Genesis-exclusive game Aladdin? That was the game that made me buy a
Genesis. X-Men rocked, and Sonic was very tempting, but it was Aladdin that
pushed me over the edge (I already had an SNES, and back then it wasn’t very
common to have more than one console). Nowadays I must have every console in
existence! But that’s beside the point. Aladdin was a fast, action-packed
adventure game that never quit. Like all games it had an end, but until that
point you were constantly on the run, battling evil soldiers, or flying a
magic carpet.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is somewhat of a spiritual sequel to that
game. The Disney license prevents Sega and any other developer from making
another Aladdin game without paying a fee. But no one can stop a developer
(Jordan Mechner in this case) from taking what was great about Aladdin and
adding to it. Prince of Persia is not better than Aladdin, but it took me
back to the joyous time of the early 90s, and prevented the GBA from leaving
my hand until the game’s end.
The game hits the player
hard in the first level by making one thing clear: Prince of Persia is no
pushover. I couldn’t tell you how difficult the PlayStation 2 version is, but
the challenge here is akin to that of Donkey Kong Country. The enemies aren’t
too difficult if you know how to kill them, but if taken by surprise they can
be lethal.
Bow and arrow-toting
enemies will boldly stand before you, firing one arrow at a time. It’s like
they’re saying, "You’re not good enough to strike me down with your sword
before my bow hits your chest." In some situations they’re right. With some
practice and some inherent (or previously earned) gaming skill, you won’t be
on the receiving end of death often enough to drive you mad. You will still
have to worry about falling though. Hard landings will eat away at your
health bar, and if you fall from a high platform, nothing can stop death from
knocking on your door.
It’s amazing that these
simple little things (things that are easy to avoid in the third dimension)
are so difficult here. It must be because the game is presented in the
classic side-scrolling form. There’s something about it that’s just more
challenging. And a lot of fun.
Structurally, Prince of
Persia: The Sands of Time is very good. The levels are good, but the real
kicker is how they’re laid out. The game avoids DSS (Dull Side-scroller
Syndrome) by constantly changing the level structure. You could be running
forward, dodge a spinning-blade booby trap, climb a pillar, open a door, roll
underneath a barrier, and deal with a few relentless foes all in a matter of
minutes. The game is good at defeating you (or maybe I’m just not good at
defeating them), which extends its length. It’s not a long game by today’s
standards, where gamers expect no less than 10 hours from every title.
However, it has a lot of replay value, and while I do love lengthy games, you
can’t put a price on replayability. This one will end quickly (if you’re good
enough), but you’ll be back to play through it again.
Prince of Persia’s
graphics aren’t going to win any awards, but they’ll surely appease the eyes
of Game Boy Advance players. The animation immediately caught my eye. The
main character’s animations are very fluid, just like Aladdin’s were in his
unforgettable title. The backgrounds are pretty cool, with fountains, brick
walls, large statues, and several subtle things like trees, windows and
paintings. When you attack with your sword it looks like it’s on fire. It’s
a simple cartoony effect, but how often do you see a Game Boy Advance game
that utilizes its graphical capabilities? They’re limited, but more often
than not they’re under-utilized.
Game developers are
intent on making time an important aspect of their titles. All versions of
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time will give players the chance to reverse
time, slow time down, or stop it completely. The time-altering effects are
much less involved, but the concept is basically the same. At one point
everything might be great. You’re defeating every enemy with no hassle,
avoiding traps, and making your through the game much faster than you ever
thought possible. Then you screw up and die. If you die, you must re-start
from the beginning of that level (I told you this game was tough!).
The way out of your
deadly situation would be to alter time. A boulder falls from above and hits
you on the head – what do you do? Reverse time and try not to let it happen
again.
Game Boy Advance
continues to surprise me. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a must-play
game. This game isn’t perfect, but I don’t think anyone will be disappointed
to find it in their stocking. You’ll probably love it in spite of its flaws,
especially if you were one of the people who bought a Genesis to play
Aladdin. This is a really great game. Even the music is good!
Gameplay: 8
Prince of Persia:
The Sands of Time is one of the best side-scrollers of the season. It moves
at a quick, mostly-steady pace that never causes boredom.
The
levels are good in size and are even better in structure. There’s a lot more
here than running and jumping from one side of the screen to the next. In
Prince of Persia, you’ll have to climb, swing and roll your way through traps
in every level.
Gameplay is augmented by the controls, which are quick and responsive. Jumps
are a seamless transition from running – your character will not pause after
landing (in many games your character will).
Needless to say, this is a really great update to the Prince of Persia series.
Graphics: 8
The character
designs are good (the lead character looks great) and their animations are
very fluid. The backgrounds are also worth mentioning, giving the game a
detailed, finished look.
Sound: 8
Keeping with the
apparent mission to make Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time the unofficial
sequel to Aladdin, THQ commissioned a composer who was proficient in creating
that style of music.
Difficulty: Medium/Hard
If video game
characters didn’t have an infinite amount of lives you wouldn’t make it past
the second level.
Concept: 8
Prince of Persia:
The Sands of Time is the Aladdin sequel we never had. The developers read my
mind! If they had come to me and said, "We want to know what you want from
the GBA version," this would have been it.
Overall: 8
