So, I just replayed this as part of writing a walkthrough for it (which should be up in the next few days), so I figured I might as well review it as well.

As you no doubt know, Sands of Time was a 2003 reboot of the classic Prince of Persia series, featuring a time manipulation gimmick intended to make the high flying acrobatics more manageable, by giving players a way to undo such mistakes as leaping headfirst into a spike pit.

The game was made relatively early in the last console generation's life cycle, and all in all, the graphics have held up admirably. The characters are more stylized than realistic, but since the game is essentially a fairy tale, the look fits. The environments are detailed and bright, and the textures are varied enough so that while you'll recognize a ledge, or a part of the wall you can grip, it all looks fairly natural. One thing I can tell they did special work in was the curtains, which move idly in the wind, and react well when the Prince runs across them.

The sounds are nice and crisp, and the music is very good. It fits the setting, and the action on the screen very well, and serves to compliment the product as a whole. The writing, particularly the dialogue between Farah and the Prince, is great. There is a charming interplay between them, and even the Prince's monologues are often hilarious. This is all helped by the high quality voice acting.

The story, as I mentioned, is a fairy tale, and I mean this as a compliment. It's exciting and entertaining, and never loses its charm. The Prince develops well, from an arrogant warrior looking for honor and glory, to a mature Prince, looking to do the right thing. The Prince and Farah's relationship develops well and naturally, and the ending wraps things up very nicely.

The gameplay holds up pretty well, although there are some downsides here and there. The platforming is top notch, and the controls are very responsive during these periods. The combat, though, could use quite a bit of work (which is probably why they overhauled it for Warrior Within). While the platforming takes full advantage of the Prince's athleticism, the combat somehow feels limited, and I usually just defaulted to one of a couple attacks to beat enemies.

The Dagger of Time is probably the game's biggest asset, as it changes what would have been extremely frustrating platforming puzzles in another game, into a more natural game, letting you just play instead of stopping to plan everything out to make sure you didn't die, and having to restart if you made a false move.

All in all, the game has held up well over the years, if you don't mind the somewhat dated graphics. It's a charming story, wrapped up with engaging and fun gameplay, and well worth a play through.