# Prince of Persia Review



## McMurphy (Dec 13, 2004)

Our hero, the youngest son of King Sharaman, has royally messed up.

The Prince of Persia is eager to impress upon his father that he, like his brothers, can be a great attribute in their current war with Maharajah. After the Prince stumbles across an ancient and mystical dagger known as the Dagger of Time, he is tricked by the Vizier, who reveals he is a traitor employed by Maharajah by doing so, to unleash the weapon's evil powers. Sultan's kingdom is cursed by the corrupting and crumbling effect of the Sands of Time, and the kingdom's residents are turned into Sand Creatures (in other words, zombies) as a result. The Prince of Persia resigns himself to defeating the cursed palace and restoring time back to its proper order. Whether the Prince likes it or not, he will not be alone in his quest for redemption. Farah, the daughter of Maharajah, wants the Dagger of Time. They both find out that they will need to work together to survive the traps, cliff ruins, and monsters of the palace.

And so opens the Playstation 2 game, *Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time* (released by the Canadian game maker Ubisoft in 2003), but players aren't picking this game up for the storyline. Fans of the original '80s computer game want to see how their favorite Persian hero looks when treated with the 21st century 3D animation. They want to see if the new installment can keep up the ever evolving gamers world while retaining the more simple pleasures of smashing priceless vases, jumping gaps, hanging from palace cliffs, and the ever necessary sword fighting. Can Ubisoft do it? Can the company give PS2 owners a reminder of an old favorite much like done for Pitfall on the first Playstation?

Yes. The game isn't perfect, but it is certainly a fun game. 

There is much to be proud of in regards to adhering to the franchise's original, popular formula. Not only do players get to jump and hang the Prince from ruins, but they get to with a better sense of exactly how high these cliffs are. If one chooses unwisely, he/she can see tensely the Prince fall and fall and fall. The young athlete has more than hanging and jumping up his sleeve now. Wielding incredible upper body strength, the character can now leap backwards from pillars, rebound from wall to wall much in the fashion that Ninja Gaiden made famous, and flip from hanging pipework. The sword fighting has really taken a completely new life. No longer is it dedicated solely to a jousting style. The newly prepared Prince can flip over enemies while striking, push off walls to vault himself into a fray, and even counter attack with a flick of the wrist. The improvements are not only for the offensive end, however. He can flip, roll, and guard most attacks. In fact, the eight various types of Sand Creatures demand different approaches to adequately defeat them. The Prince of Persia has apparently been practicing over the decades.

The enemies, much like the original series, get a bit repetitive. It is not long into the game that players will see most types of Sand Creatures thrown at them. Aside from the eight Creatures (which also includes women from a harem), there are three Animal Sand Creatures, although they act as more of an annoyance than any real danger. The only time a player needs to worry about the latter is when a bird or bat is trying to knock the Prince off of a slim beam. The beetles will remind players of what they had already grown to dread in the Turok series. The criticism does not necessarily mean that the fighting will get boring to most gamers. Because it soon becomes apparent that players will need to execute different battle techniques for different villains AND for the fact that these villains surround the Prince at the same time, the battles stay hard and in demand of gamers' full attention. 

The Dagger of Time plays an important role in the battles. Aside from the Animal Sand Creatures, a player must stab a fallen monster for the kill to officially counter and add magic to your weapon.

The Prince is not on this quest alone as mentioned before. Farah takes part in the puzzle solving and battles. When she is not crawling through cracks in the wall (she is skinny to the point of being sickly, really) and pulling levers or shooting off enemies with her trusty bow and arrow, she is most often supplying banter and accidently shooting the Prince. Farah will without doubt get players yelling at her for an untimely death a few times. It is also important to note that she adds an additional frustration to the battles by making sure she does not get killed. If she dies, the game is over. Her real role, however, is supplying a love interest for the Prince. Will he fall in love with his enemy's daughter? Is her banter hiding her real feelings for him? Will she betray him in the end to get at that dagger? Although the love interest angle is executed pretty badly, there is an "interesting" cinema clip at near the end of the game between the two characters.

