The team behind POP make a game full of unfullfilled potential.
And the the repitition set in. You've probably heard a lot about the 3 side-quest's. At first, I didn't mind these, but by the 2nd memory block I had grown tired of them, but I trudged on.
And then the constant assailing of dialogue. (This coming from someone who adores both Planescape:Torment and Mass Effect) It's not that the fact that it's unnecesary, or drawn out. It's just so damn...dry. I normally revel in aa cutscene soaking up as much story as possible. In this game, I was begging for some kind of "SKIP ALL THIS **** DIALOGUE!" feature.
And then there's the rest of the game. The acrobatics, fail to even resemble a shadow of Prince of Persia's glory. I realize that Altair is a normal human, with human constraints. That's not the problem. Part of what made POP so great, was the death trap's, the feats of acrobatic glory, and the pick-up-and-playness of it all. It was platforming nirvana. And I didn't miss those things for a few hours, but after awhile you get bored of holding R+A at the same time to perform EVERYTHING.
Now the good of the game. Graphically, it is amazing, each city has it's own color scheme, giving them their own feel.
The sound design is great, with music that almost manages to match Stuart Chatwood's Arabian-Rock awesomeness in POP:Sands of Time/Two Thrones(Which, if you liked, check out the band he played Bass in, The Tea Party. The Edges of Twilight=Greatest. Album. Ever.)
This game has much to improve upon before I will even think of touching the inevitable sequels.
However, I have high hopes for those games. The POP team is quick to learn from it's mistakes.