OK, so I know Persian rugs are pretty carpets, Persian cats are ugly kitties and the Persian Gulf is a war-torn region. But I'm a little embarrassed to admit I don't know much about Persia itself. Luckily, Ubisoft's lovely and talented Montreal studio provides all the answers in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, a 3-D update to the classic 2-D games that siphoned away countless hours of our lives back in the early '90s.
Persia is a place where princes wear silk pyjama pants while running along walls and swordfighting with zombies, where exotically beautiful bare-stomached women help you solve problems (as you can already tell, it's a fantasy world) and where there's no such thing as a simple, straight line between Point A and Point B.
You play as the titular prince, who is tricked by an evil wizard into setting loose the sands of time on his formerly peaceful kingdom, cursing all within. With the occasional help of a comely sidekick named Farah, our hero must navigate one trap-filled, zombie-infested, puzzle-festooned area after another, ranging from ornate palace chambers to deep dungeons to a huge outdoor aviary, to confront the wizard and set things right again.
The game has an absolutely beautiful look to it, using a sort of soft-focus effect to give the Middle Eastern fantasy setting a dreamy feel. But Prince of Persia isn't about wandering around and rubbing brass lamps.
No, it's about pulling off one eye-popping cinematic move after another, including sprinting along walls ninja-style, swinging from bars gymnast-style and leaping from pillar to pillar, uh, pillar-leaper style. All in the name of navigating deviously designed areas that require a fair bit of thought to traverse.
As you enter each sprawling new area, a fly-through view gives you an idea of the path you must take and the prince also periodically has visions of what lies ahead, giving you an idea of how obstacles, traps and puzzles might be approached and overcome.
The frequent combat against the poor sand-cursed citizens is acrobatic yet intuitive, with the prince using sword strikes to weaken foes and his dagger to suck the life out of them, like Buffy the Persian Vampire Slayer.
The dagger is also your source of supernatural abilities, with the coolest feature being a "rewind" power that allows you to go back in time up to 10 seconds. Fell to your doom in a pit of spikes after missing a jump? Rewind and try again.
The dagger's powers, which are replenished by killing enemies, can also be used to slow time down briefly (good for traps that require precise timing) or give the prince a devastating set of attacks against multiple foes.
In fact, the only significant downside to Prince of Persia is that the wonderfully tight controls, good camera angles and the prince's powers make the game a little too easy -- and you'll rarely, if ever, get stuck.
Which, all things considered, is far more of a blessing than a curse.
PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME
* * * *
- Xbox, PS2, GameCube
-- Ubisoft
NEW
GameCube
- XIII - Pokemon Channel - 1080o Avalanche - Spawn: Armageddon - Looney Tunes: Back in Action
XBox
- Spy Hunter 2 - XIII - Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
PlayStation2
- Spy Hunter 2 - Spawn: Armageddon - Monster 4x4: Masters of Metal - Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
TOP GAME RENTALS
1. True Crime: Streets of L.A. PlayStation 2
2. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King PlayStation 2
3.Tony Hawk's Underground PlayStation 2
4. Medal of Honor: Rising Sun PlayStation 2
5. Grand Theft Auto Double Pack Xbox
6. True Crime: Streets of L.A. Xbox
7. WWE Smackdown: Here Comes the Pain PlayStation 2
8. SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALS PlayStation 2
9. Mario Party 5 GameCube
10. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King Xbox
BOTTOM LINE
This is an excellent morphing of the classic Prince Of Persia games into a modern 3-D action-adventure. The genie in the lamp says you now have two wishes left.
