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Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is something of an oddity; the story the games tells has already been completed and taken care of in the Prince of Persia titles, the trilogy of games that started with 2003's The Sands of Time, continued in 2004's Warrior Within and concluded in 2005's The Two Thrones. Five years later and Developers Ubisoft have seen fit to crow bar in a new chapter which sets the action between The Sands of Time and Warrior Within, an interesting choice given that they had a previous next generation title (2008's Prince of Persia) to give a brand spanking new sequel too. The Forgotten Sands is to be released on all of the major platforms, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, PC and both the Nintendo Wii and DS; however the Wii, PSP, and DS versions of the game will differ from the PC, 360 and PS3 ones. These versions will all use the Anvil game engine as found in the last Prince of Persia title as well as other recent Ubisoft titles such as the Assassins Creed series; the other versions will use the Jade game engine as was used by the other Prince of Persia titles on earlier consoles.
Details on the story are sketchy on the new Prince of Persia, although it is known that the Prince visits his brother's kingdom after his adventures in Azad; upon finding the palace where his brother resides he finds it under siege from an army with nothing but the devastation of the kingdom on their mind. In a last ditch attempt to stop the conquering army the decision is made to use the power of the Sand; it's at this point the player will embark upon his journey into the game which will him see truly leaning about the power he has access too, and what it truly means to be a great leader. Not to be done on an empty stomach then.
On the PS3, 360 and PC the Prince has the ability to rewind time right from the start and of course new powers can be gained throughout the course of the adventure. The most interesting of these power additions are the Elemental powers which grants the Prince power over, well, the elements; water, air, fire and of course earth. These new powers give the Prince even more control over his environment than seen before, for example, using the power to interact with water the Prince can solidify water fountains and use them as climbable assets to reach previously inaccessible ledges.
The fighting system has also undergone some changes as well, instead of the need to block your opponents attacks you'll be required to simply dodge out of the way which will surely add to the fluidity of the battles with the need to keep the Prince moving, lest he take a severe beating; in addition to the elemental powers you get you'll also be able to summon up attacks such as small tornados which will blast through your enemies, there are also defensive techniques you can magically summon such as a shield.
By your side you'll find a Djinn (Genie) who'll help you out when she can, Razia as she is known resides in a mystical dimension for the most part but she can help you out in battle and team up with the Prince to pull off some of those fancy acrobatic fighting moves fans of the series have come to know and love. You'll get plenty of opportunity to see those moves in action as well; there can be up to 50 different enemies on the attack at any one time in later sections of the game and with the developers not resorting to quick time events as other games seem to have developed a bit of a habit of doing the boss battles are set to be both a taxing and enjoyable experience.
The Wii version takes a different approach to the gameplay and is completely different to the others in all but story; it's been developed from scratch specifically for the console and has a heavier focus on the platforming elements as well as more problem solving. The ability to rewind time is missing from this Prince's bag of tricks, instead he must rely on a Sand Ring which gives him powers to control the sand; these include the ability to create platforms to reach higher places, create hooks that can be used to swing from platform to platform, and it can also be used in combat situations to throw sandstorms in the eyes of your enemies. A great touch Ubisoft have brought to the Wii is the idea of the enemies having leaders which are identified by a glowing blue aura; if you manage to take one of these out first then the other enemies under his command will run off in an act of cowardice leaving the Prince to let them go or hunt them down.
It doesn't end there however, other combat techniques in the Wii version utilise the Wiimote, a flick of the wrist will send the Prince's sword out towards his enemy or a quick jab with the Nunchuck will send out his fist in a vicious punch. Other combat moves such as dodging and jumping will be restricted to the buttons so there won't be too much in the way of waving arms around. For the first time in the franchise the Wii version will also feature a co-op mode, although rather limited and very reminiscent of the way Mario Galaxy had co-op; a second player can take control of Razia the Djinn that follows the Prince around and use her to daze enemies or activate switches for the Prince.
The Wii version also has the honour of carrying with it a special version of the original 1989 game from the SNES, although a HD remake of the original version is available at a budget price on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Marketplace already.
The PSP and DS are also getting a different version of the game, it seems as though Ubisoft aren't skimping at all when it comes to the development of one of their best loved franchises. If you're at all familiar with the 2008 game Prince of Persia: The Fallen King then you'll already have an idea what to expect from the handheld versions of The Forgotten Sands. The game looks 3D but is essentially a 2D scrolling type affair, you'll still have access to all the acrobatic stuff you've come to know and expect from the franchise but things won't be as finicky for you when it comes to lining up your jumps.
Continuing with the idea that the Prince has some control over time you've got the ability to slow down and speed up certain objects, although just one at a time; for example one scene which features spinning blades has the player slowing down the blades while speeding up columns which can be used to avoid the blades and so on. Tricky stuff indeed, of course the DS version will include controls which utilise it's touch screen capabilities as well, something which the PSP lacks.
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is due for release in mid-may 2010 alongside the film version of The Sands of Time staring Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Artetron and Ben Kingsley. 2010 is looking to be a busy time for the Prince and hopefully both the new game and the film won't let us down, and it should be noted that the new game is not a film adaptation, just in case you were left wondering, or worrying...
