In true Prince-following agony, I approached The Forgotten Sands with healthy skepticism. Quite frankly, the last outing of the Prince did not work for me. Nolan North is really something, no arguments there; but Prince of Persia, one would say, shouldn't sound like one cracking wise downtown Los Angeles. So, I was surprised to the core when this game actually won me over. I was braced for some kind of generic tie-in (you know, one of those games based on a movie based on a game… headache), but thankfully, I was proven wonderfully wrong.
The Tale (Promise, No Spoilers)
So, where does this adventure fit. Think along the lines of a chapter neatly slipped after the storied Sands of Time but just before the darker turn of the Warriors Within saga.
Our Prince heads off to visit his brother- a sibling we have conveniently not heard about before. Of course, this is located right in the middle of a massive siege. It has now become worse, and before you know it, "Solomon's Army" (these guys have a pretty ominous sound to them) is unleashed. Before long, the Prince is facing down sandy skeletons and all other kinds of nasty creatures. The biggest, angriest beast of them all gets special attention. His task: send those sandy monstrosities back to where they came from. Fortunately, he has the help of a mysterious water genie who gives him the power to manipulate water. Cool, eh.
Now, speaking of the Prince. Here, he's more of a joker than he was in Sands of Time. Not quite full-blown Nolan North crack, but the quips are definitely there. Most of them didn't land with me, though there are a couple that did coaxed out a smile. It's not that I have a hatred for witty characters, it just feels somewhat misplaced for this Prince.
One thing to note: the tale quickly comes to a close. Nine hours is around what you're looking at to see it through.
How Does It Play
The Forgotten Sands offers quite a solid gameplay experience. Not aiming for perfection, yet sure understands the meaning of a good time. The controls sometimes feel a bit loose; for instance, if one was to try playing the earlier PoP titles, one will feel right at home.
Platforming Prowess
This is where the game really shines with some of the best acrobatics in the series. You lose the ability to slow down time or speed it up (but the old trick of rewinding to avoid death is there), but gain something equally interesting: water control. Solidifying water and managing its flow has to sound simple, but the execution is clever: freeze a cascade from the ceiling to create a solid pillar to cross a chasm, or get a waterfall into a wall: run along it instead of down it. You will have to release the water in time since one cannot keep it condensed forever, which means additional interesting frustration. It is all relatively straightforward: they turned a gimmick into an unexpectedly deep plinth mechanism. In all its glory. My only real pet peeve here is that you're soon going to find yourself in a button Olympics contest. Towards the mid-to-late game, you're juggling B, A, RT, LT, LB, and the analog stick. That's a lot to handle and you're probably going to mis-time a button and go plummeting to your deaths a few times. But, oddly enough, this complexity is also part of what makes the platforming so engaging.
Puzzles & Traps
The classic PoP puzzles are here and correct. They are not much worth the brain-buster experience of Myst, but they do provide some decent level of challenge. Sometimes parts of these puzzles even overlap with platforming, which is always nice. What would a Prince of Persia game be without those iconic corridors full of traps. They come back, usually hallways stuffed with arrow traps, swinging axes, and those terrifying rolling logs with spikes. There are not very many in the game, but they are equally enjoyable diversions worth mentioning.
Combat Straight Forward
Combat has completely turned. Very simple-incredibly simple, I'd dare say, not "easy to learn, hard to master" simple like God of War-but completely different in definition-instead of taking 4 to 6 hard enemies with individual weaknesses, now you're mowing down seas of 12 to 20 less powerful but predictable foes. The pace of the combat definitely picks up, and it's fun enough, but there isn't anything particularly thrilling about it. A bit hard to control Prince attacks on the intended victims, what with most of the screen filled with enemies. You have one weapon, one main combo, four different magic skills, and a trusty kick. Surprisingly useful for crowd control that. Unlocks the magic skills as you progress: Killing baddies earns you 'Souls' or something like that to act as XP. Level up, buy an ability. Starts with two of them, but you get additional access. Frankly, the game is not that hard so probably "Stone Armor" is the only one that you'll ever really need. Oh, and a nice nod to the classics: you can still jump on an enemy and attack from above, though sadly, no more slicing them in half like in the original. A moment of silence for that.
Then I had this major game-breaking glitch where the enemy placement went haywire, thereby not allowing a certain ability from being used and thereby not allowing progression. Thank goodness the checkpoint reloads solved it. Since it was an isolated incident, it's not really impacting my overall view, but if it's a widespread issue, that's a different story.
The Sounds of Persia
Just for the record, the music fits perfectly: epic, grand adventure-like, and quite good. And there's a very huge plus in this area: Yuri Lowenthal returned to voice the Prince again. Hearing him again was nice, especially after the Prince's "emo phase" where his voice had taken a turn down an unfortunate path. And for some good news, no Godsmack-influenced musical influence here. No diss to the band, but the sound just didn't fit PoP.
Speaking of which, I was very saddened by the missing Kenny Loggins. His mellifluous tones are absent from both the intro and the credits. I could count a number of times someone could have really made it work using "Highway to the Danger Zone." Certainly a lost opportunity.
Otherwise, the sound design is strong-it doesn't particularly jingle anything out or stand out, it just executes well.
What It Looks Like
Graphically, the game stands up quite fine, although it isn't going to blow you away visualization-wise. The water effects are beautifully done, and most animations appear playable. The Prince himself is quite detailed as sandy foes, and gorgeous particle effects are flying all around.
Apparently, this game is compatible with 1080p, but here I was on 720p. Probably, some breathtaking results can be noted at the higher resolutions. But I won't know.
Achievement Hunter's Corner
(This is just my view; it doesn't shape the score of the game)
These achievements are as easy as they can get. Finishing the game yields you a hefty amount of points, and the rest are mere mopping without a huge hassle. No achievement is specific to any difficulty (except for one that bizarrely asks you to start on Normal and then switch to Easy), and therefore it's quite a straightforward list to complete. Almost all can be scored in just one run.
There is only one achievement that deals with collectibles, but it carries a warning in its title: "Got Walkthrough." If you miss even one single sarcophagus, there is no chapter select; it is an all-or-nothing do-over from the beginning. So, a guide is your best buddy here.
That's really the only one that might cause you any grief. A few others look hard at first sight, but they are indeed fairly easy, albeit a little grindy, due to clever community-found solutions.
The only two achievements that will take more effort to get postgame are those for "Prince of Tides," for completing the Enemy Tides Challenge, and "Completist," which involves buying every upgrade. Since you probably won't have all upgrades by the end of the main storyline, it makes sense. Ironically, Tides is the fastest method to garner XP, and by completing it the first time, you'll instantly unlock the achievement. You will have to run this a few more times, however, to acquire all of the XP for every upgrade, so that is quite grindy; although I did manage to do it in just about one hour.
The Final Say
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is a really, really fun game. It can keep you hooked throughout, and it isn't that long in killing time. The platforming is fantastic, the puzzles are fun, the combat works well, and everything comes together rather nicely. But are there better games. Sure. Is it worth a full $60. That's debatable, of course. But if you are a fan or just looking for fun action and adventure, you are definitely missing an opportunity if you don't at least consider renting it.
Quick Hits: The Good & Not-So-Good
- + Awesome platforming mechanics
- + Achievements are a cakewalk
- + Fun, at least moderately tough puzzles
- - Combat feels a little stripped down
- - Short in duration
- +/- Complex platforming controls-could be frustrating yet often incredibly rewarding