VGR Duke Nukem Forever

If someone took forever to make a cookie - the perfect cookie - no matter the ingredients or the intentions behind, it would taste disgusting. The eggs would turn out rotten, the sugar out-of-date, the chocolate spoilt. Made from expired products chances are it wouldn't be as good as it could if it was simply done on the moment.

Duke Nukem Forever is the longest rumored vaporware to have actually been released. It has been on development for the past 15 years, sometimes in and out of development hell.

But like a strange messiah, it finally arrived in store about a year ago. Now, I'm finally ready to review it.

Don't miss out my previous Duke Nukem-related reviews!

Duke Nukem
Duke Nukem 2
Duke Nukem 3D
Duke it out in D.C.
Duke Caribbean
Duke Nuclear Winter

 
VGR: Duke Nukem Forever

From 3D Realms/Triptych Games/Piranha Games/Gearbox Software

Played on Xbox 360

Also available on PC, PS3 & Mac

Type FPS

Year 1996-2011

This is it!
It took various convulsed turns during production, but it finally became real!


It took about 15 of making of this game, various game engine changes, various co-developers and several publishers to finally make it true.

Duke Nukem Forever took, well, forever to materialize.
Like a bad joke turned truth, 3D Realms were simply too small a studio to handle this dantesque project. After all they came from the "indie scene" of PC sharewares of the early 90s.
And with expectations growing up year after year since the huge success of the original Duke Nukem 3D...
3D Realms wanted to have the best looking game ever. But year after year another more impressive new franchise kept rising. First Half-Life, then Halo, etc.
They even presented various builds of the game over the year, one pretty impressive in 1999 and another one at an E3 convention in 2001. 


Finally around 2010, struggling with financial problems, they were forced to shut down, sell out the Duke and close store. The IP was left with 2K Games, and the impossible task to finish this project and the copyrights to the character with Gearbox.

Without further ado, let's not delve into all that here, and check out the game itself right away...

What? Did you think I was gone forever? (

So, the Duke is back!
Thing start on the possible not with what is probably without a doubt one of my favorite beginning of a game in a long while.

The Duke is seen facing down the Cycloid Emperor, the final boss of the "original" DN3D...only to be revealed to be actually him playing this reimagined ending in a video game (in the game itself) of his past successes.
The Duke is actually at home, with these Holsen Twins girls (yeah...). Where it seems he's been hanging out this past decade.

From here on, it only goes downhill.

Duke Nukem is now a huge interplanetary star, everybody loves him. Men want to be him (and do him!) and women want to do him (and vice-versa I guess?).
Our super-macho over-the-top parody of an action hero is, well, still a parody. And a bit more so than ever.
Duke cracks jokes and one-liners like a gatling gun on fire.

But all is not great and sunny on this side of Las Vegas...

I'm from Las Vegas, and I say: kill 'em all!

Simply put, the aliens are back! Again!
What is it this time, like the gazillionth time? Where do all these guys keep coming from?!

Guys get turned into pigs. Girls are captured to bred more aliens. (yuck and - remember, this is a satire/parody, started in '96!)
Most of the original enemies are back, albeit grittier. Bosses are all back too despite being dead in the past game(s) for some reason.

It still is a fun simple FPS.
And all things should be right and work out like a charm like in the past, right?

Bonjour, le hot stuff.

Only it isn't like before.

The game simply looks dated.
There. I said it! It passed down so many different game engines over the years... The game wasn't nearly finished under his current incarnation when Gearbox picked up the pieces. They just tried their best to keep the current build playable, copy/paste all levels one after the other with a vague storyline binding it all together.

