Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (PS3) (Playstation 3)

i thought it was a very fun game! the puzzles aren't exactly the hardest to figure out but they are challenging. its not like you get through everything on your first try. the water timing gets very tricky towards the end. i gave up on Tomb Raider because the puzzles were too hard! wasnt fun for me to run around in circles for hours at a time. i think Uncharted 2 was just perfect. another similar game Dante's Inferno, very very fun! i really enjoyed that game.

but back to prince of persia, it was a little easy and short. i rented it thursday, played it for a few hours. came back to it and played it a few hours the next morning and beat it. i guess i'd give it 4 stars for very fun and entertaining and graphics were decent, but definately that camera lock sucked!! missed like every secret figure breaking thing becuase the camera was blocking it out! good out weighs the bad here though. its short but sweet! hell i'll give it 5 stars, it was a really fun game!

• from

so yesturday i went to gamestop and out of all the good games that came out yesturday i pick prince of persia because i liked the last one alot. this is nothing like the last one but that doesnt mean its a bad thing. its a fun little game. you have to clime and figure out different things so you can get to the next section. i havnt ran into any to tough yet but they will keep you thinking. the controls are smooth and so far the story is great. is this going to be a game of the year no it is not, and it probily wont be one of he best games of this year, but this game is fun and i would say atleast rent it or pick it up when the price drops. i will update my review when i get further in. i just wanted to let people know what they were getting into if they bought this game. the graphics are good and the game if fun. the trophies dont seem to difficult either. thanks for reading

• from

I've been a longtime fan of the Prince of Persia series ever since The Sands of Time was released on the last-gen consoles. The subsequent games in the series have progressively gotten further and further away from what made The Sands of Time so great. For example Warrior Within, though a good game, relied on a brash artistic style and heavy-metal music that never really felt quite right for the PoP series. The Two Thrones followed a similar route albeit with a weaker storyline. The last PoP outing on the PS3/X360 completely split off and featured a completely new storyline, art style and was probably my least favorite of the PoP games. After hearing that The Forgotten Sands would return to the roots established with The Sands of Time I was eagerly anticipating the game.

First, there's a lot to like about The Forgotten Sands (TFS) and anyone who has played The Sands of Time will be right at home with the game. The graphics are what you would expect from a top-tier Ubisoft game - they're excellent in other words. The color palette is full of browns as you'd expect from a game set in a desert environment, however, that is contrasted by the diverse settings. Areas like hanging gardens, water/sewer systems, etc.

The storyline is straightforward but interesting and keeps things moving forward at a good pace. The game begins with the young prince returning to his brothers kingdom after a prolonged absence. The kingdom is under siege by a powerful army and in desperation the Prince's brother calls forth the fabled army of King Soloman.

Another notable positive in TFS is the excellent soundtrack and voice acting. The original voice actor from The Sands of Time - Yuri Lowenthal - is back to voicing the Prince and does a great job. I always felt a connection with Yuri's voicework over that of Nolan North in the PoP series. The game music, thankfully loses the heavy metal track that felt woefully out of place and returns to a more appropriate Arabic theme.

The gameplay mechanics are similar to previous PoP games. The Prince retains the ability to recall time in short bursts though the use of the ability is limited. This adds a definite challenge to the game though there is also a strong sense of accomplishment once a particularly difficult area is traversed. That feeling of accomplishment was something that I felt was missing entirely from the previous PoP installment on the PS3. Throughout his adventure the Prince will receive upgrade points by slaughtering enemies or finding sarcophagus statues that he can smash. These points can be used on an upgrade grid for abilities ranging from increased damage to physical attacks to elemental spells based on ice, fire, & wind, and even a few defensive upgrades as well.

There are a few areas where The Forgotten Sands falls a bit short and thus keeps me from rating the game higher. First of all, being a Ubisoft game virtually guarantees that TFS will have glitches and bugs. I can most definitely confirm that TFS does. Near the end of the game I ran into a massive glitch which basically prevented me from advancing further in the story. Initially I thought I'd have to start a new game - though luckily TFS does create a back-up save file (the game auto-saves & doesn't allow the user to create save files). Ultimately the glitch cost me about 2hrs of gameplay. Not great, but thankfully not totally devastating. I really do think Ubisoft needs to do a better job testing their games. Problems like the one I encountered in TFS have plagued nearly every single Ubisoft game I've played.

Second, the combat in the TFS leaves something to be desired. I couldn't help but feel that the combat felt somewhat sluggish the entire game. Contrast that with the Prince's fluid movements through the environment and it becomes even more apparent. Also, on the topic of combat - the game will throw hordes of enemies at the Prince but yet the game lacks any feeling of real danger. I think that I felt overpowered the entire game - even against the boss creatures.

Lastly, probably one of the biggest complaints that will be fielded against TFS - it's short. Like 8hrs short and even less for veterans of the series. The game is satisfying but it follows a very predictable path with zero surprises or plot twists. I was tempted to give the game a lower rating based on this factor alone, but the game is solid enough. Just don't expect anything that you don't see coming from a mile away.

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is definitely worth playing even if the adventure is a bit predictable and short-lived.

• from