It's not just in terms of level design either that the game shines, model design is superlative with the prince being an excellently created character. His wit and semi-charm is echoed in the detail that's gone into his whole makeup. He is a vibrant, cocky, sarcastic guy and he has colourful clothes to showcase this. He is very much a Sinbad or Aladin style hero. Elika on the other hand is a gorgeous person, in terms of clothing and modelling. Ubisoft have managed to make a bright, sassy female character that actually manages to be sexy without resorting to showing ample amounts of flesh.

Every enemy in the world is also given a meticulous amount of detail; the Hunter is a dangerous looking adversary with a personality that oozes danger. Whilst he does not speak he has been modelled in such a way, he doesn't need to. Even the normal Ahriman warriors are well modelled and designed, they look threatening.

Great graphics don't mean much if you don't have good animation and once again, the animation in this game whether you're running, jumping, fighting or just watching the background animations of the world, is all excellent. The way that Elika interacts with you outside of combat is fantastic, she never gets under your feet and the sense of camaraderie between the prince and the princess is superbly done. She always manages to find her way across with you, never falls, never loses her footing and she's always there to help.

In combat, it is the same; the battles are cinematic and extremely fresh. The scything blades of the hunter when crossed with the prince's own sword clash in a beautiful but deadly dance. Elika supports with acrobatic magical blasts and fluid combat moves that give you an edge against the tougher foes.

The AI is excellent, both on Elika (mentioned previously) and the foes the prince must fight. With their attacks growing more frenzied when they're angry and more determined if they have the upper hand.

The game isn't just a visual feast either; it's an audio one too. The ambient sound effects are gorgeous, the spot effects are nice and the clash of the prince's blades in combat has just the right 'ring' to it. The voice work is good, Elika is a delight to listen to and the prince has made me smile on more than one occasion. Whilst some people have remarked that he's annoying and coarse, he is typical of that kind of character. He's got a decent voice actor that manages to deliver his lines with a solid performance, even if Elika's voice actor manages to steal the show.

The music is superbly done and I really want a stand alone soundtrack, it's gorgeous stuff and echoes the theme of the area you're in. The game also pitches the music in combat depending on how well you're doing it seems, it's exciting and enthralling as you battle to save the world from the darkness that is Ahriman.

This is one game that you deserve to give a shot to, even if you find the concept of change a little daunting. Prince of Persia, for me, is a worthy successor to the Sands of Time trilogy and I look forwards to seeing where the next sandy steps of our new prince take him and Elika.

It's hard to find any bad points, since I've encountered no odd glitches, every missed jump has been my fault and every failed quicktime in combat too. I suppose you could argue that the battles are rinse and repeat, but to me that would be a shallow argument since I could say the same about Halo 3, Gears of War 2 and anything else - after all you're just shooting the same bad guys most of the time.

I can't even say that removing the Game Over death from PoP is a fault either, since in this game it works like a charm and I've found the story and gameplay more rewarding because of it, I've been encouraged to explore and try new acrobatic strategies since I don't have to worry about falling to my doom(tm)