Ubisoft has shown us that every platformer isn't just a clone of Mario 64
Graphically, the game looks amazing! Granted, the character models could have used some work, but the environments are incredibly detailed, with realistic water shining, beautiful dust particle effects, and lots of light bloom. Escpecially from the sun! And people say looking into the sun is bad for you. Oh wait, yeah that's still bad for you. Anyway, one of my favorite parts of the game is the crystal-clear Full-Motion Video that plays during "Special" cutscenes. The game suffers from no visible lag, and that's saying a lot considering the game's engine only runs on 30 Frames per second. For all of you who don't speak nerd, that's the processing power of an NES.
"Many people believe time is like a river. It flows swift and sure. But I have seen the face of time and I can tell you... they're wrong. Time is like an ocean. Is has many paths and endless possibilities." That my friends, was the Prince's monologue during the opening cutscene. The story begins as the prince wakes up in a warzone that you could only understand if you listened to the opening cutscene, after navigating through a series of traps, he finds a mystic relic known as the dagger of time, which he later uses to release an ancient entity known as the sands of time. This gives him the power to control time itself, provided he has the dagger. The psychotic vizier wants to use the sands to become immortal. Oh boy. We SO haven't heard that before.
One thing that really bugged me throughout this game is that it's combat is very tedious with the constant Vault-Slash-Absorb combo. It just feels like I was trying to fight my way through enemies just so I could experience the joys of Prince of Persia's awesome platforming elements. Another problem is that sometimes the camera can get stuck behind a wall, which is no fun when a bunch of enemies decide to gang up on you. Overall, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a quality product that nobody should pass up.
Graphics: 9
Story: 8
Controls: 10
Difficulty: 8
Entertainment: 9
Final Score: 8.8
Good and Bad
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+Incredible Platforming
+Deviously logical puzzles
+Tight Controls
+Beautiful art direction
+Characters that actually act HUMAN
+Time powers are awesome
-Occasional Camera issues
-Slow and Tedious Combat