The most interesting aspect of this excellent package isn’t the fact that it up scales one brilliant game and two good ones to 720p, nor that it also applies a 3D overlay to the action, but that each title is just as playable today as it was in its year of release .

Yes, the character models are constructed of cuboid blocks and the environments look like a collection of rectangles, but these were playgrounds first and art second – you can feel the level design as you play, each new room constructed to ensure a fast, steady flow to the platforming that never breaks pace. It remains some of the greatest level design going, and you can see the influences Sands Of Time had on titles like Uncharted and Assassin’s Creed as you hop, shimmy and wall run your way through the city of Azad.

The second most interesting feature of this package is the ability to play the three original PoP games side-by-side, and see how Ubisoft Montreal struggled to recreate that same magic of the original. The Warrior Within chose – as most sequels do – to take a darker approach, turning the Prince into an angsty emo and replacing the haunting sounds of Arabian ouds and neys with a soundtrack of crunchy guitar riffs. A focus on combo-based, dual weapon combat further overcomplicated a game that was originally enjoyable because of its simplicity, not in spite of it.

In The Two Thrones Ubisoft attempted a mix of its first two games – sticking with the deeper combat mechanics and introducing an element of stealth in Speed Kills, but presenting them through a filter of rich gold and red instead of the drab greys of Warrior Within. It was a return to that happier, more Aladdin-esque approach to character and story personified by Sands Of Time.

abu el 3am via ps3.nowgamer.com »