A well balanced glossy game for the PS2. You couldn't ask for more.
What I love about this game is the way it unfolds. In essence its the same as any other. Basically you're playing as the prince whereby he is re-telling the story, not such a new idea, but better still is the way its stays fluid; so if you die, he simply says "no, no, thats not how it happened" and you can start again from a 'retry check point'.
This game is all about puzzles and a bit of fighting, so its often the case you try to make a large jump and miss. In addition to the way points where you restart, you also have a convenient daggar that is able to reverse time. One press of that button and you're able to avoid death and try a different route. In all this method leads to less frustration.
The 3rd person perspective works just fine for this and you can even hit the L2 button to get a far-back birds eye view shot. As with most 3rd person games, the fighting is tricky; as pressing left on the stick doesnt mean you head to the left of the screen, hence a bit of auto lock is required and sure enough hitting the attack button usually ends in a direct hit. The sheilding function is a tad naff.
Fighting is, as said, simplistic. Infact, its the worst part of the game, and seems its only incorporated to stop you getting bored of the repatative puzzles. The fighting mechanism is crude. Most enemies dont attack you until right on top of you, so dont get cornered by several. The special off the wall or jumping attacks do most damage; you soon learn that one type of enemy will block one type of attack, so you learn to use another - very predictable.
The puzzles are just about fine. Its just a twist on any Tomb Raider game at the end of the day. However this game can get real confusing and its not always obvious what to do. For instance early on in the game there is a hoard of guards, they keep re-spawning and I soon realised I had to get past them, no need to kill them, but just jump to the next level; and yet later on in the game you're in a boss room and you do have to kill all the guards, even though they respawn - you jsut gotta do it quickly. It becomes repatative, but you still feel the need to complete and solve the game.
Graphics are cool and very nice; that sandy warm feel. There are the usual faults of this age of game; his feet seem to slide and glide across the floor, usually when pushing items, and thus seems very unreal - reminding us this is simply a game.
Sounds are presented with the usual sound effects, swishing of swords or grunts of effort - basic. The music is enveloping and just right !!
Seems a good adventure game. Well worth adding to your collection.