As much a theatrical joy-ride as a game, the perfect adventure for the casual gamer.
The story is a mix of the basic 'end of the world' rhetoric and some surprising twists of fate. It's lightweight but entertaining. Expect to do a lot of wall-running, -climbing, -leaping, and various other forms of acrobatic feats that defy logic. The moves are easy to perform and rather satisfying when you are able to string them together in such a way as to maintain a continuous fluid motion on-screen.
Occasionally there are puzzles that require carefully rotating gears or platforms to open up new paths. The puzzles are not particularly difficult but do add some variety. In addition, there are special abilities you obtain throughout the game which allow for more supernatural forms of transportation (e.g., gliding through the air, jumping over unimaginable distances, running up walls, etc.).
Of course the supernatural abilities come courtesy of your new sidekick Elika, who will be by your side fighting evil up to the very end. You'll also find you cannot, technically, die in this game because she will always save you (and conveniently put you back at the last platform). You couldn't ask for a better partner! In addition, you can encourage the Prince and Elika to converse quite frequently. The chemistry between the two characters is very dynamic and you'll find yourself looking forward to the Prince's witty comments and Elika's flirtatious dismissals.
The most enjoyable aspects of Prince of Persia are the battle sequences. They're simple in strategy (block, counter, attack, special, etc.) but quite engaging because of the various context sensitive commands that pop-up as the Prince and Elika battle one of the four fiends that will regularly stand in your way.
What makes this game great is its dynamic camera angles, fluid animation, and accessibility. This is a good game to pass the controller over to your girlfriend or other casual gamer and sit back and watch. For the hardcore gamer it will come off as "all flash, but no substance," but to those just looking to have a good time without having to commit to punishingly leveling up items, tuning setups, mastering skills, and so forth this is a great escape from reality.