Set in the mystical lands of Persia, a rogue prince and a mysterious princess race against dark forces to safeguard an ancient dagger capable of releasing the Sands of Time -- a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world.
One of computer gaming's biggest titles makes its return with the release of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. The classic story, which had players guiding a young prince through a trap-filled palace to save his beloved from marrying an evil vizier, has been updated with 3D graphics and new traps and puzzles. The story begins with the titular prince tricked by a vizier into using a mystical dagger to release the Sands of Time from an hourglass. With the help of an ally, players must right this wrong by recapturing the Sands of Time before the deceitful vizier can harness its power. As players explore each room, from an ornate reception hall to an underground foundry, they will be able to perform a number of acrobatic moves to protect them from harm.
As in previous games, cinematic cut-scenes help tell the story as the prince overcomes a number of deadly traps and enemies lurking inside the Persian palace. Developer Ubi Soft Montreal, best known for its work on Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, has worked closely with the original game's creator Jordan Mechner for this new tale in the Prince of Persia series. Gamers who only got into the hobby recently and are only familiar with the nastiness of the recent Prince of Persia 3D might be puzzled about why many old school gamers like myself are so excited at the revival of the Prince of Persia franchise. Suffice it to say that our love stems from the memories of the first two Prince of Persia games - brilliant combinations of side-scrolling action and puzzle solving that quickly became classics.
Still, whether you're an old fogey like me or a young kid just starting up in the gaming world, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time belongs in your collection. Ubisoft has helped the Prince make the transition to the 21st century in grand style. The Sands of Time finds our nameless Persian hero traveling through India in the company of his father. While there, they take advantage of a sneaky vizier (is there another kind?) to launch an assault on an unsuspecting maharajah's castle and steal an extraordinary artifact: an hourglass containing the titular 'Sands of Time.' Returning to Persia, the Prince gets tricked into smashing the hourglass containing the sands. This pretty much FUBARs the whole region, turning its denizens into bizarre sand-filled monsters and putting a serious crimp in the Prince's day. Now, he has to track down the evil Vizier, collect all of the sand, and somehow defeat the Vizier to put everything back the way it's supposed to be.