Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

"Aladdin and Lara Croft just had a baby...and it kicked both their backsides."

So, I heard this was one of those puzzle games where you run around and pull blocks and jump around from place to place. I shrugged the game off and didn't buy it until I saw it for ten bucks and figured "What the hell." So, I bought it, played it, beat it, and here's what I think.

GRAPHICS: 5/5

This game looks amazing. Not only is it in the upper echelon of graphics of games of its time, but it goes in a vividly portrays a nifty little set of Arabian-style buildings, caves, and whatnot, all looking fantastic.

The cinematics look great, and the characters in-game actually resemble the cinematics, rather than looking like "dumbed-down" versions of them as seen in several other titles. While the "blur" effect is abused just a "tad," it's not ludicrous, so I'll let it fly.

The game just comes off looking great, not to mention everything has this certain "charm" to the environments that I just can't explain. Everything looks like an Arabian Nights fairy tale or something. Totally awesome.

SOUND: 4/5

The voice acting was quite good. However, the Prince came off sounding like a bit of a whiner at times, even though he's a god when it comes to sword-fighting and acrobatics. He would go off on things and gripe, even though he seems to be a bit "battle-hardened" at times. It just seemed really out of character and detracted from what was believed to be your identity in the game.

The swords and other weapons each had their own sound effect. However, regardless of weapon size, weapons all seemed to make the same one or two sounds every time they hit a surface. It isn't hugely important, but you do notice it a bit.

MUSIC: 5/5

Who would've thought Middle-eastern-sounding music could kick butt and take names? Seriously, this game has an incredible sound track. If I had extra Earth Moneys laying around, I'd go pick it up, but alas I don't. Hearing the music is just enjoyable. The songs work and they feel PERFECT for the environment. This is one of the game's finest features.

STORY: 6/10

It's simple and fairy-tale-like. It adds to the Arabian Nights bedtime story filled with bravery, adventure, and magic, but the shortage of characters means a thicker plot would've been far better than what they provide us with. There are only three important characters, and one, being the villain, has so little screen-time that he's more of a novelty than a feared or hated bad guy.

Also, as you travel through tons of rooms in the palace , you will think of them as wastes of time, placed there to make you think more about solving each puzzle, rather than the story, or the slight lack thereof. Aside from the very beginning and the last 20-30 minutes of the game, the game has little to no story. The beginning and the end ARE quite well done, but the massive gap in-between is shameful. However, it gets the job done, lazily as it would seem, and it's not a bad plot at all, though the ending leaves a slightly bitter taste in your mouth (not bad, just not rewarding).

GAMEPLAY: 13/20

This is pretty dang solid in the movement category. The acrobatics you are capable of performing are not only easy to perform, but also badass to look at. Not only can you climb ladders, roll under small holes to gain access of some sort, climb along ledges, swing from ropes, and other things, but you can even run on the walls for about 3 seconds and then jump about 15-20 feet away from that wall if you so wish. It's just awesome doing the moves. Not only are they easy, but if you aren't too reckless, you don't have to be nervous all the time.

Unlike Tomb Raider, where you have to make perfect jumps at all times and spend a good 15 minutes searching a large room for the next place to go, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time manages to keep where you have to go fairly obvious and not only do the camera angles move so that you can see both yourself and your next nearby destination (if possible to do so), but you are also shown a brief glimpse of most everything you'll be doing in the next few rooms at every save point you reach.

Unfortunately, this game DOES use save points, but they are quite common, and I never really felt "screwed" because the game went on for too long without allowing me to save. Also, if you screw up, you can just Rewind time with your ability to do just that. =p Of course, there's a limited number of Rewinds, but it makes you be careful while letting you enjoy yourself.

One huge drawback to this game is the sword-fights. At first, they appear deeply involved, strategic, and exciting. However, after a good two hours or so of playing, you'll come to see that only 2-3 strategies are actually needed, one for each enemy type. For instance, if you're fighting a red guy with a spear, jump over his head and slash him, but if you're fighting a blue guy with a spear, roll out of the way or block his attack and then slash him. This becomes quite tedious as you are typically attacked by more than a dozen enemies, in groups of 4-6 at a time, usually. I can deal with this if it weren't for the Dagger of Time. Although the dagger is freaking powerful and gives the Prince his special powers, it will drive you insane. EVERY time you defeat an enemy (until near the very very end), you HAVE to stab it with your dagger after it's down, or else it will hop right back up. You do it pretty much the same way every stinking time. This...gets...old. Also, you'll get slashed up REAL bad at times when you have to stop to stab a guy on the ground when surrounded.

Another thing is a lack of Sands of Time. These are the magic units used to use your time powers. It takes so long to take out each enemy that you may end up using 2-3 Sand Tanks before dispatching one of them, meaning you may often find yourself helpless in the middle of a big battle.

Also, there aren't many boss battles. In fact, I only remember ONE. It wasn't too difficult, but i was fairly challenging and fun. They could've had several bosses throughout the game, and I feel that they should have as well, as it would've livened up the endless rooms, making for some more excitement and tension.

One other issue involving the fights that was annoying is that a character will join you who uses a bow, and they can actually shoot YOU and kill you, which is pretty weak if you ask me.

OVERALL: 34/45=73.3%

THE VERDICT: BUY CHEAP

This is a fun game. It's a blast. There's a bunch of things wrong with it, but it somehow manages to be charmingly enjoyable with tons of puzzles that the average person shouldn't have too much trouble with. It's not a MUST HAVE, but it would definitely brighten up your day. I'd definitely buy it as you never know when you might want to grace the game with your presence again. As far as replay value, there's very little, but like I said...fun games keep you coming back every now and again. If you find it for $14.99 or less, that's a badass price. You really ought to pick it up. Thanks for reading; hope that helps! =)

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/05/05