I’m a bit different from most gamers in that I liked 2008’s Prince of Persia. It had its share of problems to be sure but the world, story arc, and fluid gameplay kept me intrigued.  So when Ubisoft announced that the next Prince of Persia would be in the Sands of Time universe, I was less than thrilled.  The original game was a masterpiece of gaming, but the sequels seemed to disregard everything that made it great.  The fact that Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands seemed like a movie tie-in did not give me much hope.  Imagine my surprise when the demo became one of my favorites at PAX East.

The first thing that became apparent about The Forgotten Sands is that the controls are nothing like the 2008 game.  Where a single button press would allow you to wall run along a chasm, now the button has to be held down to get the most distance. It took a while to grow accustomed to the return of the original controls, but once I did, everything was fast and easy.  The graphics are actually much better in motion than any of the still shots I had seen up to that point.  It’s certainly not the best looking game I’ve ever played, but the style works for what’s being presented.

The demo, rather than showing a small section of the game, actually skipped ahead to different points to show off different gameplay features.  It starts simply enough with tutorials on basic combat, wall running, and all the different jumping the Prince can do.  Everything was easy to pull off though it should be noted that the rewind feature, for which the series is famous, wasn’t immediately present. Instead, a checkpoint system was being used, which while functional, lacks the charm of rewinding a mistake.  Of course, it returns later in the demo, so it’s not that big of a deal.  The opening segment is actually remarkably similar to The Sands of Time in that it takes place during a large battle.  It helped make the demo feel like a return to form for this universe.

The most interesting part of the demo was the introduction of four elemental powers: Wind, Earth, Fire, and Water.  Water gets the most screen time as the Prince can freeze any flowing water to use as a solid object. It starts as a cool visual trick that quickly becomes evident that it is a replacement for the walls and traps that are usually traversed.  That is until you have to start switching between using the power and disabling it.  Platforming was given a pleasant overhaul as swinging from a waterspout to wall running across a waterfall before jumping toward an opposite platform that was blocked by another waterfall proved to be a lot of fun.  Scenarios like that later on in the game could potentially be both exhilarating and challenging.

The elements extend to combat as well by providing magic and augmenting attacks.  Water-infused sword strikes sent out an icy blast that hit multiple enemies while wind magic created an immense gale that wiped out everything around the Prince. All of the leaps, dodges, and blocks return to the game but you no longer take on at most five enemies at a time. Sand monsters come at you in groups of fifteen or twenty with special monsters that constantly spawn more.  Fighting all these monsters wasn’t as fun as the platforming mainly because they still took turns when attacking you. The combat never felt like a challenge which I hope changes when the game is finally released.

I came away from The Forgotten Sands surprised at how much fun I had. The focus is clearly on platforming and acrobatics which makes it most similar in style to The Sands of Time.  While it may not quite match the brilliance of that game, this Prince of Persia looks to provide a great time to those who pick it up this May.