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Falls just short

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 23 / 26
Date: October 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Well, I'd heard very good things about Prince of Persia, so I decided to check it out. I can't say I entirely agree with all the positive reviews I read.

GAMEPLAY: GOOD
Gameplay in POP has three major aspects: platforming, combat, and puzzle-solving. There are not very many traditional puzzles, perhaps three or four. Most are pretty standard, but the "Hall of Learning" light-beam puzzle was fairly entertaining and had a unique and complex 3-dimensional structure. Additionally, in some locations just moving around constitutes a puzzle. In most places, however, gameplay is fairly linear, and generally there is only one way to get through any particular area.

The platforming is the game's strength, and most of the time it's a real treat to maneuver the Prince through the obstacle course that the Sultan's Palace has become. I found, however, that the controls could be difficult -- wall-jumping would inexplicably fail me at times, and also the Prince would occasionally run off the end of a platform (catching the edge) instead of running along a wall as intended. In areas where the platforms were temporary for any reason, this could be a real problem. Also, when fighting in a narrow space, the Prince would occasionally put his swords away and run along a wall if I was trying to guard and the enemy was just slightly too far away.

Of course, the game's special methods for controlling time often rescued me from the control problems. However, there are difficult segments of the game (near the end) where one does not have the ability to control time, and that can lead to a long, frustrating, and boring process of going all the way back through an area just because of a slight mistake near the very end. The "Climbing the Tower of Dawn" section was one place where I had this problem.

Overall, though, the platforming aspect was very strong and pretty enjoyable. It's the combat that really hurt the game. Here again the controls were occasionally problematic -- the Prince would often direct his attacks towards the wrong enemy. This became a major problem during some retrieves, as the Prince would Freeze one enemy instead of retrieving from another. Consequently, not only did I not get to fill up the dagger (and have to kill that guy all over again), I actually used up power tanks when I was trying to save up for Haste.

And you will want to use Haste, because combat is frequently long and trying, with endless waves of enemies. Additionally, the enemies are all very similar; one can roughly divide them into enemies you can vault (easy to kill), animals (easy to kill), and enemies you can't vault (harder). Wall-vaulting and wall-attacking make combat more exciting, but can be difficult to execute. Same for countering.

Farah's presence can be of assistance, but she causes as many problems as she solves, because she'll shoot you plenty of times, and is almost always in need of rescuing.

STORY: GOOD
It's not much of a story, that's for sure. The narrative structure includes an interesting gimmick that simultaneously rationalizes "video game" aspects like saves, and recalls aspects of the "Arabian Nights" tales. The plot of the story being told, however, is pretty bland for the Arabian Nights. The Prince's habit of talking to himself, however, creates some pretty funny moments, and the final cutscene delivers a great closing (featuring an interesting use of the dagger's "Rewind" ability). Overall, pretty standard story content for a game, but extra point for a reasonably good development of the theme of regret and responsibility.

GRAPHICS: SUPERB
The game looks awesome. The environments are spectacular, and little details (like dust shaking free when you swing on a flagpole) are executed flawlessly. The cutscenes look awesome, and the in-game character model for the Prince is looks great. Some of the enemies look very good too -- I thought the hammer fatties and chain guys were particularly well-rendered, not to mention the vultures and scarabs. Model movements look believable also.

However, the Farah model was bland, and I found it hard to believe she managed to wiggle (...)through all those cracks. Many of the enemies look stupid, particularly in close-up. I found the Sand King to be unintentionally hilarious in appearance. The floating pages in the Hall of Learning also looked odd. Additionally, most of the fire in the game didn't look very good, though the water looked quite nice. These are minor hiccups, however, in a really beautiful game.

AUDIO: EXCELLENT
The music was great, I thought, and most of the sound effects were pretty good too. The music generally matched what was going on and did a pretty good deal to evoke an impression of Arabia. I thought it might have been better if it used a little less "rock and roll" and relied more heavily on traditional instruments, but this is more or less forgivable.

Voice acting was very good for the most part -- the Prince and Sultan were excellent, and the others were passable. The volume level on the voices was very uneven and unpredictable, though... at times too quiet to hear, at others almost shouting, often within a few lines. There are also a few places where the producers tried to cut corners by reusing dialogue, to the detriment of the scene. Overall, though, sound quality was very good.

REPLAYABILITY: POOR
There's really nothing new to do your second time around. Which is a pity, because this game isn't really very long. This is one I would recommend letting sit a month or two before you come back to play it again. You can, of course, unlock the entire original Prince of Persia 1 game on here, but that doesn't add all that much.

OVERALL: GOOD (70%)
A very lovely game with good music and entertaining gameplay is frustrated by occasionally twitchy controls and monotonous combat. You will have plenty of fun playing it, but due to its short length and limited replay value, this is better as a rental than as a purchase.

