The Prince of Persia is back, in the Sands of Time, and this time, his adventure is nothing short of amazing.
The Bad; Game is a little on the short and the easy side, you'll be doing more or less of the same things throughout the game.
Introduction: Prince of Persia the Sands of Time is a new game in the PoP series for the consoles of the current generation. It was released in 2003, and was met with high recommendation from developers and gamers alike. Presentation: Wonderful. Very simple menus, with a tone of ancient times dwindled in. Wonderful, nice save points, captures the tone of ancient times perfectly. Very atmospheric music to match.
Story: The story of PoP is pretty simple. You are the son of the King of Persia, in the early times before Christ. You are invading a kingdom in hopes of conquer; but the character you play, the Prince, wants more. He wants to impress his father, and to gain honor and glory. So he goes to gain access to a powerful treasure, the Dagger of Time. The evil Vizier tricks you into retrieving the artifact, and befuddles you again into driving the Dagger into the Hourglass of Time. There, the palace is transformed into a land of monsters, and all its inhabitants are inhuman sand creatures. The only ones who remain in Human Form is the Prince, the Evil Vizier, and a young woman named Farah.
Having been tricked, and father murdered, the Prince sets out to destroy the Vizier, as well as return the Dagger of Time.
Graphics: Oh wow, the graphics are beautiful! The architecture of the land is absolutely amazing. Characters are great with very fluid animation, and the game has some beautiful CGI from time to time. The only complaint is the environments are similar throughout the game, but they are also very varied.
Sound: The sound in this game is great. Wonderful voice acting, great music. The only problem is that there could have been more variety in dialogs, as well as the volume being louder (as this is a game that is not particularly loud in comparison to others). Everything else is top notch.
Gameplay: This game is highly enjoyable, a true pleasure. The reason why this game is so fun? You control a character that is highly acrobatic, and skilled in combat, with intelligent characters. You control the prince, (with very well rounded controls by the way) and he has many maneuvers that are very entertaining to control. The Prince can swing on poles, balance on beams, jump off walls, run on walls, run UP walls, you name it. It sounds difficult but it is very simplistic. Not only that, but you can use the dagger to control time, which is a key factor in the game. If you die, you can use the dagger to rewind; you cannot fast forward, but you can make things go a twinge faster. Its very useful. Although, the Time Control isnt infinite. You will run out of Sand Tanks eventually, which is why you must collect power ups throughout the game. The combat as well is a joy, very easy to learn, quite challenging to master. You have two weapons, the Dagger and a standard sword. The sword is used for brutalizing your enemies, while the dagger finishes them off. You cannot defeat any enemies without using the dagger (besides small animals) so it is a handy tool in these dark times. As well, you can use some power ups and control time with the Dagger, and it is very useful against enemies. The gameplay is wonderful, and is truly groundbreaking for adventure games. Value: As fun as this game is, it does not have infinite value. The Story mode is less than 10 hours, which is somewhat of a limitation. But in the end, you can unlock the original PoP which is always a plus. So if you are looking for a highly enjoyable adventure game, with plenty of visual flair and a hint of old world history, then the Sands of Time is the game for you.