First stop, the plot. This video game put players in the shoes of the Prince, the son of King Sharaman of Persia, who had released, unknowingly, the sands of time throughout the kingdom and turning all the occupants of the palace into monsters. With the aid of Princess Farah, the player will then explore throughout the vast areas of the castle to try reverse the situation by returning back the sands of time into the hourglass that had once stored them. I personally feel that the story was just okay at first but as I played along, I fall in love with the story as it became more emotional, engaging and interesting. I also like stories with time travel element in it, so the time travel element in this game also helps in making me fall in love with the plot. I like the growth of the main character, the Prince that players control throughout the game. You can see him slowly learning from his mistakes and bad behaviours and try to wrap things out in his head (that players will learn through his monologues) while this bizarre incident resulting from his action in releasing the sands is happening all around him. The developer managed to create a character that players can root for, something that I feel is important to make the players relate with this story.
The inclusion of Princess Farah made the story even more interesting with the love twist and since the Prince mostly interact with her as there are not many talking characters in the game, she is definitely an integral part of the story as well as the character responsible for the growth of the main character, the Prince. The main villain, the Vizier, is also an interesting character in the game. But sometimes I cannot really grasps what he wants to achieve with his plan and that somehow made me feel like he is not a strong villain that I would like him to be. I personally think the developer could have done a lot better with him and make him a greater villain. One other thing that I would complaint is that it was sometimes hard to follow with the story because of the low-volume of the character's voice during cut-scenes. It was a bit weird since the music that played during gameplay was loud enough but somehow the volume got lowered during cut-scenes. To be honest, it was pretty annoying.
The gameplay for this game seems to be quite complicated when you look at how the Prince moves during his exploration and fights with the enemies but it was actually quite simple. Throughout the game, the players would be able to learn his movements one at a time and this steady learning curve makes it easy for players to quickly adapt to the controls. What is difficult though are the puzzles that players would have to solve by moving objects or jumping and climbing between walls in order to move to the next stage. Even though I had little to moderate trouble in solving most of the puzzles, I have to admit that 3 to 4 of them are hard enough for my brain to handle that I had to cheat by cruising to the internet for walkthrough guides. But from what I understand, puzzles are the core of the previous games in the series, so it was a good move by the developer to retain that value in this reboot for the franchise.
The graphics? Magnificently gorgeous. The sceneries and backdrops have the sense of tranquillity and serenity about them that made me awe everytime the game introduced me to a new area in the palace. Yet the game have the sand monsters and traps to stop the players for reaching any further into the game. This balance between the calm nature of the backdrops and the vicious monsters and traps trying to kill the players offers an interesting mix in the game, like the yin and yang of the game. The lighting and vegetation found throughout the areas of the game also give the feeling of luxury that suit very well with the settings of the story.
As a conclusion, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a great game; not only it gives the long-standing franchise a new breath of life, it is also a great introductory game to new fans like me which are new to the franchise (I've heard of the game for quite long but have never played any one of them before). Great story with gorgeous visual designs and interesting gameplay, this game is a fine reboot to the classic franchise.
Images from IGN and Wikipedia.
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