Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

"A Right Royal Contender..."

Where to start on this one? The luscious graphics? The atmospheric sound? The cracking storyline? The brilliant sense of continuity? Ye Gods! This is not going to be easy but...

The first thing to note is that this game is good. Very good indeed. The game is firmly in the swashbuckling adventure genre and although the hero doesn't offer the ample charms of a certain Ms Croft he is a dashing sort of fellow. But don't worry, for those of you who need their fix of voluptuous beauty there is always Farah... but more of her later. Let's start with the basics:

Graphics: 9

Lovely, although it'll take a monster PC to get the best out of it. The settings are perfect and the drawing and animation crisp and sharp. If you have everything turned on it is truly a thing of beauty with a lovely heat haze effect. Even on lower settings it does not fail to please the eye.

Sound: 8

Splendidly atmospheric music and a great comic dialogue make this a feature of the game. The 'action sounds' from The Prince are great too - from his grunt as he pulls himself up a ledge to his ''Wo-o-o-ah!'' as he falls off it. Crank up the volume and enjoy.

Controls: 8 (Joypad)/ 6 (Keyboard and Mouse)

One word of advice: Gamepad. The edition I bought had a free one included and it made all the difference. PoP is at heart a console game and you will need the right tools for the job unless you enjoy reloading a lot. If you go for the pad then you will find it instinctive.

Story: 9

A desert epic in the making. Without giving any spoilers away it's safe to say you will be absorbed in the Prince's quest from the opening titles, through the action and cinematic sequences right up to the final whistle. A great and tightly scripted tale.

Gameplay: 8

And this is the crunch part. This should have been a 9 if it weren't for the... well, more of that in a minute. Let's look at the positives.

The adventure aspects of the game are awesome. The Prince is an athletic chap and can jump and leap through the obstacles and traps that await him. You can always see what you have to do and can't blame the game for any deaths - it's entirely down to your skill level and quickness of fingers. That said, none of the puzzles or obstacles are that difficult - enough to cause a bit of frustration without giving you the need to throw the pad through the screen. For example, you can't accidentally fall off a ledge as The Prince will always grab it and when you do mistime a leap or bound you can always restart.... except you don't have to.

Ubi Soft are to be commended for coming up with the Dagger of Time and it's ability to turn back the clock. Mess up a jump and plunge to your doom? No worries - just rewind time and try again provided you have enough sand to do so. It's a truly great inclusion that takes away the frustration of having to restart levels for one silly error. This feature is also good for fights when you slip up and get clobbered. Just rewind time and try again with a different approach.

Of course the Dagger has other powers which it develops as you collect more sand and build up its strength. These are great but it is the rewind feature that is the clincher.

The action set pieces are great too. On his travels the Prince encounters Farah - a buxom Maharajah's daughter who can reach switches that the more muscular Prince cannot. This works surprisingly well and the banter between the two is always amusing. But it's not all easy - you will spend quiet a bit of time defending her and if she dies it's all over.

But defending her from what you ask? And that brings us on to the reason it loses a point: the combat.

It's not the combat system that is at fault here, that's fine. The prince has two weapons - his sword (which can be upgraded throughout the game) and the Dagger and a variety of attacks and special moves that make combat entertaining. It's the sheer volume of it.

PoP isn't the longest game in the world and you sometimes feel it has been padded out with overly long combat routines. You will run into a room, dispatch the four or so monsters and then have to do it all over again seven or eight times as reinforcements teleport in. This is fine in certain set pieces where it's all about staying alive and defending Farah, but not in general locations where it doesn't really add any value. You will find this an annoying feature of an otherwise excellent game.

However, the pluses far outweigh the minuses and this is a game I have no hesitation in recommending as you will enjoy it. You may wish to rent it though if you're going on a marathon gaming session as you can complete it in ten hours or so.

Here's hoping Ubisoft make a sequel.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/17/03