For the Love of... Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is glorious proof that it is always worth looking back at games from older consoles. An interactive tale of the Arabian Nights, the Prince has released a terrible evil across the land and by using the Dagger of Time he is able recapture them and restore order. The deadly sands of time have spread to every corner of the game's stunningly realised palace and turned every inhabitant into a sand warrior, who will attack you when alerted, while every corridor is a gauntlet of devious traps thanks to the palace defences.

Technically, Sands of Time is a 3D platformer but, thanks to the Prince's acrobatic ability, is so much more than that. Wall-runs across pits, timed rolls under spinning blades, leaping off wall you to catch onto flagpoles, spinning round them to build speed to launch yourself at a pressure switch on a wall, only to bounce off and land on a higher ledge that you never thought possible to reach. This is a game that requires quick reaction time and it never repeats the same tricks twice.

The biggest revelation was the Dagger of Time. As you collect the sands the dagger stores some allowing you to play with time. For example, if you miss the last of five particularly difficult jumps and fall to your death, simply rewind time to halfway through the fourth jump then land and take the fifth jump again. This little addition takes away all the frustration you normally find in difficult platforming sequences, while keeping things challenging. Also, what other game can surprise you with a barely detectable lethal trap at the end of a timed run through a corridor of traps without feeling like its is cheating the player?

Combat in Sands of Time is just as well pitched between challenge and entertainment. By stringing together combos from four simple commands - sword, dagger, jump and defend - you can pull some fantastic maneuvers and, even if you are fighting four sand warriors twice your size, you never feel out-matched. Tactics are introduced as the sand warriors can not be dispatched by the sword alone. The dagger will suck the Sands from them but only if you have stunned them first. Additionally, the dagger can freeze them letting you cut them in half with your sword. That is far from the limit of your combat options though and discovering new ways to beat enemies is another of this game's great successes.

One aspect that can often be skimped on, in even the best videogames, is the story. Not so here. The Arabian Nights style is wonderfully realised and the relationship that develops between the Prince and his only ally Farah is tangible and puts most similar Hollywood love stories to shame. Then the conclusion, without giving anything away, is one of the most dramatic and effective in a Videogame.

The Sands of Time features flawless gameplay which few games, if any, have bettered. The graphics and design are stunning, the warmth of the setting flowing over you as you play and the Prince's connection with the palace is absolutely solid. This is one game that has, ironically, stood the test of time and still manages to feel fresh a whole generation later.