The Prince of Persia has a health line that can be refilled by pools of palace water and increased by finding hidden passages. There is also an additional meter centered around the Dagger of Time's powers. Let's say a player makes a miscalculation in jumping and plummets the character to his death. By pressing the L1 button, a player can rewind time and correct the mistake. Depending on how many balls a player has filled in the meter determines how many times he/she can correct mistakes. This meter can be replenished by stabbing the dagger into bright patches of white light hidden throughout the palace. A player can freeze characters by stabbing an enemy with the dagger instead of the Prince's paramount choice of a weapon (a sword that is given a few upgrades in strength as the game progresses), and she/he can slow down time to better stage the Prince's attacks. These elements are quite easy to master, and players will get a bit disappointed with the lack of more hidden areas and weapons by the end of the game.

The controls are fairly standard. A player uses the left analog stick to move the character around in the environment, and the right analog stick to rotate the camera around the character (or to have the character look around the room if one chooses to press the R1 button to give a first-person glimpse). The directional pad is not used in this game.

The camera is also fairly standard, which includes the typical camera errors. The player will not always get to see within the palace at the ideal angles. During battles, unsurely camera work can become more than a little frustrating. For example, the Prince may flip over a monster to strike it in the back only to have the player blinded by the camera attempting to show the scene from behind a wall. The camera work needs tweaking, and hopefully the sequel will get it right.

The Prince goes through a few appearance changes, but nothing too significant. He starts out in the game in full garb, but, to demonstrate how he is becoming less and less virginal in his experiences, he ends the game wearing no shirt and tattooed with scars. 

The voice acting is well done, overall. There is no preset subtitles so be sure to have your television volume up at a decent level. The voices, for some reason, play at a far lower level than the sound effects or other sounds from the game, so one may wish to keep that in mind when settling on the volume level.

In the end, *Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time* gets a solid "B" rating. The action and problem solving become a repetitive or uninspired chore at times, but it does provide a telling and gripping experience overall. The graphics already seem a bit dated, and the game could use more high-res cinema clips (most storyline clips are done with in-game graphics). The price tag of under $20.00 (United States) makes this game a great deal or even present for someone (perhaps yourself, Oh Selfish One) during the Holiday Season. The game is rated "T" (The violence contains very little blood and the romantic themes are not overtly sexual), making it suitable for most players one may decide to buy for. 

*Grade:* _B_

*Strengths:* _Successful revamping of classic elements of the original game, 3D graphics, solid voice acting, decent premise, a good fighting system, decent and nonintrusive music score, and a fulfilling ending._

*Weaknesses:* _Graphics getting a bit dated, spotty camera work, repetitive types of problems to solve, poorly executed romance storyline between the Prince and Farah, and the game is a bit short (it can be beat with comfort in ten hours of gameplay)._

_


			
				The Prince of Persia said:
			
		


			In my quest for redemption, I must control time itself.
		
Click to expand...

_


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## Leto (Dec 13, 2004)

For the camera weeakness, you'll be sorry to hear that Warrior within has the same trouble.  But I've putted this one a A, and Warrior Within a B. Technically of course the second is better (better graphics), yet it lacks the sheer fun  of Sands of time; I love dark titles (as Legacy fo kain for example), but it doesn't suit IMHO Prince of Persia.

Nice review. Did you published it somewhere else ?


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## McMurphy (Dec 13, 2004)

Leto said:
			
		

> For the camera weeakness, you'll be sorry to hear that Warrior within has the same trouble. But I've putted this one a A, and Warrior Within a B. Technically of course the second is better (better graphics), yet it lacks the sheer fun of Sands of time; I love dark titles (as Legacy fo kain for example), but it doesn't suit IMHO Prince of Persia.
> 
> Nice review. Did you published it somewhere else ?


Thanks.  No, I haven't published the review anywhere else. I almost timed out on my internet connection when writing it within Chronicles' message box. *L* I blame my slow typing skills and the fact that LOTR was on television.


