Although a few years short of being a decade old, 'Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time' had influenced the gaming world so much as to take another look at the slightly derided platforming genre. It took gamers away from 1st-person shooters into a huge time-warped building, filled with puzzles and battles. 'The Warrior Within' and 'The Two Thrones' built upon this model, but they both had a much darker tone and gruffer character, taking away from the charm somewhat. Later on, the 'Assassin's Creed' series would also make use of the same dynamics, with the character leaping all over the place like a hyperactive five-year-old. In all, 'PoP:SoT' is still a relevant game, as its influences can still be felt today.
Platform Games Can Have Stories Too
The story begins with the Prince's father who, with some help from a certain turncoat magician, is able to storm the walls of his enemy and capture the city. The Prince is introduced as his brave young son, willing and able to go to great lengths for honor and glory, and the game helps the player let him do this by introducing each element one baby-step at a time. First, movement is covered, then jumping, climbing and running along walls. Combat is covered thereafter, where more acrobatic skills are learnt. The game advances the player by showing all the basic skills and how to let the Prince look as spectacular as possible, such as leaping over enemies while skewering them with his sword, or fending off multiple foes with a thrust here, a spinning kick there, and a block that's followed by a quick riposte.
This all climaxes to obtaining the Dagger of Time, a new doohickey found deep within the castle. As any young son would do, this is presented to his father with a peacock chest and a slight swagger. However, the evil magician who betrayed his master is about to deceive once more, as he has plans of his own and ends up manipulating the young Prince into unlocking the Sands of Time, another treasure found within the castle walls. The result causes the whole building to shake and groan, sending tremors all around that disturb the structural integrity, but that's just the start of it. The Sands of Time leak out, enveloping all around them, turning soldiers into monsters, and even the Prince's father. It is then up to the Prince to solve the slight problem of getting to the hourglass to set things right, and taking his revenge on the wizard.
Marty McFly Has Nothing On The Prince
With the dagger in his possession, the Prince is able to reverse time, and as his dagger is upgraded when he kills more monsters around the place, he's able to slow down time so much until he gets to a point where everyone around him is standing still and he's moving in the the blink of an eye. It's a great gimmick, as when you think you can reach that platform, but can't and are now falling to your doom, you can press a button to rewind at the expense of a sand tank, and hey presto, you're back where you started. Either that, or game over.
Although the puzzles can be straightforward at first, they do get more difficult as they go on, and do rely on a time element throughout. If you fail first of all, then you have to go back and do it all again, so the player has to be persistent in order to reach his goals, a good life lesson if ever there was one! But if a puzzle is worked out well enough for the Prince to take no damage at all, then it's a warm fuzzy feeling.
The main sword can also be changed throughout the game, and as such is a plot point in different places, enabling the player to smash through walls and take on the larger, tougher enemies later on. But sometimes, you just need a lady to sort things out properly.
And a Damsel in Distress Too, Sort Of
Your semi-constant companion throughout your journey is the girl Farrah, a mean hand with a bow and with the annoying habit of getting in the way of the Prince and his swordplay. Farrah's AI isn't the greatest, as she doesn't run away or move somewhere away from impending snarling doom, but usually meets it head-on with varying results. Indeed, keeping her alive in the game will make you frustrated at times, and it's only just about worth it by seeing their little budding romance develop, although of course it has to go through the myre of resentment first.
Other annoyances are the camera and the keyboard controls. Sometimes the camera switches to an angle that just throws you, upsetting the combat, and with the keyboard controls even the simplest of acts such as climbing a ladder is a "left a bit, right a bit" chore. This doesn't get better as it goes on, and there is more than one puzzle where you think that it's a key press that way, but it isn't, and ends up with the Prince's not-so-certain doom. This only happens a few times though throughout the game.
This is nearly covered by the 'PoP:SoT's simple charm. Kill the baddies, save the world and the girl in the process. The Prince is a good character to play, with his monologues somewhat amusing as he goes from place to place around the castle, and the burgeoning relationship with Farrah is a good one. It's a shame about the camera, as otherwise it would make the whole experience into a sublime one. In all though, it is a great game and still a good 'un today.
James Clapham - After winning his Creative Writing Diploma, James Clapham moved to Slovakia. He currently works as an English teacher there, and is also ...
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