It was only supposed to be a social visit. The Prince of Persia only wished to greet his older brother, Prince Malik, the Kingdom’s current ruler. However, upon his arrival, he discovers that he is not the only visitor: the entire Osman army is at the castle’s doorsteps, and Malik’s military cannot defend the fort much longer. The Prince enters the court and meets Malik in the treasury. But it’s too late now. The Osmans have broken through, and the end appears to be approaching. Malik desperately approaches the treasury’s sealed doorway and mouths the magic words. That was a bad idea. The portal was closed for a reason: to contain a force unrivaled by any global army. They wander the earth once more, storm the castle, and attack friends and adversaries alike, rumored to be King Salomon’s knights. After escaping, the Prince ends up in Razia, Queen of the Djinn. She recalls the formation of the Sand Army and understands how to keep it at bay. So the Prince joins forces with her to fight the army and prevent the Kingdom from being swallowed by the sand.
After a brief detour with the cel-shaded adventure Prince of Persia, the series returns in graphical style – being more down to earth again – plot and gameplay to the one recognized from the Sands of Time trilogy with Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands. As a result, the story takes place between Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. Within, the player fills in some of the blanks while looking over the Prince’s shoulder and guiding him through the stages. This implies that the player will have to combat many monsters simultaneously and jump, climb, and roll around in vast chambers to get to the other side. To do so, the Prince must still be able to safely walk on walls, swing on rails, or rip through flags to return to ground level. If everything goes wrong, the player can always utilize the Power of Time to rewind a bit and try again as long as he has enough sand, which is dropped by defeated opponents and destroyed scenic objects (mainly vases).
To deal with the hordes and hordes of varied adversaries, the majority of whom are undead, the player has access to various more or less dangerous assaults that he can string into powerful combinations. This involves kicking and hopping around and a deadly attack that kills adversaries that fall to the ground instantaneously. Furthermore, the player will have access to extraordinary abilities. As he gathers essence from dead opponents, he gains experience points, levels up, and gains upgrade points, which are then spent in a skill tree to unlock new or upgrade existing abilities. Aside from the ability to reverse time, the Prince can also freeze water, restore wrecked areas of the city, and encase himself in stone armor. These abilities are active until the Prince’s energy bar reaches zero. Killing foes is again the key to replenishing it.