'must buy' title for your gamecube

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 14
Date: November 24, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This is a highly polished title that has been implemented very well on the 'cube.

It looks fantastic, from the scenes to the animations and the special effects deployed. The texturing and lighting is well done and there is much atmosphere to the levels.

The gameplay is reasonably easy to learn, progressively challenging - yet also very rewarding. I am finding this to be very playable and enjoyable throughout.

The fight sequences are well implemented and fun. Moves are context sensitive rather than overloaded with combos to pull off moves, therefore it is reasonably easy to perform some very pleasing and satisfying combat sequences. Battles can still be quite frantic as you move from character to character, slaying them and sucking sand from them to power your dagger.

I enjoy the special effects associated with the combat, which are 'matrix style' motion blur, slow motion, etc. I find Prince of Persia to not only execute these effects better than many other games, but also to be a very good game for which it is well suited. There are too many games that introduce these effects for little valid reason other than 'we can do this so why not' and as a result they are often out of place, with little visual or gameplay benefit. In this example, this isn't the case and the general level of polish to Prince of Persia is raised as a result. A whole lot of passion went into developing this game and I applaud those involved.

Although the character is free roaming, the levels and storyline are laid out so that challenges are presented in a totally linear fashion. While could be considered a constraint to the title, it was probably a very good choice as it helps to pull the character through the story. The developers chose to focus a little more on the gameplay issues that mattered, rather than having the player distracted or frustrated by having them deal with seemingly random, unrelated events in the background.

Many of you will have heard that this game also has a unique time travel mechanic. Again, this is well executed, not cheesy and fits well with the storyline and game mechanics. I appreciate being able to undo my recent progress and try again in places where I have not been so successful. I feel this adds a very unique element to the game...in that it can be appealing to replay a recent scene just to do better. This is a different type of replay value, let alone a great mechanic that helps prevent frustrating circumstances with awkward challenges.

You'll find this game enjoyable and I would recommend that you buy it. You'll not be disappointed - this is such good fun and very high quality.

Best I've seen since Metroid!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 14 / 17
Date: November 18, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game truly has everything you could wish for. It is extremely entertaining and offers one of the coolest heros we've seen in a long long time.

The Prince is able to bend gravity and time to offer up a high WOW value from your friends, as well as yourself. From running up and across walls to doing acrobatic flips on a pole, this guy's got it all! Also, with the addition of the ability to slow and even rewind time, it causes you to take a lot more chances than you ever would in any other game for the fear of seeing the dreadful words "Game Over." In Prince of Persia, if you miss an amazing stunt, then just rewind time and try again. I love this feature because it allows you to be super daring!

Fighting enemies has a better Matrix feel to it than the Enter the Matrix game. Three zombie looking creatures come at you from all sides. You slice at the first one then spin kick him to knock him away while the other two are closing in quick. You now run up the closest one's chest and kick him in the face in a move that I swear I saw in the Matrix Reloaded movie. Now, your back is turned and you are a fraction of a second away from being stabbed in the back. You are then able to make the Prince do a backflip over the slicing enemy as time slows down and sees you do a backflip with a full twist all while unsheathing your knife to stab the monster in the back of the neck! Truly amazing and suspenseful fighting.

The cut scenes are very impressive with high quality graphics and speech. Our hero also tends to talk to other people and even himself as you are playing. This is the game that will WOW and delight everyone of all ages! A true must have for any action adventure gaming fan!

The word "Platformer" just isn't enough

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: December 20, 2003
Author: Amazon User

It is a fantastic game that holds a swiftness that makes it feel like a dance. The movments and battle abitties are all incredibly smooth. Also via camera movements and including most of the dialouge in the actuall gameplay, the lack of cutscenes can be easily overlooked. The Time powers are incredible also, and they'll save your life more that once. This is no hack-n-slash game, although most of the cool music is during the battle sequences, but that's just what they are: Sequences. Your not constantly killing things. It gives you a feeling of living it that I can't describe here, but it is a wonderful game.

Graphics - 5/5
Sound - 4.5/5
Control - 4.5/5
Fun Factor - 5/5
Overall - 5/5

ICO on crack

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 19
Date: January 23, 2004
Author: Amazon User

One of the first things I thought while playing Prince of Persia: Sands of Time was, "Wait a minute, this is eerily similar to ICO." Indeed, if you've played Sony's first-party masterpiece then you will surely see the similarities. In both games, you solve action-oriented puzzles to make your way through lush and beautiful environments with an enigmatic woman by your side while occasionally fighting some annoying and repetitive monsters.

With all due respect to ICO, however, Sands of Time kicks everything up a notch and comes out all the better for it. The puzzles are more engaging, the plot is more interesting, the graphics are amazing, and the battles are slightly less annoying. The game clocks in at about ten hours long, but every minute of that time is incredibly entertaining.

