Prince of Persia has always intrigued me. I remember when Sands of Time came out on PS2 it got rave reviews and I wanted to play it, but I didn't do so until about 5 years later. I must say Sands of Time aged like fine wine. The Free Running platforming is smooth and fun and the combat, while weak, certainly got the job done. Why am I explaining how great the first was? Well because Forgotten Sands is essentially the same game with HD graphics. So is that good or bad? Read on to find out (oh how I love baiting muwahahaha)!
Forgotten Sands is an appropriate title because this game was literally forgotten in the series. The story places itself between the first and second games and it works well enough. Our young Prince Dastan finds himself in quite a pickle after his brother unleashes a cursed army. The story tries to play along the same lines as Sands of Time only with a "family ties" bend. It works, but won't be winning any awards. Also, take note, this has nothing to do with the movie Sands of Time even though they were released in conjunction… I'm sure that was just a coincidence the Ubisoft had a Prince of Persia game in production while Disney was producing a movie...
Story aside, this game functions like all the rest in the series; platforming and combat. The real reason you want to play this game is the platforming. Forgotten Sands offers up some excellent Free Running that is both challenging and rewarding. There were only a handful of times I felt the game "tricked me" into dying. The jumping puzzles require impeccable timing and button switching. Thankfully the Prince's ability to reverse time is back. Along with that you gain the ability to solidify water, replace broken surfaces and do a… warp kick… Believe me, by the end of the game you will be doing all these in rapid succession like a pro.
This is about the minimum number of enemies on screen at one time
The combat, much like Sands of Time, is the weakest part of Forgotten Sands. enemies come in predictable patterns and are dispatched by mashing attack and occasionally casting one of four magic spells. Sword attacks feel a bit sluggish but that is made up by the attack speed of your enemies being that of molasses going up hill in January… with crutches. Simply put, the fighting is easy and slow. There is no block, which can be frustrating at times, but the dodge roll often teleports you threw attacks. Your greatest foe tends to be the camera in the larger scale fights, particularly when your enemy is the kind that charges. However, my opinion on the combat changes drastically in the last quarter of the game.
You see toward the end you get the Master Swo… magic Mcguffin Sword of Solomon. After this the combat feels quick and responsive, because you are suddenly ridiculously strong. Every attack is a one hit kill, it seems odd, but with the sheer amount of enemies the game insists on throwing at you it really makes the combat flow far better. That, in turn, mixes the combat and platforming much more naturally. The combat becomes easy and fast, so you can get back to the juicy platforming faster.
The game is fun throughout but the last quarter of it is amazing. Honestly the set piece before the final boss had no right being that good. Basically (this isn't much of a spoiler but if you want the full impact DO NOT READ, skip to next paragraph) the last part before the boss takes place in a giant sand storm. You hop from piece to piece of broken palace fighting enemies occasionally. Granted it is fairly easy, the spectacle of it was just awesome. I haven't been floored by design like that since the Scarecrow levels from Arkham Asylum. the boss fight that follows is just average, but to be fair it's hard to top crazy sand storm tornado parkour.
So that's Forgotten Sands in a nutshell. The platforming is top notch, but the combat leaves much to be desired. The end of the game is great but the middle drags ever so slightly as fighting becomes more prevalent over platforming. I got this gem for $10 and it was worth every penny. If you're a fan of the series you should definitely get it. Honestly, it's worth it, even if only for the penultimate scene. One last gripe though, Prince Dastan looks weird. It's almost like they started with the idea this was going to be a movie tie in then couldn't afford Jake Gylanhopperwhosit... He just looks... off...
Maybe it's just me... But Leeanne agreed...
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