Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time // Xbox
The sultan of swing

// The skinny: In the midsts of plundering a conquered city, the prince unknowingly releases the Sands of Time which have monstrous effects. Aided by a mysterious woman he quests to restore order to the chaos he has created.

// Review: I have great memories playing the original Prince of Persias on an old school Game Boy during a family vacation in Canada. Actually I recall very little else from that trip. It's a beloved series that eventually migrated to all of last gen's consoles. It received great reviews but poor sales like Psychonauts. I'd held off playing it because it's old just like I did with KOTOR. But just like with KOTOR, I'm kicking myself for waiting so long.

/ Usually when people think platformer, Super Mario Brothers is one of the first that comes to mind. But PoP is really the poster boy of the genre. When you aren't fending off ghoulies, you are swinging, climbing and leaping off ledges, ropes, poles and of course, platforms. The controls and camera were great. The enviromental puzzles were challenging but they didn't have you running to gamefaqs.com and it had a generous amount of save points. For a 2003 game the graphics stand up pretty well. The character models seemed a little dated, but the environments and lighting looked really good. One of the stand out features is that you can rewind time. So if you accidentally plummet to your death or take a scimitar in the face, you can back it up a few seconds. They also had a nifty feature where at the save points you'd get a quick vision of the future, which helps clue to what to do next. And necessary to a good platformer is the level design which is truly outstanding.

/ The fighting has never been a strong suit to the series, and while you can jump and flip as you slash enemies, the fighting isn't very deep. It comes in spurts and they send waves of foes at you. There is no boss battle until the end. Instead they just take the tougher monsters and send a horde of them to surround you.

/ While the gameplay was tight and very fun, I was won over by the story and characters. I loved the way it ended and immediately it made me want to play the sequels. The tale was compelling enough that they are actually turning it into a full length motion picture in 2008. The unnamed Prince is a great character. In the beginning he is only concerned with glory. But after the horrific events following the release of the sands, he changes and is really a thoughtful and brave person. He also creates an uneasy alliance with the daughter of maharaja whose city he just destroyed. This makes for some excellent sexual tension as she continuously busts his chops. His monologues about her are particularly funny. Surprisingly the chick is pretty helpful. Often she works with you to complete the puzzles and her bow helps a lot in battle...when she isn't shooting you. There were a couple times where it felt like a frustrating escort mission as you would be triple teamed, while a 4th stalked after her. And when she dies, it's game over. I mouthed quite a few "You stupid mother f***ing b****!"

// Wrap up: The PoP series is the quintessential platformer. It has the perfect amount of challenge and charm.

Entertainment rating: 5