Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (GameCube)

The original 2-D Prince of Persia has always been acknowledged as the inspiration for the original Tomb Raider and it's easy to see why--it has the same mixture of running, jumping and platform climbing mixed in with tricky Indiana Jones-style puzzles and sword fights (though, okay, Lara prefers an AK47 to a scimitar). These days, however, there's one big difference between the Prince and La Croft: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is miles better than Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness.

The game features some quite extraordinary graphics and animation as the prince leaps and jumps with amazing grace and makes a number of moves inspired by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The controls are a dream too, especially during combat, and even the camera system--usually the Achilles heel of any 3-D adventure--is great, zipping to a fixed position if it looks like any of the scenery is going to get in the way.

The Sands of Time has a bunch of new ideas to add to the usual mix, most notably the chance to control time itself. Each of the demonic monsters you fight will spill a quantity of magical sand when they die and you can use this to power the dagger of time and rewind, slow down or fast-forward time. This allows you to instantly recover from unexpected deaths and allows you to concentrate on having fun and playing the game. Excellent stuff. --David Jenkins

"Move think and fight... Prince of Persia excels at every aspect of the trinity. 9/10."

"Bursting with ideas and truly princely design. Heartily recommended. 86%."

Wielding powers of mythic proportions, the Prince returns to action-adventure gaming with gravity-defying acrobatics, ferocious fighting combos, and the ability to bend time to fulfil his destiny. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time represents a technological breakthrough that will change the face of action-adventure gaming forever. Erase the past, behold the future, and freeze the present in real-time for unlimited gameplay variations. Uncover the mysteries of a world never before explored in action-adventure gaming. Ancient, mythical, and deadly, Persia holds a staggering array of landscapes and kingdoms to explore and conquer. The epic legends and deadly creatures of mythic Persia burn to life in this suspense-filled tale, featuring more twists and turns than the labyrinthine Palace itself. The creator of the original Prince of Persia, and acknowledged godfather of the action-adventure genre, Jordan Mechner, has consulted on all facets of game design--including storyline, cinematics, programming and artistic vision.