chrisell's Full Review: Prince of Persia: Sands of Time for PlayStation 2
I've played this game on two platforms. Rented it for the PS2, then bought it for the Gamecube. I'll bring up the differences at relevant points in the review, but the key thing to know up front is that it runs significantly slower on the PS2 than it does on the Gamecube.
Prince Of Persia is a long-standing franchise originally created back in the heady days of VGA graphics on the PC. Back then it was like a souped up Pitfall, but you were a Persian prince in a castle. Skip forwards to the 21st century, and games consoles can bring a whole new dimension to this game.
The premise behind the Sands of Time is that you accidentally damned the castle to oblivion by letting out the Sands of Time (you fool!) so now you have to escape, find the secret and set everything right.
Controls
The controls for PoP are pretty good. The directional control is based on your view in the world - point it to where you want to go. The second analog stick is used for camera control. The automatic camera does a fair job, and there is very little TombRaiderCam (where it gets stuck behind an object and you can't see your character). There is also a first-person camera which you can use to look around when you're figuring out puzzles.
For fighting, there's a combination of jump/lunge/stab attacks and it can get overwhelming at times trying to tackle many enemies at once. It's ok though.
Gameplay
PoP's gameplay is your basic Tomb Raider scenario but you really do have to think in 3D here. The Prince has Matrix-esque abilities to run along walls for a short distance, and is extremely athletic. There is a lot of swinging on poles, jumping from wall to wall, snagging ledges and such. Some of the rooms have pressure pads on the walls and ceilings so it's no longer just a case of walking over the illuminated flagstone in the floor now. Like Tomb Raider, you can grab certain objects and move them around to solve puzzles. It true Prince Of Persia fashion, some of the oldest hazards are here too. Speed-sensitive floor spikes (run and they eject and skewer you). Circular saws in the walls, spinning machetes in the centre of rooms etc. All classic PoP items, now in glorious 3D.
At some point in the game, you meet a woman with a bow and arrow and she is a bit of a disappointment. Her aim is terrible (she's shot me more than once) and she does have this really aggrevating habit of walking between you and the person you're attacking. I've accidentally sliced the woman in half a couple of times.
The big new item in PoP Sands Of Time, though, is your ability to control time itself. Early in the game you have to acquire the sand dagger. It has sand and power chambers that you can fill up by various methods. The more power chambers are full, the more spectacular the time-effects. The more sand chambers are full, the more times (or longer) you can pull the effect off.
The most basic life-saver is a 10 second time reverse. You mistime a jump or land on a spike, and you can reverse time to the point where you were last safe, up to 10 seconds ago.
As you gain more power, you can slow down time to attack many enemies, or make tall falls more survivable. When fully powered up, you can use the dagger to freeze time completely. This is particularly useful in a massive combat situation because you can then run around slicing up enemies whilst they're frozen. But because it's so useful, it's also the most expensive. Freeze time and your dagger will be totally empty.
You can refill the dagger at piles of glowing sand, or by defeating sand monsters and enemies then sucking their remains up.
You can refill yourself by finding drinking fountains or pools of water, and sipping until your life bar is back to full. There are hidden passages all over the castle that take you to a special water room which not only replenishes your life but adds extra life capacity too. Most useful.
Graphics
The graphics are great. This is really the place where the PS2 and GC versions differ the most. Like a lot of games now, the PS2 is showing its age. It can't throw the polygons around at near the speed it needs, and the textures suffer occasional tearing artifacts. None of this is present on the GC version which flies along at a decent framerate throughout the whole game.
The character models are all good, with animated faces and moving clothes. The castle is filled with long drapes that wave in the wind, but that you can also run through and make move. It's a nice effect that adds nothing to the gameplay. There are wispy sand effects all over, and birds flit past the castle windows. There is an 'overview' camera which is nice too - it allows you to see the most of the current situation you're in, to help figure out a way out, or what to do next.
Sound
The sound is pretty good in this game. The ambient effects and music are nicely done, and the clashing swords are all clear and prominent. The speech is a little muffled, and the Prince has a definite lisp.
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