Prince of Persia: Sands of Time was a true gem and a title that still has a strong hold in my favourite games of all time list. Sadly its two sequels opted for a more extreme and dark style that didn’t suit the tone of the series making for a disappointing finale to the trilogy. Ubi Soft however have brought the prince back for another adventure involving wall runs, death defying jumps and a beautiful princess. But is it simply pulling the series further down or giving it the new life it needs?

Travelling through the desert searching for his donkey, the prince runs into Elika, a princess on the run from her father. What this then leads onto is a plan to restore the light to the lands and take down an evil God. The characters are few, the plot thin and it isn’t the most engaging of stories if I’m honest.

Prince of Persia is a platformer, pure and simple. Any obstacle you come across can be beaten either by climbing it, running along it or jumping over it. You’ll be relying on the prince’s acrobatic skills more than anything here and timing and right button presses are often key, if not always. You’ll be able to wall run, swing off pillars and poles and even walk on ceilings! While it may sound difficult to do these moves and they definitely do look complex as well it’s all about simple presses of the A and B button and within minutes you’ll be traversing the lush environments like a pro. It’s this simplistic pick up and play nature that makes the game so addictive.

What is new to the series is your new sidekick Elika. The princess acts as a method of saving you should you fall to your death more than anything and doesn’t add much to the game other than a double jump ability and mulligan. Next up are the power pads. These offer unique abilities to the prince that can see him fly through the air, run up walls, leap like a frog to other pads and swing as if using a rope. They are a good way to stop you having every level open to begin with as these moves are earned the more you progress, but they feel slightly out of place and weird compared to the prince’s basic run and jump abilities.

Fighting has also seen an overhaul. It is now limited to one on one and while button bashing often works, combo presses definitely help a great deal in defeating opponents quicker. It’s an okay system but nothing particularly special with battles becoming annoying at times rather than good fun.

There are four areas to explore in all each with five stages and a final boss encounter. The order you tackle them is entirely up to you, but in the end all must be conquered. There are certain themes to each, some are huge temples others palaces, some caves and even ones that venture cliffs and the sky itself so variety is found here. The levels may all look similar before you cleanse them, coated in layers upon layers of darkness, but after you’ve found the healing point you marvel at new horizons and sites.

With only twenty four stages this isn’t the longest game, and it is a little annoying that you have to collect light seeds to continue, going back through stages you’ve already travelled through before. But it’s only a small annoyance in an otherwise fun game and those who enjoy searching every nook and cranny of stages will probably have a blast collecting the seeds.

The game is simply stunning. Every environment you come across has its own unique feel to it with the production values reaching astounding. You will be blown away the first time you heal one of the lands and witness the beauty that unfolds. Even the animations are superb and each action and you make looks fluid and spot on to real life. There are no transitions are horrible robot like movements, it’s simply poetry in motion.

To top off an excellent overall presentation the music is wonderfully done too with it sounding like it’s straight out of tales of that time or the movie Gladiator. It’s powerful and at times a little emotional. The voice acting is reasonably good but the prince’s voice can seem a little out of place at times and more like he should be a GTA game instead.

Prince of Persia is a great game and one I’m glad I didn’t miss out on. Sure it’s been made more accessible and therefore slightly easier, but when the adventure feels as complete and well made as this one does, you won’t care.