First of all for those of you looking for replayability, in this game it does not exist. It's a one trick pony. Once you've played through the game once you'll rarely if ever play it through more then a second time unless you get the showstopper platform bug which forces you to start from the beginning of the game and go through it all over. Now on with the review. This game is very good if you are an action gamer and also don’t mind solving puzzles. Since most of the game is really about button-mashing real-time action combat and the puzzle solving. Your actions in the game amount do not amount to more then moving from room to room clearing out monsters and solving puzzles and trying to figure out how to get to the other side of the room or get out of the room you are in to get to the next one. The game is extremely linear but this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it keeps the game focused. Very rarely if ever will you ever wander around and feel lost in this game. The design of the levels are very well done but the rooms are designed in a way that you have to figure them out the first time, some of the paths to the exit of the room are not obvious at all and you will end up going online to find out how to get to the next part of the game on certain levels. The story and feeling of the game is somewhat similar to Disney's Aladdin except more mature and less developed, since this is a game. Also the hourglass that holds the Sands of time functions as a similar object or artifact of power like the magic lamp in Aladdin. It's hard not to draw comparisons between the two if you've ever watched the almost ubiquitous Disney movies if you live in North america. Especially the Grand vizier, the games main bad guy, you'll see that the designers behind the story of the game really drew way too much inspiration from Disney's Alladin for the games nemesis. The big bad guy is way too similar to think that there wasn't severe copying of that Disney character. The graphics are a bit of a mixed bag, they are artistically good from a moderate distance but up close and personal they are pretty bland, the prince especially when you get close and see his low poly face and the smeared textures on all versions of the game (I own a PS2, Gamecube and PC). Some of them are beautiful and gorgeous and some areas of the game are very bland. But overall they are well done. The only real problem comes from the games one showstopper bug with Fara the princess when she tries to bring down the platform. When you get to that point where the prince yells out "Now" to tell the princes Fara to lower the platform, that is a the defining moment of whether or not you shut off the game and saved at the wrong time from a previous play session. You'll have to start the game all over if you get this bug. This game is great one time through but the fights get a little repetitive about half-way through the game the pacing and downtime between fighting and solving the room’s puzzles is a little off. But for the most part it doesn’t detract significantly from the enjoyment of the game. It’s worth a rent but there is no replayability here to consider purchasing this game, even at the budget price.
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