Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

"Control time itself in a quest for redemption."

The original Prince Of Persia, by Jordan Mechner was a captivating game and way ahead of his time, (The late eighties) mainly focused in exploring levels and in advanced player skill in executing some actions (precise jumping, almost all the time). The fighting element was also there, Prince would always draw his sword in the sight of a foe, and then the player would engage in a sword fight with the enemy (Always one-to-one battles). You could either parry enemy attacks or attack with your sword, and of course move forward and backward. In Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, you will find almost no resemblances with his ''predecessor''.

Gameplay: 10/10

Wow. This game have a VERY polished gameplay, with responsive controls and an easy control scheme. The quantity of moves you can perform is frightening - Things like running up walls, alongside them, walking on beams, climbing ropes, wall-jumping, vaulting over enemies, and, most important, CONTROLLING TIME - and you will surely be astounded as you discover more and more gameplay elements that you can deal with. Believe me, they are all easy to perform and highly intuitive. But the highlight of the game is the time control ability. Yes, once you obtain the mystical dagger of time, you can do awesome things like rewind time (You will be using this frequently), slow down time, freeze enemies and then slice them in half, absorb enemies (filling up your sand tanks with them) and the almighty Mega-Freeze (I won't spoil it for you, but trust me, this can help a LOT in battles). Some of those actions consume sand, for example, if you miss a jump, you can rewind in time until you reach the part you were about to jump and fall to your death - However, doing this consumes sand, and if you miss a jump and you have no sand left, it's game over. You can refill you sand in many ways, mainly by absorbing your foes. The battles on this game unlike the original, are against hordes of enemies. And let me say, the fighting in this game looks awesome. Prince can vault over his targets, rewind time to block a attack that would kill him, slash enemies with his sword and dagger, all of this in a non-stop rhythm of action. The action, puzzle and exploring elements are incredibly performed and extremely inspired, not to mention the incredible design. You will be amazed.

Graphics: 9/10

This game is also visually gorgeous, with great light effects and above-average character models. The environments are highly detailed and look extremely realistic. The water effect is one of the best ones i've ever seen on a video game. The textures are clean and well-applied. You will not get disappointed.

Sound: 10/10

My god. The music in Sands of Time is masterfully executed and extremely moody. From the epic vocals in some battle themes to the amazing main theme (An oriental beat mixed with guitars and techno additions) all sounds perfect. The sound effects of swords clashing and monsters screaming are very appropriated, like all the sound effects of the game.

Replay: 5/10

Probably the only letdown of the game. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time will last around ten hours to the average gamer, even less, and there is basically only one main reason to replay this game. Well, not exactly this game. You can unlock a port of the original Prince of Persia in a determined part of the game. If you never played it, it's time to meet the roots of the series and see how it changed. If you already played it, time to crank up the nostalgia. Other than that, Sands of Time is a linear game, with no extra paths, no alternative endings or even outfits to stimulate a new completion of the game. I guess you can't have everything.

Overall: 9/10

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is one of the best action games I've ever played. It is fun, inspired, haves a decent storyline and a gorgeous gameplay. Other game companies should use this game as an example to their further projects on the action genre. Or even to admire the effort and care the producers threw on this game. Buy it, you will thank me...

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/01/04