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## Brian G Turner (Dec 13, 2004)

Great review.


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## erickad71 (Dec 13, 2004)

I really had fun playing this game. I gave it a B...if only because I had so much trouble with the door puzzle at the end of the game.

The enemies were hard enough for me that I had to make an effort at the game, I coudn't just breeze through it. It kept my attention through the whole game...and it was a visually beautiful game as well.

I will definitely be getting the new Prince of Persia game for Christmas too.


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## AmonRa (Dec 14, 2004)

i havent played sands of time yet, but i played the original 2d scrollers which were ace ^_^


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## mac1 (Dec 14, 2004)

AmonRa said:
			
		

> i havent played sands of time yet, but i played the original 2d scrollers which were ace ^_^


snap!


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## Rane Longfox (Dec 17, 2004)

Well, I've bought the second one a little while ago, although haven't played it yet, as the only games my deader-than-dead PS2 will allow me to play is Ratchet and Clank 3 and Airblade... maybe in feb (latest estimate for getting a new one) I'll be able to agree or disagree


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## McMurphy (Dec 17, 2004)

*Rip*



			
				caladanbrood said:
			
		

> Well, I've bought the second one a little while ago, although haven't played it yet, as the only games my deader-than-dead PS2 will allow me to play is Ratchet and Clank 3 and Airblade... maybe in feb (latest estimate for getting a new one) I'll be able to agree or disagree


Yikes, what happened to your playstation?


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## Rane Longfox (Dec 17, 2004)

I, urm, threw it in the pond... I thought I was gonna be able to get a new one. Like sony, I rather underestimated the demand Amazing that I've got it to work for anything, really.


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## Kassad (Dec 17, 2004)

Liked it but not finished as I found it too tough: combat and timed puzzles are really hard for your average kassad and of course those camera problems are irritating. Anyway, it's very beautifull and not so impossible parts are a great fun to play.


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## Dark Masamune (Dec 19, 2004)

I have heard Prince Of Persia:Sands Of Time is a very good game but actually didn't sell that well, which is a shame because it is a cut above a lot of other games which get a high amount of attention. In contrast I hear the new PoP game, Prince Of Persia:Warrior Within, isn't as good and has tried to adopt a hardcore, dark new look but it doesn't work. Also, Prince Of Persia:Warrior Within has seemed to have abandoned the puzzle side of things that were so strong in Prince Of Persia:Sands Of Time.


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## McMurphy (Dec 21, 2004)

*Dark:* Welcome to the boards! I don't think I have had a chance to post within the same thread as you yet. You and Leto have said the same thing in regards to the sequel: the darkness doesn't fit the Prince of Persia series. That is really a shame since the commercials made it look oh-so-cool. I was hoping that the Prince's badass attitude was a logical progression from his experiences in the first game. 

*Cal:* You threw your playstation in a pond!???? *LOL* Were you having a "Hulk Smash!" moment or something? I don't know if torn purple trousers look good on _anyone_.

AmonRa mentioned the original 2D classics. I think all of us are at least somewhat familiar with those. _What was the 2D version of Prince of Persia you played the most?_

For me, I really got into the first generation Gameboy version of Prince of Persia (the black and white days of the portable system). I noticed that they later made a Gameboy Color version of the game, and there is now a Gameboy Advanced version of Sands of Time.

Also, I looked up info on the net and there are two really interesting codes out there for Sands of Time: according to cheatcc.com, you can play the first level of the original Prince of Persia redone in 3D animation by, when on the balcony at the very beginning of the game, holding down L3, pressing x, square, triangle, circle, triangle, x, square, circle. The second cool bonus of the game is unlocking the original 2D computer game! Here is a quote of where it is located:


			
				cheatcc said:
			
		

> After getting the second sword that can break walls (approximately one third of the way through the game after the "Above the Bath's" area), you will reach a large location where you must pass through a door with Farah and activate a lever to open another door to a hallway filled with scarabs. There are three positions to this switch (open door into room, open door to hallway with scarabs, and open secret door to the classic _Prince Of Persia_). The switch is located at the end of the room, near the save point and near a large piece of rubble. There is a wall opposite to that lever that appears to be unbreakable, and does not look like other wall areas that can be manipulated. When you hit this secret area on the wall, it will not spark as expected. After setting the switch to unlock the door to the mini-game, keep hitting the non-sparking section of wall until it breaks. A message will appear to state that the original _Prince Of Persia_ game has now been unlocked. Alternately, successfully complete the game.