And when I say dated, I don't mean like the original Duke 3D looks "retro" and 16-bits-ysh.
But like it's a dated-current generation game. It's a completely different sort of first person shooter now actually.
Duke can now only carry two weapons at the same time (thank you Halo!). While others tried to stay true to their identity (like Half-Life 2 still used the multi-weapon system that allows Gordon Freeman to play identically as before only in a modern game), Duke here was "adapted" for a modern audience.
Duke can't "boot kick" enemies while holding a weapon, but use his gun for a melee attack. (pressing rapidly the action button to open up a door while sometimes use the kick animation though)
Duke can't run anymore, he only briefly speeds up for a second or two.
Duke reminds me of Danny Glover being too old for this shit.
Duke doesn't carry health packs anymore but regenerate his health like a Spartan now. Which makes the whole game way easier, like it wasn't built for it initially. (a problem? almost dying? crouch down a second or two, get your whole life back, and voilà!)

I'm lookin' for some alien toilet to park my bricks... Who's first?

And the game's not just easier, even on the harder difficulty. (which, by the by, just gives more health to enemies)
It's also completely linear. Simple.

The original Duke 3D, like Doom 1 or 2, offered large, multi-layered explorable levels. Even by today's standards, it took quite some time and know-how to complete them. Plus they had secrets laying all around to search for meaning replay-value.

DNF offers sometimes large open areas where you have to defeat wave after wave of enemies.
And the rest of the time, long corridors to walk down for hours and hours.
Or driving segments.

Weapon wise, all classic weapons are back. They were a bit upgraded visually, but they mostly react similar to their past versions.

And then there's the infamous "stand your ground" parts. Where Duke will be forced to hold a gatling gun and defeat hordes of monsters. It's not fun, it's just long and annoying. Dying while get you back a few steps, always.

Where you'll encounter this game's worst problem, the loading screens.
Understand me, I have a long love for the series and am usually able to stand the worst gaming as to offer. but here the loading times were so frequent and long, and annoying. And did I say frequent? The levels are basically very small mini-areas of the larger current "world" the story is taking place in. And you'll encounter loadings all the time each time you move onward a new segment. (street-> building area->first floor->floor->floor->floor->floor->out of building->street->driving segment <- all these separated by various loading screens, not counting you dying like an idiot here and there, adding more loading screens...)
No doubt the game reloading the entire levels/textures/engine each time, coming from the unnatural disjointed development behind Forever.

Another day, another disembowelment

Speaking of the driving parts, I cannot stress you enough how useless they were.
Like ID Software's Rage, they seem to compose most of the game for some reason.
But here they really detract from the core of this game. They're also long. Most of the time not really entertaining. It feels a bit tackled on. And I do remember from earlier versions of the game it seem they were "added" the more recently.

It really feels like they originally simply wanted to make the game bigger, in scope and epic proportions.
But perhaps it was too much to handle? 3D Realms just wanted to make the best sequel ever, making a bold new original title for the FPS genre, with such standards established by the classic Duke 3D.
But there's a thing to understand here, 3D Realms never was a big studio to begin with. They've never been as big as, say, Ubisoft Montreal who can pump out an Assassin's Creed-like game per year. And they aren't as big financially or professional as EA and other similar big name companies.

Also, they never actually had the pressure of an actual release date, being self-published. (though they were financed by external publishers for the would be-release) Unlike their brother company ID Software.
They produced their own engines and rebuild the games several times over.

But Duke Nukem Forever should have taken the time and resources ID took from Doom 2 to Doom 3. Nothing more, nothing less.

Damn it, why do they always take the hot ones?

I write a lot for a simple review, you might say I'm passionate about the subject.

The game at its core seems to be a less fun remake of Duke Nukem 3D than the actual so awaited sequel. 
The game isn't really "bad" per say. It looks dull, boring too. It isn't really that ugly.


It certainly pertains to another genre of FPS than Duke 3D. While Duke Nukem 3D was more about humor, puzzles, big open areas and exploration (Portal anyone?), Duke Nukem Forever is a more straightforward arcade experience with crass humor.
dall game looks boring not ugly

The multiplayer is basic. Very basic.
Quake 3 Arena basic, but good to my tastes. I actually found myself playing it quite a lot over this past year.


