Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (Xbox 360 - 1st completion)
I haven't played a Prince of Persia game since 2011 and the last one was the 2008 reboot game that tried to take the series in a new direction. Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands goes back to the setting and gameplay mechanics from the Sands of Time trilogy that were released during the 5th console generation. The game kind of coincided with the release of the major movie at the time by Disney, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time but they are not related. This game was somewhat quick to get through but was fun and I managed to unlock the vast majority of Xbox 360 achievements on my first playthrough. I can't say how long it took me but I guess around 10 hours of gametime. There has been a lot going on lately in my life which hasn't afforded me much time to play games and my upcoming monthly blog entry will shed some light on it.
The Forgotten Sands takes place within the 7-year time gap between The Sands of Time and Warrior Within. The Prince is riding through a desert on his horse, on a quest to see his brother, Malik, and learn about leadership from him. When the Prince arrives at Malik's kingdom, he finds it under attack by an army which is attempting to breach the treasure vaults for a great power known as "Solomon's Army". The Prince charges in to the city, and tracks Malik to the treasure vaults. Here, Malik says that he is fighting a losing battle and proposes to rely on a last resort or be forced to retreat. The Prince strongly objects, but Malik releases Solomon's Army using a magical seal. Solomon's Army is an assortment of different creatures, all made of sand. The Prince and Malik both manage to obtain halves of the seal used to keep the army contained, protecting them from being turned into sand statues, which is the fate of the rest of the kingdom. Malik is separated from the Prince, who finds a portal to the domain of Razia, a Djinn of the Marid race. Razia tells the Prince that the only way to re-imprison Solomon's Army is to reunite both halves of the seal. Razia gives the Prince special powers and sends him to find Malik, and the other half of the seal.
To see the first almost 3 hours of gameplay, go here or below (PS3 version):
Click to view
Graphics/Art-8
+ Nice colourful graphics and animation.
+ Good art direction and level design.
+ You can fight lots of enemies onscreen at once with no slowdown.
- There isn't much interaction with the environment and since the Prince is always on the move, you don't get much chance to just sit back and take it in at times.
- Graphics don't seem to wow! you much.
Sound/Music-8
+ Good sound effects and music is okay.
+ Voice acting is pretty good.
Control-8
+ Controls are relatively similar to previous games. Every button has a use to overcome various obstacles and require good timing.
- Sometimes the Prince will do an action, over/undershoot something, or go in a direction you didn't want him to (especially during Flight).
Gameplay-8
+ Returning back to the linear gameplay of the Sands of Time trilogy after 2008's Prince of Persia more open gameplay, I personally prefer this kind of linear gameplay.
+ Throughout the game the Prince learns new powers. The biggest new feature is the addition of elemental powers, which behave as power-ups, enhancing the Prince's ability in battles and allowing him to access unreachable areas. There are four core powers in the game: Fire, Ice, Wind and Earth. Each of them translates to a different power during combat, such as the ability to "solidify" water fountains and turn them into climbable columns.
+ Besides these core powers, there are also minor powers, that can be purchased to enhance the Prince's abilities from Razia. These minor powers include a shield and the power to summon small tornadoes.
+ The combat in the game is similar to combat mechanics found in The Sands of Time. The Prince will be able to fight multiple enemies in one battle, up to 50 at once. An important part of the combat is "crowd control" and evading enemies, as well as combos. There is no blocking and quick time events are used only to finish bosses in the game.
- The enemy AI is not that smart and their reactions are predictable.
- I feel the combat has downgraded and that the Prince cannot do as much as before.
Fun/Story/Misc-8
+ Going back to the Sands of Time trilogy, I find this game to be more fun than 2008's Prince of Persia though the production values are a little better in the other game.
+ Story is basic and reminds me of the past games. The pacing is pretty good.
- While I like that it's a short game, there isn't really anything to unlock so there is lack of content.
Total: 40/50 (Grade Level: B)
The Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands website is no more. The Gametrailers.com video review is here and the Wikipedia article is here. I'll start my next game sometime after I upload my next entry on the Gathering weekend.
Next Game: Resident Evil 6 (PS3)
Currently playing: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP) & Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords (Xbox)
