Forget paying full price for ‘Forgotten Sands’

Video games have tied together with movies since the former became a legitimate media platform in the 1980s.

Since then, there have been plenty of games that were movie tie-ins. Some video games have gone on to become movies.

But for the first time that I can remember, a video game franchise was turned into a movie, and simultaneously a game was released as a movie tie-in.

The movie “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” was released May 28. Based on a franchise that first debuted in 1989, the Jake Gyllenhaal-starring film grossed $37.8 million over the Memorial Day weekend. The movie takes the name from the 2003 reboot of the franchise, and takes most of its plot from that game.

Since the source material for the movie was already out there, a movie tie-in game seemed unlikely until Ubisoft announced that it would indeed release a “Prince of Persia” game alongside the movie.

So 10 days before the movie opened, Ubisoft released “Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands.” From what I understand — I haven’t seen the movie — there are no real similarities between the movie and the game.

I’m sure Ubisoft’s plan was to ride any wave of success from the movie to bolster sales of the game.

The one similarity the game does have with the movie is its placement in the franchise’s timeline.

The most recent game in the series — 2008’s “Prince of Persia” — was a departure from the other games in terms of storyline and style.

The “Forgotten Sands” has returned gamers to the familiar narrative, fitting in between the events of “Sands of Time” and “Prince of Persia: Warrior Within.”

The biggest problem I had with the game was that it moved so far away from the 2008 release in the series.

That version of “Prince of Persia” was the best to date. The game had a unique art direction, giving it a living comic book feel. The game also focused on individual battles, rather than just throwing the prince up against countless enemies.

I understand that many didn’t agree with that. One of the biggest arguments I heard was that “Prince of Persia” wasn’t as difficult as other games in the series.

“The Forgotten Sands” returns to the franchise’s roots, becoming a game that’s formula is a series of jumps, a battle and more jumps. If you expect nothing more, then you won’t be disappointed.

The platforming elements are fun; the combat elements are not. You definitely shouldn’t come for the plot, because it’s arguably the weakest of the series. Because the gameplay is the strongest element of the game, it almost feels like downloadable content for a longer game.

I don’t think you should ever pay more than $20 for downloadable content, so it’s hard for me to recommend paying full price for this game.