The best aspect is probably the sound area. Sounds are great, dynamic. From weapons to enemies grunt. The voice acting can be a bit stereotypical, but for a reason.
And Jon St. John returns, at his best! (though his lines could have been better...)

Gearbox retain the rights to character.
The game actually made quite a lot of money, despite bad press, reviews and hate from the community.
From the long development hell and name only I'm sure.

Overall, the babes are back, but Duke isn't at his top form. 
"Oops, outta ammo."


The game is fun, sorta, kinda. 
For such a bad example how to badly manage a video game production, it actually is playable which is already surprising.
3D Realms ended up releasing various different unrelated games over the years based on earlier prototypes during production. Such as Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project or Max Payne with Remedy.

Forever actually looks a lot like PREY another title spawned from this one.

Visually it shares many of its aesthetic, visuals and gameplay. Though Forever seems to be a parody of PREY, it is PREY that ends up looking like the better of the two.

Now that it actually exists... Duke Nukem Forever kinda lost a lot of its "magic"...
But oyu know what? I'm actually glad it does. It wouldn't have been the same to lose it and Forever never seeing the light of the day.
People might dislike and hate it, but you know it will probably never lose its legendary development status.

It took about ~15 years in the making, but I won't be surprised it another sequel is released in 2-3 years down the line...

Duke Nukem Forever is pretty fun.
Though it has some very bad segments, leftovers that needed to be smooth down a bit.

It is a very strange experience.
Easily tons of time better than all those military/realistic FPS they keep releasing all the time these days...
But I wouldn't call it great either.
Anyway, it's faithful to the classic Duke Nukem 3D in spirit only. It's a completely different kind of FPS.
Duke cracks a lot of jokes, but not as clever as before. Gaming/meta jokes, with Duke playing a game in the game (the prologue of the story), a crack at Halo mildly disguised.

Not super amazing visually, linear. But fun like I said above.

It's absolutely not on "Portal 2" level for example. But I wouldn't miss playing it!
Give it a try if you find yourself interested. Chances are, you'll find something to like in this game.

But Forever has his share of problems.
It's trying to be modern game. It's trying to also be like the original even though it doesn't share much with it.
Like I said, graphics and controls could have been better, specially for a ~15 years in the making game...but it's fun anyway!
The lack of secrets really annoys me (where they cut due to 2K Games' demands?)


I give it 1/3. Which by my ratings means bad. But what were you expecting with such a disconnected development? I wouln't give it 0 though.

I give it:

1 / 3 Quack!

VGR: Duke Nukem Forever: The Doctor Who Cloned Me 

By Gearbox Software
Type DLC

Year 2012

Released earlier this year, The Doctor Who Cloned Me is an expansion pack that follows directly the ending of the main game.



Dr. Proton, the villain of the original Duke Nukum - errm, Nukem is back!
He's prepared an army of Duke-Terminator clones to defeat the alien invasion once and for all and take over the world too, of course!!!

This DLC was actually made from various scrapped content from the main game (which in a way, should have been packaged along it therefore!)
The "Dukinators" are back. So is Dr. Proton who was scrapped as early as 2001.

The story is this time around interesting and worth to follow.
It takes Dukes from an underground base under Area 51, which looks quite a lot like the futuristic LA from Duke 3D, to the desert in the middle of the night aboard a schoolbus, to the Moon itself!


The plot is funnier, with better humor, Duke even gets a comedic sidekick the size of a doll(!!).

Gameplay-wise, it's sadly built upon the previous above title, so no changes there. But since the maps are much more coherent and well thought here, everything goes down smoothly this time.

Overall: Such a better self-contained game!
More original layouts in the levels, no frame-rate issues like Forever.

It costs 800 Microsoft points on the Xbox Live, just like Forever itself. They should have made this a stand alone title, so it wouldn't suffer from the same loading times.

I give this one a: 2 / 3 Score! 

