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1st December 2003:
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Game of the year? You better believe it... Find out why in our full review.
Posted by John Wasabi - PlayStation 2,GameCube,Xbox,PC - UK and Europe

What can I say? After 10 minutes of playing Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, all I could say was 'amazing'. It has been almost 15 years since the original Prince of Persia shipped and delighted players. It was a smart and stylised action-adventure game that featured elegant and challenging puzzles, deadly traps, swordplay and astounding acrobatics. Not only that though, it had an intriguing premise as well - a Persian Prince on a mission to save his princess from the wicked Vizier Jaffar and with only an hour to do it. The original Prince of Persia redefined a genre and till this day lives on in the hearts of many and those of you who pick up the latest instalment will feel that all over again.

Countless gamers all over the World consider the original 2D Prince of Persia as one of the best videogames ever made, and then came Prince of Persia 3D, which failed to even come close to recapturing its glory. When we heard of the latest instalment, we were sceptical, I mean really sceptical. Not only are there countless action adventure games out there, there are countless INCREDIBLE action adventure games out there and for us to say that Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time not only retains the reputable play mechanics and charisma of its 2D predecessor, but it actually betters them in every way possible by the bucket load.

The story is told through a mixture of sharp, ambient full-motion video cut-scenes and amusing in-game dialogue. The character talks to himself and even admits to this as peculiar, which is pretty funny throughout the game. This method of storytelling works tremendously well and never breaks from the action, which others have tried but not quite perfected. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time begins in medieval Persia shortly after the Prince and the king have defeated the Maharajah and looted his palace. When the Prince takes a mystifying dagger he unknowingly unleashes the Sands of Time, an evil power that plague the kingdom and transforms its people into demonic beings. The quest is, eventually, to set things right and reverse the dark magic. Obviously the story is deeper and far more intricate involving betrayal, pride, love and tragedy but I am sure this is something you will want to unravel for yourself when you go out and buy a copy of your own so I best not spoil anything.

The control and play mechanics are the embodiment of intuitiveness. The Prince is moved tightly around with the analog stick and can jump or roll depending upon his situation. He can also run on and up walls with the right shoulder button and with the help of his magical dagger eventually slow and rewind time with the left shoulder button. These acrobatic and magical moves sound complicated, but is manipulated with so much ease when compared with other games like Tomb Raider, that we can't help but wonder why no one else has been able to replicate this sort of intuitive control scheme. Developers of the World, take note, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time controls like an absolute dream and one that will be mimicked for years to come.

The puzzles are intense but always logical because they make sense and because of that they can be understood and solved in a rational method, which again many games out there try but don't seem to pull off quite as well. The puzzle elements flawlessly fuse with the controls and are perfectly brilliant throughout the whole adventure.

The only crack in this gem that stopped us from giving Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time a perfect score of 10/10 is the battle system. The camera can be very awkward while fighting and occasionally gets stuck causing all sorts of vision obstruction. Battles can also at times be extremely unfair and thoroughly frustrating, especially when you have been knocked down and surrounded by hordes of the undead who can dispatch of you with well placed 3-4 hit combos. The added feature of rewinding time does help get round this, if the Prince accidentally falls to his death or is hacked to death, all you need to do is hold the left shoulder button and the unfortunate accident can be rewound (think pressing rewind on a video player and you'll know what I mean). The only conditions being that you must have Sand power in your magic dagger so as not to make the game too easy. This new method of gameplay allows you to be more heroic and experiment in death defying risk taking.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time has an excellent array of quality sound effects that will not disappoint in full surround sound. Occasional guitar riffs and modern drumbeats give the old-style soundtrack an inspiring beat from the explosive intro music to the Middle Eastern-influences.

You still reading this? Rush out and purchase this game now! Not only does Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time feature the original game as an unlockable, it truly is one of the most amazing games this side of Christmas. It is so good that I have already listed it as one of my games of the year but for those with Xbox and Gamecube consoles, you will be dreadfully disappointed to hear that Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is exclusive to PlayStation 2 and only available next year on other console platforms.

John Wasabi

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Review Summary:

Rush out and purchase this game now! Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is truly one of the most amazing games this side of Christmas Not only does it retain the reputable play mechanics and charisma of its 2D predecessor, but it actually betters them in every way possible by the bucket load.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
for PlayStation 2

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