Blackthorne is an inferior version of the original Prince of Persia, but that doesn't mean it isn't still fun to play.
Graphics: At the time of its release Blackthorne was a beauty. The high-framerate character animations and colorful enemies were pleasing to the eye. Today the graphics are dated, and might be appropriate for a 16-bit (SNES, Genesis, Turbographix) platform. Sound: The sound was good for the time, with appropriate 8-bit sound effects for the shotgun and grunts of fallen foes. The music was certainly nothing to write home about, though. Standard midi reloops.
Gameplay: Blackthorne provides a few hours of enjoyment. The game contains sixteen levels in four different settings: Androth mines, Karellian Swamps, the desert wastelands, and the Sarlac Keep. The game is a standard platformer where you move through a maze-like level, blowing away enemies and releasing captives or finding keys. Blackthorne had the unique ability to fire his gun backwards, but it was more attitude than useful. He can also "hide in the shadows", which is frequently necessary to pass certain areas. It gets progressively harder as you move through the game. At the time it seemed more fun, but today there are far better platformers out there to play. The predecessor Prince of Persia or Flashback were infinitely more entertaining. The puzzles in Blackthorne are really just a matter of throwing a switch or finding a key to move on to the next area, and the story isn't that great. Still, it is fun to blow away orcs and goblins with a shotgun. Frodo would be jealous.
The game gets three babylons out of five. One for the shotgun, one for orcs you get to blow away, and one for being able to shoot allies in the face. Not really the moral thing to do, but somehow satisfying in the game.