In a recent interview with PCGamer, Game Newell spoke of the attempts by Hollywood to make a Half-Life movie. However, he stated that most of the stories sent to him were “the worst.” He also said that if anybody were to successfully direct this Half-Life Movie, it would be Valve.

Cliffy B once again confirmed that the Gears of War movie is still a realistic venture, and it’s to hit cinema screens in the near future. The production of the film was rumoured to have stopped, once Len Wiseman (the director,) stopped working on the project at the beginning of 2010.

Over my years of writing about video games, I’ve developed a reputation of being a pretentious snob. I frequently debate the “art” discussion that’s making its way around the internet these days, and overall I like to take games seriously. For this reason I keep a list of games that have emotionally impacted me in a big way. This list was designed specifically for situations when people ask me what my favorite game is, or why anyone should get into playing games in general. The most recent addition to the catalog was Ubisoft’s 2008 release “Prince of Persia.” For reasons I won’t delve too far into I’ve praised Prince of Persia a number of times since its release.

Yet for some reason most people abhorred– rather than adored, Prince of Persia 2008. Audiences clamored for increased difficulty, a return to Sands of Time’s style, and the old voice actor to return to play his starring role. These complaints were echoed by the majority of public press and for these reasons Ubisoft succumbed to the pressure and created Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands. This latest installment makes a return to the Sands of Time trilogy but instead of pleasing critics of the remake, Forgotten Sands will reveal to audiences why the series needed a meaningful change.

Everything from The Sands of Time trilogy returns, even the previous voice actor

Despite the previous release undergoing universal reprimands for overly simplistic difficulty, Forgotten Sands continues to be a fairly effortless adventure. The controversial character Elika is, of course, no longer a part of this storyline and there isn’t any apparent replacement for her ability to pull The Prince out of danger whenever he fails platforming puzzles or performs below standard in combat. Instead, there is a reliance on the rewind functionality that The Prince acquires early on in the game. Rewind has a limit depending on the number of energy orbs acquired, meaning players can no longer experiment whilst traversing the numerous environments. After consecutive failures, the game restarts from the last true checkpoint.

That being said Forgotten Sands is far less of an easy-going experience due to the modified controls that require more direct involvement for every action. Wall running requires the right trigger to be held in, timing is more restrictive, and overall the platforming is less forgiving when it comes to second-to-second gameplay. In addition to adding some complexity in the standard controls, Forgotten Sands adds a few new features into the mix.

The Prince now has the ability to completely stop time forcing ordinary running-water to stop in its place. This effect results in waterfalls becoming newly formed walls, and jet streams substitute as poles to swing on. If handled poorly, a feature such as this could come off as a gimmick.  Fortunately, its uses are implemented in a way to test the adequacy of players’ hand-eye coordination. Frequently puzzles will require a mix of stopping time to swing on water-poles, as well as resumingtime mid-air to successfully land on the next interval jet stream. These puzzles get put into high gear complexity towards the last few hours of the game and when managed correctly: provide an astounding level of accomplishment.

Wall jumping looks a lot more bad ass when you do it off a solid-waterfall

Unlike the new layers of the platforming, the narrative of Forgotten Sands has greatly declined when compared to the rest of the series. This time around The Prince is sent to his brother Malik to learn how to become a leader. Upon arriving at Malik’s palace, the Prince discovers it has fallen under attack by a rival faction. After matters intensify and the situation becomes dire, Malik unleashes the ancient Solomon’s Army in hopes it will crush his foes. Instead, a battalion of sand soldiers emerge from the ground and take over the Castle for their own. Malik and The Prince team up to discover a means to end the army’s reign over the Palace and return the it to its rightful owner.

The central conflict is largely uninteresting with no personal connection to be found. For the first time in the series, The Prince does not have a continuous companion joining him during his journey. There are no playful dialogues to be found in Forgotten Sands, and The Prince himself has been changed from a respectful and diligent royalty member to a sarcastic and obnoxious snob. It also doesn’t help that the two characters that make up the supporting cast are largely uninspired. The mystical Razia doesn’t even become a key character until the final hour of the game, and Malik’s personal arc is as predictable as it is overdone.

It’s never explained why this palace has random streams of water in every room

All of this relates back to the “expansion pack” feeling of Forgotten Sands that questions whether this was a true effort by the studio or not. The wrinkles of age were beginning to show within The Two Thrones, the last part of the Sands of Time trilogy, and Forgotten Sands makes the problems more apparent. Environments that were once unique and looked as a traversable, but torn city, have become contrived examples of obvious level design. The general design of the enemies and levels feel uninspired in contrast to what the previous title created. This isn’t even taking into account the blatant reuse of PoP2008’s engine and animations or the fact that it’ll only take you six hours to complete everything the boxed package provides.

That’s not to say that Forgotten Sands is a bad game by any stretch of the imagination. Despite its shortened length, I enjoyed what I played of Forgotten Sands. However, when compared to the greatness that other games in the franchise accomplished, it’s impossible not to think this installment is a huge step backwards. The studio would be better off tweaking the PoP2008 formula instead of relying on what people enjoyed over half a decade ago.

It seems clear this product was made to appease anyone who sees the upcoming Jerry Bruckheimer film adaptation of the series and wants to experience what that movie was based off of (although I am aware that the game has no true connection to the film). With that said, it’d be better for fans of the series to look to the future and hope for a continuation of the remake’s storyline, and let this latest installment be forgotten in the sands.

According to CVG, THQ have announced that a Red Faction movie is currently being created. It’s set for release alongside the next game in the series, and promises to capture the tension between Ultor and the Red Faction.