Prince of Persia is an action-adventure videogame created by Jordan Mechner. The game has several titles, and it was developed and published by several different companies: the first two games, Prince of Persia and Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame were developed by Broderbund, in the latest, Ubisoft is in charge of the game, starting their work on Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Despite adopting 2D platform, the series evolved into three-dimensional action-adventure games. Below are the games by cronological order of release:

Prince of Persia, 1989 – (Mega Drive, GameCube, PC, Mac OS, NES, SNES, Atari ST)

The first Prince of Persia was born in 1989, and stood by the fluidity and realism in the character's movement, and being a very challenging game. Whose combat system, fights with swords, while the other games were basically with pistols and all kind of other deadly weapons. At the beginning Prince of Persia seemed repetitive, but the high challenge level, puzzles and traps captivated players and the game presented us a new sub-genre within the games, with realistic movements and precise control.

Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame, 1994 – (MS-DOS, SNES, Xbox)

Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame takes place eleven days after the events of the first Prince of Persia. Here the prince is back in Persia, and this time hailed as a hero for having defeated the evil Jaffar. However, instead of asking for wealth, the prince asked the princess's hand in marriage as a reward, which it is reluctantly granted by the Sultan of Persia. In a typical platform game, the character explores various areas of the scenario by running, jumping, crawling and solving puzzles. The combat system is different than its predecessor, where instead of just one enemy on screen, we have up to four enemies.

Prince of Persia 3D, 1999 – (PC, Dreamcast)



Prince of Persia 3D is the third in the saga Prince of Persia. The game was released in 1999, ten years after the launch of the first, and for the first time, incorporated 3D graphics in its gameplay. The game is played once again in the Middle East, with the same animation (except that in 3D), the same score, the same action-adventure with puzzles and traps and the familiar romantic plot.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, 2003 – (PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, PC, Mobile)

In Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, the previous two-dimensional graphical environment gives rise to simplified graphic innovations that have revolutionized the world of videogames. Keeping, however, the context and experience offered by the original game.

Here, the prince and his father overcame the great Maharajah, kidnapping his daughter and seizing their palaces and treasures. Among the riches, two were differentiated value of the other: a giant hourglass and a mysterious dagger, which granted to their holders the divine power to control time. However, tricked his adviser, our hero unleashes the sands of the hourglass, which turns the entire population of the kingdom in terrible demons. The only that keeps its original form is Prince, the Vizier and the daughter of Maharajah, Farah.

So in the hands of the prince back to what it was before, saving his kingdom once again. With fun gameplay and revolutionary graphics for the time of its release (2003), playing "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is an unique experience.



Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, 2005 – (Xbox, GameCube, PlayStation 2, PC, Mobile)

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within is the sequel to The Sands of Time, the game is set just after the end of the events of its predecessor, adding new elements to the series, particularly the combat method.

In this game, the Prince has the ability to use two weapons at once and stealing the weapons of his enemies and throw them against them. Warrior Within has a much darker tone and Gothic, as the prince uses coups and more violent than other games of the series.



Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, 2005 – (GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC, Mobile)

Prince of Persia: The Two Throne is the last chapter of the trilogy The Sands of Time. Its plot focuses on the struggle between the Prince and Vizier, her counselor, being the antagonist of the first game of the trilogy, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. While Warrior Within took one darker look, here the producers tried to rescue the $tyle found in the acclaimed The Sands of Time and create a middle ground between the two. Thus, they adopted a visual and a less violent personality to the protagonist and a less heavier soundtrack. In gameplay, it was introduced to the series: the speed kill system, which consists of using stealth to kill enemies without being noticed.



Prince of Persia, 2008 – (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC,Mobile)

In 2008 it launched the latest game in the series simply taking the name of Prince of Persia. Here, the player once again assumes the role of the prince, and as a company Elika, a woman he met after a big storm that deviated from its course and ended up leading him to a mysterious land.

Through many acrobatic abilities, throughout the trip the prince will run across enemies and have the task of clearing the land of corruption. Despite their different abilities to climb walls, ceilings or crawl, the Prince also counts with the help of Elika, by helping him in some acrobatic movements. The game has less combat than previous games, focusing more in platform elements.



Now that Prince of Persia has reached the current generation of consoles, what it needs to keep the series as a huge success?

That's right, I've reached 1000 trophies. I never thought this could ever happen. Since my first trophy (First Treasure: Uncharted Drake's Fortune) to the milestone (I see you: Resistance 2), a lot of things come into my mind:

- I wasn't really into trophies when Sony implemented them. It was a nice feature that adds replay value in my honest opinion. Previously when playing a new game, after beating it, its place was the shelf. Now, if I have to play it 3-4 times I don't mind now.

- I know pretty much every game available that has trophies, there are easy and hard ones. Easy: Terminator: Salvation. Hard: Warhawk. I have a few games that I simply 'forgot' to play because of the hard trophies: Wipeout HD, Battlefield: Bad Company and a few others.

-I admit that I play a game just for trophies, however, there are easy games that I don't have: Alone in the Dark, Terminator: Salvation, WWE: Legends of Wrestlmania and Mega Drive Ultimate Collection. But I plan to get them just for keeping me busy hunting for their trophies.

-I do enjoy every game that I play, unlocking trophies are just a bonus.

Are things suddenly looking up for the Playstation 3 or is it just me? The PS3 Slim with a lower price point seems to have grabbed many people's attentions, and the new advertising campaign is a lot more memorable and on-target than previous campaigns. And then there are the multitude of new exclusives hitting the console over the next six months or so, the first of which is Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Here is a system that has so far promised a great deal and, it has to be said, delivered far less than what was hoped. It's not without its must-have games – Metal Gear Solid 4, Killzone 2, LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 2, and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune but it's arguable whether any of these are system sellers. And now comes Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, the sequel to the already-brilliant original. Announced and unveiled a year ago, the game was released on Oct. 13. The first reviews are now starting to come in and they are universally positive. In fact, two of the first officially recognized reviews have given the game perfect scores.

Playstation: The Official Magazine got in there first and gave the game 10 out of 10. With a scoring system out of 5 and the fact we're talking the official magazine here I guess that was inevitable. GameSpot describes Uncharted 2 has 'a complete game that is completely awesome'. GamesRadar has now given it 10 out of 10 and described it as "brilliant," "amazing," and "a killer-app" likely to drive Xbox 360 fanboys to tears. While IGN has given it 9.5 out of 10 which while not perfect is still mightily impressive. They describe the graphics as "the best of the best" and talk up every other aspect as well. In essence, reviewers are stating this is a game without a weak spot.

The reviews so far have praised the graphics without hesitation, and even the above trailer suggests they are the best we've yet seen in a video game. The storyline is also top notch, and the voice acting and script are good enough to help blur the lines between games and movies, although this is an interactive movie that will last you at least 10 hours. And then there is the new multiplayer, which again has elicited nothing but praise.

I'm sure there will be some reviews more that focus on the small aspects of the game which could be improved, and the scores may unfairly reflect that, but overall it seems Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is one game that has convinced reviewers of its brilliance. The question now is whether it's the game that can persuade the mainstream that they need to buy a PS3.