The original 2-D Prince of Persia has always been acknowledged as the inspiration for the original Tomb Raider and it's easy to see why--it has the same mixture of running, jumping and platform climbing mixed in with tricky Indiana Jones-style puzzles and sword fights (though, okay, Lara prefers an AK47 to a scimitar). These days, however, there's one big difference between the Prince and La Croft: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is miles better than Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.

The game features some quite extraordinary graphics and animation as the prince leaps and jumps with amazing grace and makes a number of moves inspired by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The controls are a dream too, especially during combat, and even the camera system--usually the Achilles heel of any 3-D adventure--is great, zipping to a fixed position if it looks like any of the scenery is going to get in the way.

The Sands of Time has a bunch of new ideas to add to the usual mix, most notably the chance to control time itself. Each of the demonic monsters you fight will spill a quantity of magical sand when they die and you can use this to power the dagger of time and rewind, slow down or fast-forward time. This allows you to instantly recover from unexpected deaths and allows you to concentrate on having fun and playing the game. Excellent stuff. --David Jenkins

This game is way too limited. You just end up doing the same old things, do a few acrobatic tricks, kil some random sand monster (of wich there are only about four kinds)and do it again. The story line is imaginative but stupid.It gives you a bit of entertainment but after a while you would rather kill yourself than play this game1

I've been waiting to get this game for a LONG time. I wasn't really sure whether it was worth me buying and I didn't really like the idea of renting it out at Blockbuster for nearly a fiver. As it is, I managed to buy a second hand version (no manual or origional box) for a fiver, so I think you can agree, already it was worth the money.
Graphic-wise, Prince of Persia looks fantastic, his attacks are smooth, with wide, varied areas that are nicely interacted with (that includes water, drapes, furniture, walls; pretty much anything and everything can be used or hit). The in-game movies looked very slick (though my second hand vers did stutter at points) with some very cool rain effects.
Vocal and music wise I was very impressed. There is no constant 'battle theme' and seems to change randomly but always matches the mood of the location. Generally there is no BGM (back-ground music) apart from a few 'special' loactions. The Vocal talents were very good. The Prince sets the game out as if he were telling a story, and you constantly hear him making remarks in and out of the story, whether they be annoyed maons about his female companion (which are pretty funny) to 'Shall I continue' and 'Very well' when you enter in and out of the pause status, to my favourite comments like 'No, no, that didn't happen, may I try again?' for the Game Over screen.
Sound effects were also very good and changed with whatever you hit, moved, jumped or ran on.
Okay now for the biggie; the gameplay. As I said, the Prince moves very smoothly (750 movements in game-thats not 750 attacks just movements) and I never had a problem with the controls (although I wasn't used to being able to just 'aim' the thumbstick at an enemy or pole and just hit or jump to it with out locking on first- this is a plus side in the end).
Strangely I found what made this game far too easy wasn't so much the diffuculty of the enemies or puzzles, but the easinest of just being able to go back in time and re-doing an action that coaused your death. Without revealing too much of the game; here's an example: at one point I had to do a very fiddly wall jump but I fell to my death, so with a simple hold of the left trigger I can try again- a bit like having 'lives' but you can choose how far back you go (with a certain limit). By the time I complete the jump I've run out of sand to go back in time, but as soon as I find an enemy or sand cloud (which is pretty frequent) I can refill the bar up. Simple. In fact the hardest part of the game is when you don't have the dagger at all, as you have to go wa-ay back again: much more like a traditional platformer. The enimies do get more difficult the further you get into the game, but to be honest (as far as I can remember) theres only about eight or nine of them excluding bosses, and again, so long as you can go back in time it's not that hard to kill them.
One of the best things about the game is the fact unlike most platformers you don't have to collect 100 coins or something in each 'level' (technically there are no levels as the game seamlessly moves from one area to the other). You can pick up more sand 'bars' (bit like Zelda's magic bar) and increase your health, but you'll most likley found these places without even trying).
I did enjoy the puzzle element to the game, and fans of the Legend of Zelda series (like myself) would do well to bag a cheap copy of this game as they're very simular in a lot of ways. Good news is that after you complete the game you unlock the origional Prince of Persia.
Replay wise I would say that this isn't that good as a pro gamer could complete it in days (I did it in 3 nights), BUT you will enjoy it, so it's worth having if you have a lot of games and fancy playing it another day.
Overall I guess 4 stars may be a little strong, but for the price I got it for and the amount of fun I had (which is a common ignorance in games) this was a pretty good and beutiful game.

I just finished The Sands of Time this afternoon. It is a brilliant game, not too repetitive and full of new challenges. The thing I liked particularly about it, was that I felt that I was making good progress throughout. The design of the game is fantastic, a Tomb Raider style, mixing skills and puzzles, but the detailing is much more imaginative and creative, there were no gaps in walls etc. I would recommend this game, it's a great 3D platformer, and I can't fault it! (P.S. I'm a 30 something female)

Those who played the original Prince of Persia will probably remember it for the giant leaps, traps and button-pressing puzzles. This new version, despite being some 15 years older, still has these core gameplay mechanics at heart.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is the very epitome if a 'platform' game; be it by running across the walls, jumping between poles or just making a plain old leap of faith. There is one major new feature though, the ability to control time.

Using the handy dagger you find early in the game, you can rewind mistakes you make mid-game. Even if you slightly mistimed that jump and end up a lifeless lump on the floor, you can go back that vital few seconds to before you were in trouble. While it may seem like a gimmick this does in fact add another dimension to the game, removing frustrations like having to repeat a large section of the level that most games of this genre suffer from.

Other small touches make this game truly enjoyable, from the interesting way you gain extra health to the Prince's at times amusing inner monologue. Even the camera, the Achilles heel of most 3D platformers, isn't much of a problem.

The combat in the game is on the surface quite simple, but tricks you can use with your time-controlling dagger and the way you must stab enemies in a certain way to dispatch them adds a certain level of skill, as well as making it a nice variation to the normal hacking and slashing.

The main problem with the game, and what stops it from being five stars, is the fact that it is really quite short. You could well complete it in a few hours with little difficulty. However since the game is so enjoyable to play, you may later find that you want to go through the whole thing again. The original Prince of Persia is available under certain conditions in all three console versions, and this does add some longevity to the somewhat brief game.

Overall, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time comes highly recommended. The game is finely crafted, slick and energetic. Whilst it may be too short and not much of a challenge, the core game itself does more than enough to make it a worthwhile purchase.

This is a quality game. A one run through and your done but it'll be one heck of a ride. With interesting twists and love scenes Prince of Persia is a brilliant game also complemented by realistic physics and graphics and excellent acrobatics and fighting systems.
Unfortunately the end boss is very easy and the game has barely any incentive for you to play the game again.
The music is also brilliant and free to download.
What the heck it's cheap, just buy it.