Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

"Great, but not perfect."

Story- 6/10
Graphics- 10/10
Music and Sound- 8/10
Game Play and Control- 9/10
Difficulty- 6/10
Replay Value- 5/10
Overall- 7/10

Story-

The story isn't horrible, but it isn't great either. Basically, you are a prince who has stolen the Dagger of Time and, with it, was tricked into unleashing the Sands of Time. The Sands of Time turned everybody into these sand creature things that really aren't all that nice to say the least. The Dagger being the only thing that can reverse this must be taken to the source of the Sand. So you, being The Prince and all, must take the dagger there. The story itself is very predictable, and there aren't many plot twists. Maybe it's just because I'm used to the big epic stories that are in RPGs, but whatever the reason...the story just seemed mediocre at best to me. However, in a game like this, the story really doesn't matter. So this aspect of the game doesn't count as much as some of the others.

Graphics-

I was really surprised with this game's visuals(especially considering it's on the PS2). All of the main characters look amazing, and the sand creatures look great as well. The lighting is awesome, and shadows act, for the most part, realistically. The backgrounds are beautiful, extremely well done, and create very good ambiance. The frame rate isn't horrible either, and I had only experienced one random slowdown while playing. The camera can be a bit annoying, but usually it isn't too bad. Overall, this part of the game is near perfection(for me at least).

Music and Sound-

There isn't that much music in this game. Actually, the only time I can remember hearing music is during fights. The sound effects and voice acting, however, are outstanding. One of the more memorable sounds in the game is the background sound that plays while rewinding time. The only problem I could find with the sound was that the characters didn't speak loud enough(or in rare cases they spoke too loud), but the background noises were normal. I found myself constantly adjusting my speakers so I could hear the voice acting, but not have to listen to the extremely loud sound effects due to the volume change. This problem could be due to my sound system though...If it weren't for this minor annoyance I would have given it a 10/10.

Game Play and Control-

This game is basically like one big puzzle. The "bosses" are complex puzzles that you run into occasionally. Most of them are extremely well done, and challenging. However, the reason most of the puzzles are challenging is because the game is very vague about what you are supposed to do. Usually, you will just be placed somewhere and then be left to figure out what to do yourself. There are these little sand point things that let you see glimpses into the future, but these rarely help. This can get somewhat irritating if you are trying to solve a puzzle, and discover you weren't even doing what you were supposed to do to solve it. The only other negative I can give it is the fact that the game can get repetitive as you are, essentially, just doing the same thing over and over.

The control for this game is excellent. It's complex for the people who love to spend time mastering things, but it's simple enough to pick up and play. It's easy to do "advanced" moves and then be proud of yourself because it looked like it was challenging to someone watching : )... All of the prince's abilities are very easy to do, and I don't have any complaints about control.

Difficulty-

PoP's difficulty is hard to describe. It can be hard to someone who isn't used to playing games, but for the average gamer it's sort of easy. I have heard of experienced gamers, however, that found this title hard. It would seem that the difficulty depends on your reflexes. For me, it would have been hard if it wasn't for one thing...the ability to rewind time. You can rewind time as long as you have a sand tank and a full sand bar. You'd think that would make it harder to abuse the rewind ability. This is not true. It is pathetically easy to fill up sand tanks, and your sand bar automatically fills up. In fact, the easiest way to kill an enemy is to absorb him with your dagger giving you a full sand tank. This game is also very short, and can be completed in seven to twelve hours.

Replay Value-

After beating the game there isn't a very good reason to play through this again. Hidden in the game is the original Prince of Persia, and you may or may not want to go through that. I recommend at least trying to play it just for historical value. Most likely you probably won't find yourself going through this title again, and it will find a nice little place on the shelf to collect dust.

Rent or Buy?

I recommend buying this game. While it is short...it is also cheap, and is a great title to add to your collection. If you think you can complete it in a rental, and you don't like buying a title you may never play after you beat, then rent it. Either way is fine though.

Overall Score- 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/13/05