Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Feature Preview

Anticipation has been running high for Ubisoft's upcoming Prince of Persia game ever since the publisher took the wraps off the game at this year's E3. The game's stunning graphics, fluid animation, and innovative gameplay showed undeniable promise. The months since the game's debut have offered glimpses of different aspects of the game, but we haven't had the opportunity to get our hands on a proper preview version of it until now. We have now had the chance to spend some time with the PlayStation 2 version of the game to see if the Prince's next adventure is shaping up to be as good as we hoped.

Jordan Mechner first created Prince of Persia more than a decade ago, and his next project is poised to bring the classic game back to life.

The Prince of Persia series started in 1989 on home computers, back in the days when sprites ruled the world on IBM PCs, Commodore 64s, and Apple IIs. The series sprang from the mind of Jordan Mechner, a lover of adventure films whose inquisitive mind led him and a tiny group to see how much animation they could actually cram into a character's movement, given the limited technology available at the time. The result was a game that crept onto all major platforms in the years that followed and left a lasting impression on the action adventure genre--an impression that has influenced quite a few games since then. Later on, there were a few 2D and 3D sequels and follow-ups, but they never really captured the cool sense of discovery of the original.

However, as luck would have it, the Prince's fortunes have taken a turn for the better, thanks to a collaboration between Mechner and Ubisoft's Montreal studio, which has resulted in the slick new game that debuted at E3. The latest chapter in the Prince's adventures tells a tale that actually predates the story told in the first Prince of Persia. The main character is a young prince who is having one of the worst days of his life. Following a very successful round of conquering and pillaging with his father, the prince stops by a neighboring kingdom to pay a courtesy call to the local ruler's castle and share some of the recently acquired wealth. Unfortunately the machinations of a bitter vizier end up leading the prince to unwittingly unleash the power of the sands of time, whose container happened to be part of the recently pillaged loot. Now, while you might think that releasing some magic sand wouldn't be so bad, it turns out that the sand's power transformed everything, giving a decidedly unflattering makeover to anyone and anything near it. As "luck" would have it, the Prince is spared the sandy fate, because of a magical dagger he took from the loot, and he sets out to make everything right.

Being a prince isn't always easy.

Luck is a relative term for our unfortunate prince, since he has been spared his sandy fate only to find himself squaring off against a small army of sand creatures. To add insult to injury, in the chaos that ensued after the sand's release, the castle's defenses were activated, and the massive structure has turned into a deathtrap. Despite all the aforementioned unpleasantness, the prince has gained some nifty powers--from the mystic sands--to beef up his mortal abilities. He'll be able to warp time for a variety of different effects and gain helpful visions of the future. Another perk is a bit of assistance from Farra, a princess from the looted kingdom (from which the prince first acquired the sands of time) who was brought along with the other valuables. Much like the prince, she was spared a sandy makeover due to an object in her possession, in this case, an amulet. Though it's hardly a match made in heaven, especially considering how the prince treated her, the two form an unlikely alliance that becomes a key point of the plot.