Remembrances of Games Past, Part #24 - Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (PC) (2003) (Ubisoft)
1I didn't play Ubisoft's highly successful reboot of the Prince of Persia franchise until 2007 - several years after its original release - but once I finally picked up the PS2 version I had a lot of fun with the game. Sure, it's very short, none of the platforming sections are particularly challenging and the combat (as with all Ubisoft games) definitely feels too simplistic and repetitive for its own good. However, despite these obvious shortcomings Sands of Time turned out to be an entertaining, highly atmospheric experience due to great graphics, assured art direction and satisfying controls. Also, the writing and voice acting is surprisingly good and does a great job of conveying the relationship between the prince and the princess as it slowly builds up during the course of the game. The 2003 Prince of Persia might not be the ground-breaking classic some overly nostalgic gamers claim it to be, but it's still one of the more memorable action adventures in recent years.