I am defidently going to try them out now that Sands of Time itself has already given all the challenge it has to offer.


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## Leto (Dec 21, 2004)

McMurphy said:
			
		

> AmonRa mentioned the original 2D classics. I think all of us are at least somewhat familiar with those. _What was the 2D version of Prince of Persia did you play the most?_


Do you really expect me to answer that ? Shame on you. 

Ok, it's this one : http://www.flashback-aw.net/games.php?GameID=23


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## McMurphy (Dec 21, 2004)

*Link to Screenshots*

Oh, but I DO dare ask.  

Here is a link to some screenshots I found online for the original black and white version of Gameboy's Prince of Persia. I like the second screenshot (they are on the right side of the screen...there may be a yahoo search window that you may need to close...damn free-hosting based sites) that tells the story of the game.


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## Leto (Dec 21, 2004)

*mumbles* feels old. this gameboy was my 3rd portable console, and the first one ones could change games on. *mumbles*


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## AmonRa (Jan 1, 2005)

i was convinced to go out and buy the prince yesterday. and have been strugling (mainly because of the camera angles), i keep jumping off poles and ledges in the wrong direction and falling to my death.  according to the manual if i hold down R it will rewind so i can correct my mistake but when i push R it does nothing.  i have 3 sand slots filled, and apparently this is enoug, so what am i doing wrong?


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## Traveller (Jan 1, 2005)

Now forgive me if im wrong but isnt it L1 on the PS2 and R1 on the GC ive nto played PoP on the GC for a while but Im sure that on Warrior Within its L1. 

I like the new darker Warrior Within and have to say that I think its a bit easier than Sands of Time or is that me again.

I got Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy for Christmas and can see a few similarities in it to Sands of Time.

My sister and I are racing each other to see who finishes first no contest really she has had the game longer than me


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## Leto (Jan 2, 2005)

AmonRa said:
			
		

> i was convinced to go out and buy the prince yesterday. and have been strugling (mainly because of the camera angles), i keep jumping off poles and ledges in the wrong direction and falling to my death.  according to the manual if i hold down R it will rewind so i can correct my mistake but when i push R it does nothing.  i have 3 sand slots filled, and apparently this is enoug, so what am i doing wrong?



you have to wait till the prince learn the trick in the game. 

Traveller, you're the first one I've heard who find Warrior within easier than Sand of Time. Franckly, as AmonRa, I thought the camera moves were real pain in the ... when you play.


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## Traveller (Jan 2, 2005)

Maybe its just me then I found some of the enemies harder to kill in Sands of Time or it could be ive just not gotten to the hard parts yet in Warrior Within and no ive not got it set to the easy setting its on normal.


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## AmonRa (Jan 3, 2005)

i dont normally enjoy games where just one character is the centre of all the action (i prefer MMOGs and RTS games) but for a platformer, wow, PoP rocks the socks! sure the graphics are slightly dated, and the camera angles suck but once you get the hang of the controls its pretty easy and you start to notice the 'finishing effects' like the shafts of light through the crumbling windows, and the patterns on the tiles in the ancient temples etc.  i also love the enemies, their moves and the way they crumble into dust as u kill them.  the princes moves arent bad either, i just loce smashing the key board with my head and seeing what cool stunts i can pull off   btw has any one noticed you die alot in this game or is that just me?


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## erickad71 (Jan 3, 2005)

I thought this was a beautiful game. All those enemies coming at you at once...yeah, I died alot!


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