Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands

Bridging the gap between 2003's classic The Sands of Time , on which the forthcoming Disney film is based, and its darker, less enjoyable sequel, Warrior Within , The Forgotten Sands certainly feels like a spiritual successor to the game which reinvented the eponymous royal for a modern console audience. However, it does raise the question of whether echoing a seven-year-old game is such a wise idea. It's certainly easy on the eyes, if less visually striking than the cel-shaded style of the attempted series reboot in 2008, with opulent palace locations reduced to crumbling masonry as a powerful, otherworldly force (unwittingly unleashed by the prince's brother) tears the place apart. The athletic traversal of these huge, intricately constructed rooms is fluid and fun, with elemental powers allowing our hero to halt the flow of water, creating solid surfaces to run, swing and jump on. As ever, mistakes can be reversed with the ability briefly to rewind time. Unfortunately, combat is once again the prince's achilles heel. A materialising army of skeletal foes is more likely to make eyes roll than widen, while the graceless, attritional boss encounters serve only to exacerbate the battle system's shortcomings. With sword sheathed, the prince is still fun to be around; it's just a shame he still hasn't lost those bad habits.