Overview

View complete game info

Review

Release Date: 11.04.2003
Platform: Xbox
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft Entertainment

Reviewed by Wade Monnig on 12.10.2003

Review Rating: 10/10

User Rating: 8.79/10

Rarely does a game come along at both instantly impresses and manages to sustain that feeling throughout the entire adventure. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time does just that.

When it was first announced, I was very intrigued to hear that Jordan Mercer, the creator of the original Prince of Persia, would be involved in the development of the game. The videogame industry is notorious, outside of a few dozen elite names, for ignoring the genius behind the games. Instead, it seems to focus on the franchise itself. With the input of Mr. Mercer and Ubi Soft Montreal’s dedication to the roots of the series, POP: SOT manages to capture the essence of the series while thoroughly modernizing it.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time takes place within an exotic, mysterious world of masterfully rendered Persian architecture, animals and attire. After his father invades the palace of the Maharajah, the Prince, tricked by a treacherous vizier, uses a magic dagger to release the dangerous Sands of Time from an ornate hourglass. With the aid of a beautiful and mysterious princess Farah, the player steps into the curled-toed shoes of the Prince to recapture the Sands of Time.

The storyline is moved forward via voice-overs. Sure, there is the occasional movie between levels but the majority of the story is done like, well, a story. The narrator is the Prince himself who carries the plot via dialogue to both the player and other characters within the game. The voice actor of the prince is perfectly cast and draws the player in from his opening intonation of “Time is an ocean in a storm…” This isn’t the only aural pleasure found in the game, Prince of Persia: SOT uses silence and moderation to excellent ends. You won’t be bombarded by a cacophony of sounds. Instead, you are treated to a dose of minimalism that fits the Sands of Time devastated landscape to a tee. You hear sand crunch underfoot as you move, listen to pebbles fall from a ledge as you creep along a crumbling overhang, and the heed the jarring ticking sound of precious seconds slipping away as you set the traps that open a door at the end of a level. On the same unrivaled level of the voice-acting and sounds effects is the soundtrack: a rock/Persian/vocal mixture that sets the stage for everything from combat to taking a simple drink of water.

Simply put: the controls of this game are so effortless, they make you look good. Wall Running? A single direction and button press. Leaping over an enemy is slow-motion Matrix style? Once again, a single direction and button press. Enemies vary in appearance and style ranging from humans infected with the Sands of Time to the animals of the kingdom fused with the same. However, each enemy type takes a slightly different attack pattern and presents their own unique challenges. Early in the game, you’ll find using simple sword attack combos combined with the aforementioned enemy leap makes most adversaries easy prey. Switching between multiple attackers is as easy as moving the analog stick. After a few melees, your biggest challenge comes from mastering the timing of fending off enemies while dispatching others by drawing the Sands of Time from within them. However, you soon come across the infamous “blues” who will swat you out of the air like an irritating fly if you attempt to vault over them. However, the prince is more than ready with other moves, such as the wall jump/attack, to pierce their defenses. Overall, the combat is simple enough to feel like a traditional platformer (where each battle isn’t a war of attrition) but varied enough to assure it never becomes tiresome. Player heath is handled in a basic, yet original, way. Simply put “Water is Life” and, as in any desert climate, it is what you need to sustain and revive you.

A masterful mixture of both combat and puzzle solving, POP: SOT uses time manipulation in both areas. The Dagger of Time, the only weapon that can collect the sands of time and return it to the hourglass, has many functions. The most basic is the Power of Revival: Allowing you to undo your mistakes or missteps in combat and general gameplay, even if they ended in “death”. As you progress through the game, you also earn Sand Tanks and Power Tanks by collecting sand from enemies and sand clouds that, in turn, gives you new powers. You learn the slow-motion Power of Delay, the freezing Power of Restraint, and the enemy-devastating Power of Haste. The final power, though one you receive almost immediately, is the Power of Vision which gives you flash-back (or, in this case flash-forward) views of upcoming traps and hints on how to overcome them. This fits into the storyline perfectly and each save spot features these visions.

Camera Views, unless troublesome, are something that can easily be overlooked in a release. There are 4 camera views in POP: SOT- Free, Combat, First Person and Alternative. Free Camera is the typical view, showing you the surrounding area as you move about a level. Combat moves in close for melee. The final two camera views are essentially for puzzle solving: the first person view let you inspect areas or items looking for something that may be helpful. The Alternative is by far the most impressive, giving a landscape overview of the level, making it an invaluable tool when you are having difficulties inside an area.

The levels within the game are mammoth and, by that, I don’t mean long. They are vast, colossal architectural works of art. This both lends to the scale of the barrenness found after the Sands of Time have torn the castle asunder and opens them up so they never feel claustrophobic.

On the hidden extras front, Ubi Soft once again hit the mark. The Xbox version includes unlockable versions of both Prince of Persia 1 & 2 along with a “Making of” feature that is actually interesting and informative.

Prince of Persia: The Sand of Time lives up to its vaulted heritage. Ubi Soft Montreal has created its crowning (pun intended) achievement; no small feat considering their last project was Splinter Cell. Must Have. Must Own. Must Play.

Box art