Joe explains ironically. "But really, that was just the beginning."


Rush Hour Pittsburgh!

The training section concluded, the game now enters its main sequence. Pittsburgh, the city where Joe's office is located, is looking a little worse for wear. Remember that pole Joe knocked over with his car? Well, as the story unfolds, it turns out that the resulting power surge cascaded across the city and caused a huge blackout. Even the traffic signals are out, so the whole city has become grid locked. As the cut scene ends, Joe is forced to abandon his car in a parking bay and attempt to make the journey by foot.

"I knew I wouldn't make it in with the car, and perhaps on an ordinary day I would have turned around and headed home, " Joe explains apologetically. "But today was the day our foreign investors were coming to the office to finalise our business deal, so I knew I had to make it."

Joe's first move is to head into the nearest fast food place and get a drink, as the game is set in mid-summer, and the crowded streets are a hot place to be. This also serves as a save point, and such drinks vendors are spread across the city in various forms. When saving a game, Joe pauses his story to ask of his manager "Can I get you some coffee, Sir?" and if the option is selected to save or quit, he adds "Very well, I will be back as soon as I can.". Little touches like these really make the game believable, and you really begin to feel sympathetic for poor Joe.

As well as being able to save the game here, each stop yields a brief cut scene, played out on the screen of the television in whichever fast food restaurant you're in, showing scenes from various TV traffic reports, each of which highlight the area you're about to enter, and which can give some cryptic clues about the pitfalls and challenges to be faced there. Once finished watching the report and quenching his thirst, Joe Prince heads back out to the streets to tackle his journey to work.


Chaotic City Crossings Are Easier With Two

As you will have noticed by now, the game is a realistic (insofar as the setting) action and puzzle platformer, following the tale of Joe as he makes his way across town. It may seem a boring concept, but even by this point in the game you'll feel gripped by the action. The story unfolds as you forge Joe's path through some of Pittsburgh's major landmarks - the Ohio, Alleghany, and Monongahela rivers, the Benedum Centre, the Birmingham Bridge, and Schenley Park to name but a few.

Of course, with such an open city, it may appear that you could simply pick the most direct route, or wander along any road you choose to get to your destination, but this is not the case. As Joe travels, he encounters road accidents, police barricades, and other such obstacles that block his way and ensure that the player has to take a specific path through the game, solving puzzles and fighting battles as he goes. Opponents in the game range from frustrated commuters who pick a fight, to muggers and pickpockets, right to the policemen themselves later in the game, when a large street protest breaks out and Joe is accidentally caught in the middle.

It's no straight street walk to the office, either, Joe finds himself scaling skyscrapers, jumping across rooftops, and even navigating the sewer system at one point, avoiding the rats and alligators that stalk the tunnels. There are no 'levels' as such, though, the game is played in one continuous environment.

At one point in the game, Joe finds a colleague of his, Julia, who works in the same office block as he does, and the two of them join forces to force their way through the chaotic streets. The storytelling banter then takes on a new dimension, as Joe begins to recount he attitude towards his companion, and some in-game conversation is conveyed, as the two argue about how best to deal with the jammed streets. The relationship is jagged at times, but is there any romance? Well, I'll leave that question open with a vague 'maybe'. At the very least, seeing the two of them sarcastically moaning at each other is highly entertaining.


Increasing Crises

The story remains gripping through the game, as it is slowly revealed that Joe's accident with the city's power supply may not be the only reason for the horrendous traffic. Indeed, the scale of the crisis increases throughout the game, with the aforementioned street protest, as well as prison breakouts, earthquakes, and a meltdown alert at a local, newly built, nuclear power facility. In fact, the cowboy builders involved with that power plant sound eerily familiar to Joe, like he's seen them somewhere before... The plot thickens!

Joe deals with all these incidents in an amazingly calm fashion, though his banter is filled with a 'why me?' attitude, which I found quite amusing. At various points in the game you will have the opportunity to view a map of Pittsburgh, showing you Joe and Julia's winding journey across the city.

Should the rising level of crisis ever lead Joe or Julia to an untimely demise, such as plummeting off a skyscraper, or being mugged in the streets, Joe interrupts the story with a short dismissal such as, "No, that didn't happen" or, "Wait, let me rephrase that". In some cases, Joe's boss will interrupt with something along the lines of "I'm not sure I'm buying this", which is swiftly followed by one of Joe's rebuttals, before the game resets to the last restart point you passed, which are invisibly distributed at useful and fair points throughout the game. This banter really helps to sell the storytelling side of the game, and it all hangs together supremely well.


All In A Day's Work

All things considered, it should take a total of eight to ten hours of game time, excluding retries, to complete the game. At the end, given the storytelling nature of the game, we know that Joe will arrive at the office, terribly late, and begin explaining himself to the boss though. As to the conclusions of the other mini-plots running alongside the game, though, such as the street protest and nuclear meltdown alert, you will have to discover those yourself, and they do provide useful motivation to complete each mini-plot as you go, working your way towards the ultimate aim of the game.

I admit, I wasn't going to give this remake of the classic 8-bit Prince of Pittsburgh the time of day, but I was very glad that I did. There will be those who argue that this new version doesn't touch the heights of the original, or that the different plot and more complicated puzzles ruin the atmosphere of the game. But, regardless of what is said, this game deserves some appreciation for doing a decent job. After all, when you consider some of the other remade classic games, this could have been a whole lot worse. This won't be one of the crowd shamefully peering up from the pre-owned shelf begging for pity, it will be standing tall on the main shelves, demanding attention and spilling the pints of poor movie tie-in games.

Will Joe be fired for his tardiness? Will he and Julia get involved? Will the cowboy builders be brought to justice? Buy this game and find out. I promise, you won't regret your decision.

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