VGR PaRappa Rappa

As a Sega fan, I tend to have a longer history with Sega games and consoles. Even so, that never stopped me from playing other games "on the other side of the fence".

Since people have been asking me to review some good Playstation games over on deviantArt, I decided to give it a shot with an all-time classic...

VGR: PaRappa the Rapper (aka PaRappa Rappa)

From NanaOn-Sha/Sony

Played on PSX

Also available on PSP

Type Musical game

Year 1996

What is PaRappa the Rapper I hear you ask.
I mean, those of you way too young to have known the phenomenon he became during such a short time.

The game was the breakthrough title developed by NanaOn-Sha.
It's a studio founded by game designer and musician Masaya Matsuurain 1993.
They were also responsible for that other unique music game series Vib-Ribbon. And more recently they collaborated with Zoë Mode on their first adventure game (non-musical) Haunt.

PaRappa Rappa is actually the first "real" modern rhythm game.
It has quite a unique design to it (more on that below), uses animal mascots which were so often the norm for games in the 90s and all songs are in English (as well as the story itself) in all version of the game!

I gotta believe!~

The story is one of the more relatables there is.

It's the story of a guy, a girl and some problems he learns to deal with (including the local douche bag).

PaRappa is this hip hop dog, you see.
He's in love with Sunny Funny, but she seems to ignore him.. But they're made for each other! If only he could get her to notice him. This egomaniac rich guy Joe Chin is certainly not helping the whole thing.

So PaRappa on his journey to her heart, learns to fight in a dojo, crashes his dad's car, works to get some cash, learns his license, bake a cake, take a bathroom break and ends up rapping on stage.

Throughout this adventure he is accompanied by his pals PJ Berry and Katy Kat. He learns to deal with real life situations through rap with various mentors, including the famous Chop Chop Master Onion.

It's all in the mind!~

The game is almost educational, inspirational I want to say.
PaRappa raps through all situations, you'll remember for all time that to drive you need to Step on the gas or also that you need to keep your kitchen in check while cooking Put the cake in the oven for a while! Leave it there, come on, clean the pile!

PaRappa's motto is "I Gotta Believe!" afterall.
There might be this Joe Chin in his path, but things will work out in the end as long as he stays positive and focused!

The game plays like a digital "Simon Sez".
Basically said, the gameplay consists of QTE sequences you need to memorize/answer to.
For example the first stage will assign X for kick and SQUARE for punch. 
By pushing the correct buttons as indicated. The music will keep you in tempo, you need to have both the correct action and follow the rythm to work through the various segments.
The game starts easy enough but will quickly get more and more challenging both in the sequences as well as the timing.
You win points for style, if you do good you will keep your U rappin' GOOD ranking. Missing notes/vocals will make it go off, for BAD and AWFUL (and Game over!).
Once the levels are finished you can replay them, go freestyle to deviate into the COOL rating!

The game isn't all perfect though, there's some missync problems and the difficulty is quite hardcore (you need to be perfect sometimes, and learn the darn' buttons perfectly).

I need to go, just bad as you!~

The game isn't very long though. It's only six stages long.
Maybe a bit short if you ask me, but it's pure arcade fun!

There are four teachers, so therefore there are 5 styles of rapping.
PaRappa is quite the boss, perfectly able to adapt to various styles, from reggae to pop, house and even some old school!
The music is simply catchy, memorable!

The characters look all great and just as memorable.
The art style was done by Rodney Greenblat (check out his website!), an US graphic artist who's quite popular in Japan.
The characters are all done in flat 2D, which contrasts great with the 3D world they inhabit. The population seems to feature so many random faces from cartoon dogs, cartoon frogs, even cartoon objects such as hammers, flowers, etc.

The game is just pure fun!
Well-written, acted and sung. Excellent voice acting all around.

The gameplay is simple.
Featuring stunning graphics, which I find timeless thanks to the mix 2D/3D.
You can replay the game over and over. Once it's over you can either aim for the high scores, or try getting all the COOL ranks. Which unlock an alternate ending plus a  (tiny) bonus song.

