Prince Of Persia The Sands Of Time

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is an action adventure platform puzzle game played in the third person.

Released in 2003 by Ubisoft, it was originally the third in the Prince of Persia series. The first was a straightforward 2-D platformer, but the second game (Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame) was a significant departure, taking the game into a 3-D world of great graphics and immersive storyline.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time built on this success and exploded onto the gaming scene to great critical acclaim. The concept and storyline has been so successful it was even remade as a (pretty lame) film.

The Prince must race around a palace fighting the sand monsters that spawn everywhere and collecting up the piles of magical sand with a mystical dagger. He is helped by a beautiful princess, Farah, who is around for some of the gameplay.

The game’s main appeal is its well-constructed plot-driven storyline, combined with the battle engine and the Prince’s acrobatic abilities, which enable him to solve puzzles and cross seemingly impossible terrain.

On top of this, there is the magical time element, which is what takes Prince of Persia: SoT from a good game to a great game. By using his dagger, the Prince can turn back time, rewinding the game a few seconds. You can also slow time, and even freeze it. While this sounds incredible – it means you will never die, right? – it isn’t that simplistic, and you have to time your use of the dagger really well to get the most out of it.

The graphics, which were ground-breaking at the time, have stood the test of time really well, as has the gameplay. The Prince would win any parkour prize going, with his supernatural ability to run across walls and make awesome jumps. Once you know what he can do, and work out his limits, navigating the deadly terrain is straightforward and fun.

The battle engine is also very well developed, calling on you to use your fighting and acrobatic abilities; for example, you can get a more punishing hit if you run off a wall and then deal a massive blow.

Pros

• Immersive storyline
• Good graphics and gameplay
• Nice twist at the end

Cons

• Fight scenes can get repetitive
• Not a great deal of replay value