Sands of Time Impressions/Verdict

[SoIdierman-]

EDIT: Completely finished the game and I'm honestly shocked how well the story and emotion there was. I truly felt bad for the Prince.  Combat got a lot more tougher and hectic but persisted through. Final Boss was pretty anti-climatic but nice ending to the game. Definitely a great game that stood the test ot time     ( ;D ).

 

So far, I have played 1/3 of the first game and felt it would be good to base an opinion from somebody who never played it back in the day.

 

For a 2003 game, I could tell this game was pretty revolutionary for many people back in the day. Almost every single trait of the game is done very well and made in a way that is very organic.

 

Combat:

 

Getting to the meat of things, this combat is intricate and smooth. You can see the various styles of movement and attacks the main characters does that shows the engaging nature of a battle when facing quite a wave of enemies. It allows you to fight aggressively if you're able to dodge attacks quick enough but not be too greedy by making the triangle button the finishing blow in order for you to reevaluate if you're safe to do so or not. I was surprised how many enemies came at you at once and how attentive you have to be in order to peoperly process the situation.

 

Design:

 

You can definitely tell this game was the spiritual predecessor to Assasins Creed and even other games in it's genre. Ubisoft did a great job capturing the Persian aestheic, with the sphere shaped structures to the wardrobe characters wore to even the complexion characters hold that feel like they are actually Persian (though hearing Yuri Lowenthal with a english accent was interesting).

 

Controls:

 

The controls are pretty janky for the causal playtime. Everyone who's played the game knows the struggle of jumping off one tree/pillar/wall to another and going the complete opposite direction.

It get pretty annoying at first but I learned it's best to stop moving, put the MC in the direction he needs to go, and use the action button to complete the task. It definitely gets annoying while learning how to play the game but you get use to it. Wall jumping downwards was the worst for me and got stuck for two hours on the Tower of Dawn portion before realizing I was pressing it far too quickly.

 

Characters and Development:

 

At first, I thought the two main protagonist's were pretty generic and one dimensional but once they start opening up their feelings, it starts feeling adorable and even relatable. The last portion of the game really drives all that development home to the point that I started sympathizing with them and their predicament. Main villian was pretty much MIA in the game and can be summed up as by-the-numbers discount Jafar. I did appreciate the unique dialog from Farah whenever I was about to die or when she gasps as I almost fall numerous amount of times. Made it feel more alive in the world you were playing.

 

Sound/Mixing:

 

Now the bad part of game so far and I blame this on the port itself since I heard the original had no problem whatsoever; the sound mixing in this game is....pretty bad. Music would be playing over the voice acting in cutscenes that it would make me miss some dialog and unsure what was really said. I even had a nearby save point-sound effect completely sound out an in game cutscene. Other times, I would be just solving a puzzle or platformer with no music and play in silence to the point it would take me out the game a bit. That said, the sound effects fit the objects projecting them fine.

 

Trophies:

 

This is probably the biggest thing about this game that will affect your enjoy out of it.

In the first game so far, the trophy that restricts your use of time is basically making you constricted to playing a game it wasn't designed for. If you are hating the shackles that placed on your playthrough, take a break and try again later or even play the game all over it again after playing it properly. It's a pretty short game and we do this stuff because we love gaming first and foremost, right :)?

 

Overall, this game (or should I saw port) has it's flaws but you can't deny this game must of been amazing to the people who played it back in the day and I'm just happy I could appreciate their enjoyment of this game too.

 

Verdict: Definitely play this game if you enjoy a good story and gameplay similar to the big name PS2 games like God of War.

Edited July 17, 2020 by SoIdierman-

[FreshFromThaDeli]

Prince of Persia is my favourite Ubisoft franchise and this is the game in the series that remains my favourite. It really sounds like you appreciate what the game tried to do back in 03 when it came out so I'm glad to hear that you still enjoyed playing it for the first time recently. 

[Demek97]

Im playing currently a PS2 version of "Sands of Time" and I had no problem with music or sound effects (85% completion, right after the elevator fight). The only issue with Sound/Mixing I had is voice acting. Sometimes its too quiet and I cant hear what they are talking about so its not only the port version problem. Combat, music, level design is excellent, the camera is sometimes broken and gives you a close-up to a wall . The graphics are good but comparing this game to a "Haunting Ground" you can clealry see its not the best looking game on the system but still I would highly recommend this game for everyone who never tries it (Dont matterr which version PS3 or PS2 both are good).