Overall, it's a fantastic catchy entertaining game!
A true pioneer of the whole musical genre.
You will love it even if you don't like rap!
It sure was more original than what the genre offers today in the countless dull and generic Rock bands, Guitar hero, Singstars and all of their clones...

And it even has a moral!
Because when you got a problem, the problems won't get solved by themselves, YOU JUST GOTTA BELIEVE!!

The game became a quick hit back then. It was popular enough to warrant a "guitar"-oriented sequel in 1999, a true sequel in 2002 and even a short lived in 2001.
The 1996 original was released for PSP more recently. (though it didn't had nor fix anything, it's an exact copy of this version)

6 stages long, hours of fun and replay value thanks to its high quality.
What's not to love about "paper doll" cartoony singing characters!?

I give it:

2.5 / 3 PaRappas!

VGR Cursed Mountain

New Survival Horror review for the blog!

Promise, I'll go back to Resident Evil soon...

First, another stop on the Wii for....

VGR: Cursed Mountain

From Deep Silver/Sproing Interactive Media

Played on Wii

Also available on PC

Type Survival horror/Adventure

Year 2009

What is Cursed Mountain, and how come you might never have heard about it before?

CM is a survival horror developed by the small dev' team of Deep Silver Vienna in co-production with Sproing Interactive.
It's not an indie developer nor one of those low budgets games teams, just a small company.
They worked easily on more than 100 games over this last decade, from co-productions like the console version of Back to the Future: The Video Game. Anno 1701 and their biggest title to date being Dead Island recently.
They were also responsible for the identically themed point & click adventure game Lost Horizon, which explores a similar story and setting.

CM is one of their very few survival horrors their catalog offers, it was a bit of a challenge for them to make it stand out, being a new original game of this genre.
Instead of innovating the gameplay, the game is pretty classic in that aspect, the game uses some rarely used themes for a change.
It was a joint production amongst several small dev teams around world, across at least 14 different countries!

The game puts you in the role of a mountain climber, in a story taking place during the 80s - due to the lack of modern technology in this area back then.

You play as Eric Simmons as he searches for his missing brother Frank in the Himalays, on a mountain named Chomolonzo - the Sacred One.
Frank was last scene when he was hired by Edward Bennett to find a mysterious powerful artifact, a Terma. The story is told through quick flashes and visions Eric has during his ascension of the cliff.
Is he living through actual memories or is the altitude just making him lost his mind?
Those flashbacks are presented in the form of static drawn pictures (kinda like what you'd find in an Xbox live Arcade game).

Bennett rushed through the rituals the monks were preparing Frank, they rushed to find that Terma not respecting the Goddess/spirit/mountain who got angry. So she cursed her lands and trapped Frank, the expedition and the other natives who didn't escape her fury in time.

Now trapped in a sort of limbo/protective zone, Eric embarks on a journey through Tibetan folklore came to life...

Let me just say it right away, fans of shooters and the more action-filled Resident Evil, move along!

This is a much more adventure approach to the genre, making you progress slowly, often without facing much opposing forces during your ascension of the mountain. Collecting objects, searching places around, exploring.

But besides that, it's a pretty classic and straightforward survival horror.
The combat is done on the 3rd person similar to Resident Evil 4, only you will be facing spirits and ghosts instead of zombies. Monks and climbers trapped in the Bardo, the in-between spiritual realm between this life and the next one.
To beat enemies you can either hit them with your climbing gear or "throw spiritual beams" through the same objects.
You will be able to find updates by praying to Buddha statues hidden around, or get some obligatory ones.
To actually defeat those stunned enemies you will need to perform certain ritual gestures - which are amongst the only waggle-aspect of the game - with special Wimmote moves to free those poor souls and move on.