If it weren't for the sometimes finicky and frustrating camera and the somewhat repetitive nature of the fighting, this would be a perfect game. Even with its minor flaws, though, it is definitely worth a purchase. Buy it on your system of choice (it's just as good on all three) and you won't be disappointed.

Wish I found this game sooner

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: February 27, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I'll be the first to admit, I favor Nintendo systems because of Zelda. I prefer puzzle games that involve a little brain power. I prefer sword combat as opposed to guns just because I stink at aiming. It's more a comedy of errors watching me play games like Halo or Splinter Cell. Not so long ago, I would've been hard pressed to say any game could match combat, puzzle solving, and storyline with the Zelda franchise. Yeah, well I have to say I must've been hiding under a rock for the past few years not to have picked up Prince of Persia sooner. Sands of Time not only meets expectations but exceeds them.

I've always felt that a truly great video game should entail a story. I love plots. I love games that use a story to move forward. SoT presents one of the best stories I've ever seen in a video game. From beginning to end, you're as drawn to the story as you are to the gameplay and puzzle solving. The cut scenes are always interesting, especially later in the game, and the ending is spectacular, really bringing the game to a grand conclusion. The banter between the Prince and Farrah is well done and amusing ... not to mention the Prince talking to himself at various points throughout the game. It's fun and all together adds to the experience.

I loved the puzzles throughout the game. It was never ridiculously difficult, though some parts caused you to think. For the most part, if you paid attention to the visions the Prince receives at every save point plus the zoomed out landscape views the camera offers whenever you enter certain rooms, it should never be rip-your-hair-out difficult. And of course, I love the Prince's acrobatics - running across walls, flipping, pole swinging, avoiding traps - all the moves the Prince has that make this a unique experience.

As for combat ... well, compared to its successors, SoT combat is pretty repetitious. Basically, you have two or three effective moves at your disposal as opposed to hacking and slashing away at the enemy. Always keep moving, use the sand powers wisely, and use your limited effective moves, and the enemies go down. However, this is usually easier said than done. I'd have to say the combat offered far more frustration than the puzzles. At times, the Prince is just swarmed by enemies, and they don't stop coming (ala elevator sequence which I had to try quite a few times before I got it right). In addition, when trying to perform a retrieve on a downed enemy, the Prince uses the dagger to freeze another enemy - really annoying. And it really isn't keeping the Prince alive that I had trouble with. A lot of the time, I had to retry combat sequences because I wasn't able to keep the baddies from killing Farrah - especially later on in the game. That has to be the most frustrating part of it (not to mention when she accidentally hits you with an arrow, which, thankfully, isn't too often). When the Prince is flying solo, its virtually smooth sailing through combat sequences ... or when Farrah stays out of reach of the sand monsters. But a good bit of the time, she's right in the middle of it. And don't get me wrong, it isn't that I didn't like the combat, and I certainly got better at it over the course of the game. It's just not what makes this game great. Over time, its just pretty much same old, same old: Get swarmed by enemies, keep from getting cornered, pray the camera angles won't screw with you, and keep Farrah breathing.

Overall, here it is: The gameplay is nearly flawless, despite some camera angle issues. The character animation is great. The voice acting is admirable for a video game. The background music is a treat. The scenery is breathtaking. If you enjoy puzzle solving games mixed with combat and highlighted by an intriguing storyline, you will not regret spending the money for this game. I'm happy to say it gives Zelda a run for its money, and though this Prince of Persia trilogy is now complete with the release of Two Thrones, I truly hope Ubisoft gives us more Prince of Persia games in the future.

Super Fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 13
Date: December 02, 2003
Author: Amazon User

To tell you the truth, I wasn't looking forward to playing this game. I haven't had too many good experiences with side-scrolling games going 3D, probably because of all the Nintendo 64 ports of classic games (most of which I never enjoyed). So, sadly, I waited to play Sands of Time for a while, even after hearing great things about it.

Needless to say, I'm very dissapointed that I didn't pick this up sooner. My friend rented it last night and I was blown away. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time is amazing. The graphics are picture perfect, but the game play is seemless and VERY smooth. I am surprised at how much control you have while playing. Here's a short summary of the game:

Graphics: I'd have to say that the cut scenes are a bit disapointing. The character movement seems robotic, but not without feeling. I like the in-game graphics more then the cinamatics! Your character has very fluent motions for every action, but thats not even the best part. Fabric, like a hanging banner or cobweb, actually react when you run past or through them.

Game-play: Most of the screen shots I've seen of this game are of fighting, which isn't a bad thing. The fighting system is great, with lots of cool jumping combos and veriations. What I like more though, is the running and jumping (seriously). You can run across any wall, do back flips off walls, run up a wall, hang from ledges, climb up poles, swing acrobaticly from pole to pole, and tons more. The control you have is amazing, and fun to use. I was constantly trying new things, like jumping from a high pole to far away ladders.

