staceums's Full Review: Prince of Persia: Sands of Time for PlayStation 2
I don’t remember what possessed me to pick up this game. I mean, usually I put all my faith, money, and time into role-playing based games. I don’t like shoot-‘em-up games (even though I own SOCOM Navy Seals, Enter the Matrix, and Ghost Recon, but technically I bought those to get my fiance to consider the PS2 a worthy commodity) and I wasn’t very impressed with God of War. When I play games that involve fighting with swords or guns, I usually end up doing the button-mashing thing rather than execute a proper combo and get frustrated five minutes in. What did Prince of Persia have to offer that was different?
Plot: You are the Prince of Persia, and the game begins as an invasion is led by the Prince and his father against a Maharajah’s kingdom (with the help of the Maharajah’s own Vizier) for power and riches. The invasion is successful and the spoils of war - including a giant hourglass filled with the Sands of Time, a mysterious dagger, and Farah, the daughter of the conquered Maharajah - are brought across the land to the great kingdom of Azad. The King and the Prince present these exotic gifts in the name of peace to the Sultan, and the Vizier convinces everyone that if the Sands of Time were to be unlocked with the dagger, unlimited wishes and paradise beyond anyone’s dreams could be possible.
[You know in some stories how it's screaming obvious the character shouldn't do something, but they do it anyway? Kinda like that. http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=83]
The Prince volunteers to unlock the Sands of Time himself, but the results are catastrophic. Everyone around him is turned into vicious, warped, sand-like creatures that only obey the Vizier, whose motives are clear – he can rule the world with his new zombie army – but as long as the magical dagger remains in the Prince’s hands, he cannot fully control the Sands. The Prince pairs up with Farah (who is also protected from the Sands by a special medallion) to try to bring down the Vizier and reverse the effects of the Sands of Time before it’s too late.
Gameplay: Swordfighting skills + sand zombies = good times. Sounds cliche, but it’s fun. As you’re caught up in a gigantic castle ruined by the Sands of Time and crawling with bloodthirsty sand zombies, the Prince narrates his story to the player. The main characters – Prince and Farah – are assigned voice actors, so it’s not a game of hack ‘em up and bam, the end. Interestingly enough, there’s a story behind it. Amidst their journey through the castle, the two encounter puzzles, mazes, and switches that need to be activated in order to progress further. As if that weren’t enough, you have to maneuver the Prince through countless booby traps and crumbling palace architecture, both outside and in.
Of course, the developers didn’t make this game totally easy. As the Prince and Farah travel deeper into the castle, there are a few road blocks along the way. The player is forced to figure out a different route, usually involving climbing, jumping, wall-sprinting, and using the Dagger of Time to speed up, slow down, stop, or even reverse time. Button-mashing doesn’t apply to this game; as you need to learn different techniques to defy gravity and flip through the air to get from the ground to a cliff, waterfalls to bridges, rusty flagpoles to footholds in the wall, or to attack different types of foes and use the Dagger of Time to collect the enchanted sand. The game isn’t without its hidden secrets, either. You’ll need to keep your eyes peeled if you want to collect all clouds of sand or increase your health meter.
The Prince and Farah are an entertaining duo as well, and to me, the game was never boring. They pretty much start out on their journey quarreling with each other – Farah would always chide the Prince and appear to be sort of a nag, and the Prince would always take sarcastic jabs at her and argue back – but their relationship grows and they eventually get along. As the Prince narrates the story, his thoughts would always be included: in the beginning, he’d say something like, “Why am I risking my neck for her again?” and towards the end of the game, he’d think, “After all, she is of royal blood...maybe I will marry her!” Of course, Farah tends to keep to herself, so the Prince’s inner dialogue is pretty funny. He comes across as kind of a dork. As you play the game, you see the Prince’s personality change from haughty and proud to caring and protective towards Farah, and even though they both need to reach the hourglass to prevent the Sands from ever wreaking havoc, the Prince realizes that he needs to change his own kingdom’s motives to keep Farah’s home from coming to any harm.
Okay, so there’s some romance involved. Sue me. I’m a girl. That’s how you get girls to play video games. But this isn’t why I was suckered into playing. I like Sands of Time because there’s adventure, puzzles, mazes, and sand zombies. It’s fun to run around and kill stuff, all the while jumping across bridges and tiptoeing around cracked footholds on high castle walls. I like games that compel you to think, and a few times in Sands of Time I found myself standing idle, staring at a cracked wall, and thinking, “Now what??” There are a few parts that I got stuck at, and there were a few parts that were maybe a little too easy. I mean, how hard is it to kill a sand zombie? As the game progresses, however, the enemies get stronger, so I wouldn’t exactly say that the whole thing is a walk in the park.
Overall: I got this game for cheap and it was worth it. It’s a little old now (5 years) but it’s still fun to play. Even better, it’s the first Prince of Persia game of three, so the Prince’s adventures don’t just stop here.
PRINCE OF PERSIA SANDS OF TIME - Playstation 2 DescriptionPlay as an acrobatic Prince who can run on walls swing off poles jump and flip sword figh...More at BradianGames.com
restore order to ancient Persia the complete original Prince of Persia game as well as a level from the original game redesigned in 3D Wield several d...More at Amazon Marketplace
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time takes place in a mystical Middle Eastern setting, all bathed in soft, warm light and looking like something straig...More at eBay
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