It super easy in the beginning but gets a bit more challenging during the game.
Also you will prefer using some weapons/powers over others (like me, I preferred to use the "energy-beam catch ghosts" Ghostbusters-like method that captured enemies in one try, no need to blast them through)

As far as themes go, this is a pretty original game.
The whole Buddhism mysticism approach is pretty unique in gaming.

The game perfectly embraces it and adapts the usual videogame mechanics to the theme. You can restore your life by using candles you find around and praying to an altar.
The game saves are done automatically through various checkpoints.
The game has a great pacing, perfect atmosphere...

...but the controls are kinda... "meh".
There's not a lot of actual waggle in-game, but the few in there is pretty badly implemented, it doesn't recognize certain moves that well. (mostly the Nunchuk ones)
It's also a pretty slow and almost boring game in the end. Poorly executed, even though it was a good idea with potential.

The game just seems to get pretty long after mid-point...

Overall, I really wanted to like game, I really did...
It's not even actually a bad game per say. It's just a bit too slow, sluggish and boring!

I definitively liked the story, the game as a lot of personality, a great atmosphere...at the price of a good gameplay.

Don't misunderstand me, there's plenty of worse games out there to play, those that are actually bad. It doesn't have bad production values. The game actually looks nice, if a bit much overdone on the snowy-can't see aspect. But you really get the impression of climbing the Himalayas
The game had a PC port released a year later, in 2010. (on retail disc and digital)
Perhaps if you want to play it, try that version. The PC version's probably better anyway, at least it won't suffer from the silly "waggle".
(though I have not tried it myself)

Anyway, worth a try...if you like the premise and are prepared for the worst.

I give it:

 1.5 / 3 Quacks!

VGR PoP Forgotten Sands [DS Version]

The Sands of Time Trilogy might have been closed with Two Thrones but with a new interest in the series thanks to a movie adaptation, Ubisoft thought it was a good commercial move to bring the series back in an all-new episode just for this time.

The game was released amongst most systems. In what I like to call the "Forgotten Sands chapters" (which would have made a much better title for this game IMO).

Like Untold tales or Missing chapters, all these games across the different consoles aren't the same but instead different episodes taking place in the 7 years gab between The Sands of Time and Warrior Within.

This is a review of the "DS version" available exclusively for the Nintendo DS system.

[Forgotten Sands: Wii episode]

[Forgotten Sands: PSP episode]

[Forgotten Sands: HD episode]

[Forgotten Sands: DS episode]

VGR: Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands

From Ubisoft/Ubisoft Casablanca

Played on Nintendo DS

Also available on /

Type Sidescrollin' platformer

Year 2010

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands on the PSP system is another "interquel" episode in the Prince of Persia series taking place in the time gap in-between Sands of Time and Warrior Within. It is unrelated to the other Forgotten Sands game on the Sony PSP and can be seen as yet another separate adventure with no clear ties to the main series.

More precisely, this one seems to be a direct sequel of the HD Forgotten Sands as the djinn Razia is seen here still trapped, living the Prince's sword.

This game is also quite reminiscent of the 2008 game Fallen King, it seems Ubisoft Casablanca might has well been working on a pseudo-sequel of the adventures of that other prince before turning this title into a well timed Forgotten Sands chapter just in time for the live movie.
As such, the game was built upon that other game's engine, gameplay. (so, don't hesitate to check that previous review ;))

We're off to a good start...

The story opens up in medias res, as we join our mysterious Prince once more, as he awakens during a sort of ritual he's being part of.
It seems our hero has been abducted by a cult this time. They brought our hero to a temple somewhere in India, used his sword which was still containing the djinn Razia and obtain the royal blood of our hero as a sacrifice to bring back their mysterious "demonic" master.
This new evil escapes from the temple...with a price. Our Prince lost his memories and Razia is left powerless, trapped in the form of a yellow Navi-like creature.

As the Prince escapes from this place, he falls down into the dungeon. (back to the roots of the series?)
The dark ceremony was responsible for his disorientation.
The bad guys mutated into some kind of sand creatures.
Now trying to get his lost memories back and Razia's powers, they escape from the collapsed temple and go on a quest that will bring them all across India to hunt down and kill the members of this cult.