To sum it up, this game is very fun! I would suggest it for anyone, young or old, even though there is mild violence in it (may be a bit scary for the younger tikes). This game provides a excelent cinimatic experience, one that I wouldn't want to miss.

An incredible game bogged down a bit by frustratation

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: November 27, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Games as well made as Prince Of Persia: The Sand Of Time are hard to come by these days with games based off of Disney movies and cartoons rampant. Not so often do you see a developer put such care into the environments, puzzles and combat that it really causes the gamer to become addicted, making it near impossible to put the controller down. This game is beautiful, plain and simple, but some mid-ranged major issues prevent it from being absolutely flawless.

On the positive side the game is, as I said, very well made. The environments are beautiful (as beautiful as multi-console games can be,) everything from the dark tombs to the lush gardens are well rendered and always seem to capture the essence of the moment. The games combat system is in many ways second to none, the special moves (i.e. jumping off walls) are indespensiable when dealing with multiple enemies, and the games most unique features allow you to rewind (this is limited however) and even slow time. The enemy AI is well done, because most of the game you are fighting zombies there isn't an incredible amount of intelligence to be expected, but, the enemies do have a "class" system, while the weaker zombies are easier to take and much stupider, the higher up and much better equipped enemies can be a real chore to dispatch. The storyline to the game, while not ground breaking, is gripping and keeps you fully involved in your character, the prince. Camera angles ocassionally lose focus, but can be easily repaired with the touch of a button, hats off to the development team for including that.

However, as I said it isn't perfect, it has a few issues, some of whom keep the game from being 5 stars. Let's start with the games puzzles. I mentioned earlier that the developers put alot of care into the game, including the puzzles, but that's the problem, they put so much effort into them they're at times near impossible. I'm proud to say I never used a walkthrough to figure out any of the puzzles...that goes without saying that some of these puzzles, especially the infamous Hall Of Mirrors, can end up taking you an hour or two or three or four...While a very hard challenge makes a great game, some of these challenges will make even the greatest reasoner scream out in fury. Keep in mind not all the puzzles are like this, just a select few, most of them are very challenging yet very rewarding.

The other problem? One word: Farrah. Your faithful companion for most of the game is Farrah, while I wont give any details so as to let you discover the story on your own, she is your "wingman" so to speak, through almost all of the game. The character isn't the problem, protecting her is. During combat sequences you may face 6 or 7 enemies at once, Farrah will usually assist with a bow and arrow, sounds great right? Wrong. Farrah is the most incompetent friendly AI I have ever come across, as soon as she's attacked she begs you for help, causing you to break away from any current engagement to save her useless ass. What's more is either she gets killed or you do while trying to save her, causing many rewinds and many retry's not to mention words uttered at her expense that Amazon will not let me repeat.

But, all in all, this is a very solid game, one of my favorites in a long time. If you enjoy a solid action/adventure platformer then I highly recommend this title, you wont be dissapointed.

its a lot of fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: January 10, 2005
Author: Amazon User

its not only sword fighting you also use your mind with all the traps and puzzles the prince must pass through. well i will admit its a very fun sword fighting game to but not quite as good as the second one though(which is awesome game to)If you dont own either of them buy them both at the same time and you wont get off your couch until you beat them both. great graphics though to the best ive seen. and the controls are very easy to control and thats what makes it such a fun game.

But This Game if you like FUN!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: December 11, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Not to sound like an idiot, but I have loved Prince of Persia since the beginning of the series. Prince of Persia 1 amazed me, Prince of Persia 2 seemed like it had to be the best game ever, and when Prince of Persia 3D cameout I couldn't wait!!

As it turned out 3D didn't really do much for the Prince franchise, but this game makes right everything that was (barely) made wrong with the prior attempt at 3d-izing Prince of Persia. If you're reading this review, you've probably already read 80 reviews that say this game is the game of the year, BUT THERE IS A REASON EVERYONE IS SAYING THAT!! This game is an amazing amount of fun, and was definitely worth the $50 I spent to buy it.

The Sands of Time feature is amazingly cool, and is probably the most exciting thing to add to gaming since bullett time in Max Payne. The Prince's swashbuckling kickass sword play is sooooo much more fun than shooting, punching, or jumping on (think Jak and Mario) your enemies!! All video games should have swords as mandatory weapons because they are such a better weapon (you all know how much cooler Pirates of the Caribbean was than the Matrix Revolutions and it's because of the swords!!).

My biggest complaint about this game is the health meter. The designers should have stuck with the typical life potion bottles that the Prince games have always had, but whatever, it's not really that big a deal.

I know this isn't the most descriptive review ever, but you've probably already read those in the gaming magazines. This review is simply to say from one gamer to another that this really is a fun and enjoyable game. Buy it. You won't be disappointed.

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