Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Seeing as how Warrior Within has already been released, it’s about time I finally get to letting all of you know my feelings on The Sands of Time. If you didn’t already know, The Sands of Time was a break out hit back in 2003 and garnered the prestigious “Game of the Year” title by the majority of gaming publications and organizations out there. Well, I’m here to reassure you that all of those people weren’t wrong in giving the game that title, and that The Sands of Time is definitely one of the greatest games ever made. 

Graphics:

The Sands of Time has a very surrealistic look that just blows you away right from the start, and the whole Persian theme was done really well. The in-game graphics are done to near perfection, and the cutscenes look even better. The effects in the game are done very nicely as well. Walls crumbling and other things getting destroyed look natural, and the movements of the Prince as he does his fancy footwork looks gorgeous. As for the environments, they fit in perfectly with the game. Everything is detailed beyond believe, and the size of the environments are huge. Simply put, the graphics in The Sands of Time are astonishing.

Sound and Music:

The music within The Sands of Time fits in really well with the Persian theme. The majority of the music is middle-eastern, with intense battle sequences featuring rock music. Along with the music, the voice acting is also done nicely. The person who does the voice of the Prince does it very well, and the same goes for Farah, The Vizier, and every other sub-character. Though I hate to sound like I’m just repeating the same praises over and over, the actual sound effects are also done very well. The only real complaint I can find with this category is that the music can at some times become repetitive. Unfortunately, the lack of variety in music is a fairly big flaw, and therefore the game does lose points.

Storyline:

The storyline of The Sands of Time is definitely a good one. The basic premise is that, after raiding an enemy’s land, your people come across many various treasures. The treasure that you find is called the Dagger of Time, which has the ability to control time itself. However, the biggest treasure you recover is an hourglass containing the sands of time. After offering this treasure to the ruler of an allied land, the treacherous Vizier tricks the Prince into unlocking the hourglass. Just as this happens, the sands of time are unleashed and everyone but you, the captured Princess Farah, and the Vizier are turned into undead sand-creatures. Though Farah hates you for what you did to her people, the two of you team up to try and undo what you have unleashed. It is now your job to travel through the castle, reach the hourglass, fix what you unleashed, and return everything back to normal. Though it may not sound very deep at first glance, the actual story unfolds perfectly throughout the game using cutscenes, and the ending is one of the best I’ve ever seen in a game.

Gameplay:

At heart, The Sands of Time is a definitely a platformer. While there are battles within the game, the majority of the time will be spent scaling walls and jumping from one place to another. What The Sands of Time does is create a platforming experience unlike any other. Once you get the hang out how to control the Prince, running and jumping around is one of the greatest things ever. However, if you don’t quite get the hang of it to begin with, that’s where the Dagger of Time comes into play. Using the dagger, the Prince has the ability to slow down time and reverse his actions. This means that if you fall into a pit while trying to get used to the game, you’ll be able to reverse that action and prevent yourself from dying. As for slowing down time, this mostly comes into play when fighting enemies. You’ll be able to slow down or completely stop your enemies, giving you the advantage over them. Though the fighting system may not be the most impressive, it works fairly well and the action sequences are enjoyable. If you’re looking for a more advanced fighting system, then Warrior Within is the game you’ll want to check out. 

Controls:

As most platformers should, The Sands of Time controls pretty well. The controls are responsive, and the only flaw is that sometimes the camera can come up with some really odd angles to give you. It doesn’t affect the game for the most part, but during intense battles you can sometime get a bad angle and not have any clue what’s going on. The camera angles will also occasionally cause a death or two when it switches as you jump over a pit, but since you can reverse time, it doesn’t really affect the gameplay at all.

Replayability:

The Sands of Time doesn’t really offer that much to do after you beat the game. The initial game will take between 8-10 hours, and after that you’ll be left wondering what to do. While going through the main game, you’ll have the ability to find and unlock the original Prince of Persia game. Though some may find these to be one of the best things ever, I didn’t honestly find the original very fun. Other than that, there isn’t much else to do. However, since the game is short, many may feel the need to go through it multiple times. Seeing as how the game is so great, it isn’t such a bad idea to go through it multiple times.

Though the game does have its share of flaws, mainly within the replay, The Sands of Time still remains one of the greatest games ever made. The transition that occurred in taking the Prince of Persia series from 2D to 3D worked flawlessly, and the only real thing that could use more depth is the fighting system. Luckily, Warrior Within has already been said to have a fighting system far more advanced than the one within The Sands of Time. Then again, The Sands of Time is already a masterpiece as is.
Graphics: 9.8/10
Sound and Music: 9.3/10
Storyline: 9.0/10
Gameplay: 9.8/10
Controls: 9.0/10
Replayability: 9.0/10
9.7
Out of 10