It's good to be the Prince!

I say story but that's all you'll get, besides some cute comic book-style cutscenes here and there.
No voice acting here, which honestly for this sort of game wasn't really a problem.

Once their memories and powers back, the Prince will have to face the resurrected evil force behing this cult which will try to conquer Babylon, and then bring back a more familiar setting for the Sands of Time trilogy.
The "Razia and his sword"-plot will also be resolved by the end, which ties in nicely (sort of) with Warrior Within were these Forgotten Sands elements were nowhere to be seen.

As for the game itself? It's all quite simple.
The game is divided into various levels, more linear than what you're used to see in the usual games of the series, each regrouped into 4 distinct chapters each with their own visual theme.
A boss awaits you at the end of each of these worlds, as well as a new gimmick-power to use in the following episode.
Razia never flies around like those annoying tutorial aids in other games, her portrait only appears in the cutscenes.
The game uses a super deformed chibi design again, like the last DS game.

What are you selling, stranger?

The game really feels like an improved version of Fallen King.
Ubi Casablanca built upon the problems of last time.

The game is again entirely stylus-controlled. No buttons required!
It's a 3D sidescroller. Back to basic, like Jordan Mechner's original. Thus, the story might sound basic but it is also a nice throwback to a simpler "get the villain, save Persia" scenario.
You guide the Prince by holding the direction to which he will run to. He'll climb, jump, sword attack, guard quite easily.
Combat happens often in closed areas or open space, not usually during the platforming sequences. It's a return to duels like in the original games.

The gameplay really feels more precise, tighter than in Fallen Kings. It runs on the same engine, but it works better, it is more responsive.
Things answer quickly to the tap of the screen.

Power of the stylus, I call upon thee!!

As far as PoP's powers go, this is also pretty basic.
Razia will provide the Prince with some sand/time powers over the course of the game, the usual.
It's a return to more "temporal" powers. Slowing down time, going back earlier in time...

Again, all stylus-controlled. You tap on the correct power icon on the screen, and bam! Activated!

Where it gets original is that you can tap over "sand", be it little sand dusts around or flowing sand-rivers...and affect it by rubbing it.
Either solidifying sand to use it as a platform or manipulating the sand to affect you, the platforms or even enemies!

By drawing a streak that connects some sand and a villain, you can take over his controls and use his weapons or uses his unvoluntary help to activate elements/traps/etc.

It's the Power of Sand!!~

Making a return from Two Thrones is also some riding sequences on horses. Often quite easy, they more like an excuse to grab some easy rubies for later.

Speaking of which, there's a little update/management system to the game.
You collect rubies by defeating enemies, in treasure chests, etc. and can go to a merchant between levels to buy additional power-ups, new in-game costumes, new weapons.
It's all quite simple but at least it's there! (as you can see in the drawings around these very words the different clothes you can put on the Prince)

Game Over, man! Game Over!

One one side, it's a much better game than Fallen King, graphic and gameplay wise.
On another, it's so much shorter.

The game just feels a lot easier, the boss fights are some of the easiest I've seen (besides one that got me thinking and trying a lot...only to find the obvious solution was the correct one).
Gone are Zal's magic powers/puzzles. Everything much ore straight forward here (you die? go back in time!).

Overall, sure, it's nothing new or really original..but it's still a good game.
The game is very simple to get your hands on, simple to play, feels "classic".
It's that simple, a mini Prince of Persia!

The music is quite forgettable. Too simplistic and background-y unlike your usual PoP soundtracks.
But it serves its purpose.

A very easy game, thanks to powers and frequent checkpoints. Enemies are a barely actual threats, more like convenient health drops, always giving you potions to replenish your life.

Anyways, it's a fun and entertaining game. For fans of platformers, sidescrollers and the series.
 

I give it:

 2.5 / 3 Bruces!