Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time

THE FORGOTTEN SANDS

» PLAYSTATION 2 » 2003 » UBISOFT MONTREAL

A friend of mine recently uploaded an episode of G4’s show X-play that she had appeared on in 2004, with the warning that it was not worth watching

– a warning that I would soon regret ignoring. My breaking point came six minutes in when my friend was shouted down as she tried to propose that The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker might have been worthwhile, after most of the guests and hosts had asserted that Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time was the only good game of 2003. Yes, the same year that Wario Ware Inc, F-zero GX, Beyond Good & Evil and Max Payne 2 came out.

Still, they weren’t wrong about Sands Of Time being good. It was one of the first games I ever got for the PS2, and I thought it was amazing. The stages were masterfully designed and navigating them felt wonderful, a new high bar in 3D action adventure control. The time-reversing gimmick felt fresh, as did the way that the prince narrated the story and corrected himself when you died, and while the combat wasn’t quite as solid it was always fun to vault over baddies. Given that the game already carried a notable name, I felt like it would be truly unforgettable.

Wrong again, Nick. During a discussion in which some friends and I were laughing about the idea of 2003 having a single good game, our resident young lad got the wrong end of the stick. He’d only heard of Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time because his dad had bought it when it was added to the Xbox backwards compatibility list, and had to ask if the game was actually any good or not. I certainly never expected to find a keen gamer who wasn’t aware of such a great game, and I haven’t felt so old since one of my younger sisters innocently asked, “What’s Street Fighter?”