Title: Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
Developer: Ubisoft
Genre: Adventure
Platforms: GCN, PS2, XBOX, PC
Players: 1



They say time flows like a river...

The original Prince of Persia was a 2D platformer that appeared on many formats spread out over a long period of time. SNES and the Sega CD being two that come to mind. It was a minimalist game, but it was a hard game that punished players for making even the simplest mistake, or the tiniest mis-timed jump. Making a modern update on such a simple game would allow a developer to turn the whole concept of the game on it's head which is what Ubisoft did with Prince of Persia: Sands of time. The gaming company that originated from France has had quite a lot of success over the past few years with the likes of Beyond Good and Evil, and XIII, both original games that stood out from many of today’s more mainstream titles. Sands of Time was the game that started their recent streak of success though, spawning a popular sequel Warrior Within.

But I have seen the face of time...

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time begins with our hero, simply called "The Prince" engaging in combat with the Maharaja's troops to reach the treasure that is located inside the Maharaja's treasure vault. The vault contains a rare sought after treasure called "The Dagger of Time". The prince slowly makes his way to the vault and retrieves the dagger, accidentally finding that the dagger has the ability to manipulate time in certain ways. Soon after leaving the vault the princes father obtains the "Sands of Time" too. He plans to offer it as a present to one of the powerful sultans of the Arabian empire. An old man who goes by the rank of "Vizier" notices the prince’s dagger and asks the prince’s father if he can have the dagger as a memento, as he promised him he could have one thing from the raid. The Princes father insists that his son keeps hold of it, as he found it fair and square. The Vizier betrayed the Maharaja in order to let the prince and his entourage into the place so they could attack, but he wants the dagger, and only the dagger so he can unleash the sands of time from the hourglass to cause chaos and destruction.

Shortly after arriving at the Sultans palace the Vizier tricks the Prince into opening the hourglass letting the sands run out turning everyone into marauding zombies. The only people that survive are the Prince, the Vizier, and Farah, how ironic.



And I can tell you, it does not...

The game has a very distinct Arabian look and style; this is one of the main reasons why a lot of gamers enjoy this more than Warrior Within. It has a lovely atmosphere about it, and the fact that a lot of these places are quite and abandoned (Except for a few Sand creatures here and there) helps enhance the feeling that your pretty much alone in such a grand and beautiful looking environment, it's so ambient and quiet. I have never experienced one bit of slowdown why playing Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. That's because the game doesn't chug around an excessive or unnessacery amount of textures, the game still looks beautiful though due to the varying structure in each level, each room looks pretty unique, you never come across a similar looking room once throughout the whole game. You can tell Ubisoft but some effort into the graphics and level design, some lovely lighting effects also pop up in the game . This makes the graphics feel even more elegant. The Arabian style hasn't been done in many games but Prince of Persia pulls the style off very well, and in some ways it looks Aladdin-esque.

The sound has to be some of the best I've heard in a game. It's just as charming as how the game looks. The voice acting in this game shines. It never feels wooden or rushed, or cheesy for that matter. The characters express their emotions very well. Each line is delivered with absolute perfection. And the people who were hired were definitely the best choice. The prince has a really snobby voice that suits his character perfectly, and Farah has that distinct characteristic too. After all, they are both children of highly respectable royal families. Throughout the game the Prince and Farah are highly amusing. They don't tend to like each other’s company; they don't really want to be with each other so often they have little arguments and sarcastic remarks. It really adds a bit of comedy to the whole situation, making the desperate situation feel a bit more light hearted. Music also fits in with the Arabian theme. There are the obvious Arabian style themes but Ubisoft managed to sneak in a few non Arabian elements into the soundtrack such as heavy drums and heavy electric guitar and some really good vocal performances. It really adds a unique edge to music that has been done so many times before in Arabian themed games/media.



Like a Biker on the Wall of Doom

Gameplay is the key factor with any game though, and Sands of Time shines in this area. The Prince himself is one very flexible and athletic dude. Instead of just being able to just simply jump and dodge, the Prince has a whole array of moves that can be used. See a large gap between you and another platform? Then just simply run across the wall to reach the opposite ledge. That right, run across a wall. Just simply run up to a wall at a slight angle and hold down the correct button to trigger the event. It's so simple to do. That isn't the only thing the prince can do though. As well as running across vertical surfaces you can also jump off them while running over them, this allows you to jump left or right from the wall depending on the walls position, from a jump you may have to grab onto another ledge or a bar. You can also scale ledges, jump off a ledge while hanging from it by your fingers, rotate around circular pillars and other items that share the same properties. There are so many other possibilities. But it's done in a way that never feels to complicated to pull off. The prince feels like an extension of your own thumbs and not just some generic character with a limited move set.

Each room feels like a huge obstacle course, and this isn't a bad thing as each room is designed in such a way that it provides the player with a unique challenge with every room, as you avoid various booby straps such as spikes that stick up to impale you, moving spiked pillars of doom, and chasms that stretch down for miles. Farah will also aid you in your quest, and for once a game provides the player with an escort that isn't dumb or completely useless, she's actually a great help, she can crawl through tight spaces to reach switches, and she's also a good archer too.

Combat takes a leaf out of Zelda's book but expands on it a tad and simplifies the controls, using a combination of buttons allows you to pull off a certain move that aids you in battle, these moves vary from leaping over an opponent, using a nearby wall to rebound off and thrusts at the nearest opponent like a missile, or a swift stab to the weakspot that results in sudden death. After a pummelling enemies fall to the ground, while they're on the ground you must stab them to finish them off, upon defeating an enemy sand flows into your dagger. A bar indicates how much sand you have in your dagger. When you build up enough sand you can use your dagger to trigger events that manipulate time. Fallen down a chasm after mistiming a certain manoeuvre? No problem, you can turn back time up to a certain extent to place yourself back to safety, just before you attempted the original jump. This really does reduce frustration, because dying because you made a minor fault is nowhere near as frustrating as other game, keep in mind though that as soon as the dagger runs out of sand you won't be able to use this ability until you retrieve more sand. So careful use of your sands is encouraged.

The game is linear, there is absolutely no backtracking whatsoever, so the only way to go is forward, this is a good thing as you won't get lost, leading to even less frustration. Sands of Time manages to give players a laid back game in which you can take your time to use your head, instead of rushing into things. It makes such a change from all the action packed adventure games of this day and age.

If you appreciate a good adventure game with a great story, interesting characters, and a unique concept that turns the genre completely on it's head then Sands of Time is a must buy. In fact, if you just want to experience one of the best games to grace a console then buy it.



Graphics: 9.2
It's not the most detailed game, but it's the style and the level design that really set this game apart from any other game that has graced a console or PC. The Arabian theme has it's own unique charm and style, and the characters are totally memorable and recognizable.

Sound: 9.4
The voice acting never ever puts a foot wrong, each voice suits the character to a tee, it's perfect. And the soundtrack compliments the quality of the voice acting perfectly. Like the graphics it has a great charm about it.

Lifespan: 9.0
It isn't the longest game but you will most likely come back to it a lot, a few Easter eggs hidden away too.

Score: 9.4
A unique adventure game that no game of it's type can match, it's charming, great looking, and most importantly, fun. If you truly appreciate gaming then pick this up now.