by:	December 01, 2004

Playing Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time will not actually require any previous experience with the early versions of this amazing series. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time creates a whole new story and gaming experience far from the originals some may be used to but controls, sounds, looks and plays perfectly. Any gamer looking for a great action game with an amazing story and a overall fascinating game should read on.

Story
You start the game out obviously playing as the famous and ever-loved Prince. The Prince is in search for a special dagger and intends to steal it from a rival nation that his nation seems to be at war with. Once you get a hold of this dagger, the dagger of time, you return it as a token to the Prince's father, also the King. Afterwards the story continues back at the Palace where within the Prince's nation the Vizier is secretly a traitor and eventually becomes the main villain of the game. The Vizier persuades the Prince to use the dagger of time to unlock a treasure within a huge hourglass. Of course this is obviously one big set up by the Vizier to release the deadly "Sands of Time". In doing so the Prince unleashes the Sands and brings chaos to the kingdom, killing off or turning the guards as well as citizens basically into sand zombies which become the common enemy throughout the game. Only three people survive this massacre; The Prince, The Vizier, and a woman of the Prince's age named Farah who seems to have known of the treasure in the hourglass before it was unleashed. It is here where the game begins as you begin your journey as the Prince. With Farah fighting along side you, you will quest throughout the massive palace in order to undo what was done and destroy the traitorous Vizier, bringing life and peace back to the kingdom.

Gameplay
Throughout the main course of the entire game, you will tend to follow the same pattern of progression in every scenario. A door will slam shut behind the Prince and a cut-scene will show where you need to get to in order to continue. While this factor hold true through most of the game, what you actually do within these sections and closed doors is what makes this game so much fun. The Prince is a extremely athletic and aerobatic hero; running up walls, climbing poles, jumping from high areas, swinging off ledges and balancing on beams are just a few of the many moves you will have to use in order to escape danger and reach the next area. This pattern also becomes slightly repetitive as does the fighting when you near the end of the game. The fighting is absolutely revolutionary but could have used just a bit less of repetition as noted when you reach the end of the game. Armed with the dagger of time, the Prince can move all around multiple enemies and attack from almost all angles. When engaged with an enemy the Prince can attack with many different types of vaulting attacks as well as counters and wall rebounding. Vaulting consists of bouncing off the enemies head and ending up facing the back side of them giving a clear shot from the dagger. The Prince also has the ability to run up as well as rebound off walls and attack enemies from the air with the dagger. With a very wide variety of environments and the ability to basically climb on anything, fighting is one of the biggest highlights of this game.

Graphics
The graphics in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time are nothing short of spectacular. A very warm feeling comes from the environments giving it a storybook feel to it. This works perfectly when incorporating the surroundings (i.e. buildings, any architecture, flowers, etc.) making the Persian/Arabian environment completely believable and real. The fighting is fast and crisp and looks amazing, as well as the cut scenes. The cut scenes are of the exact same graphical concept as in the game; there is no wait time or loading in these cut scenes giving the overall flow a very connected and continuous feel. The very bright colored environments and misty/warm textures kind of give off a weak or childish theme to it, but it is much the opposite; the overall graphics in Sands of Time are amazing and are quite memorable. Those looking for a darker, more intense, brutal graphic system will want to pick up a copy of Prince of Persia 2 when it is released on December 2nd, 2004.