Prince of Persia: Sands of Time was actually the first game I played on the original Xbox. I had been out of gaming for a few years – only dabbling in the occasional PS2 title – when my girlfriend (now wife) picked up a good deal on Ebay for the system and some games (the GTA collection and Halo were also in there). Sands of Time was quite simply a sublime experience, and while the sequels have left me less than enthralled I still eagerly await the next iteration.

Eurogamer has translated details on Joypad’s first preview of the game, and the magazine promises the new Prince of Persia to follow the tried and true formula of the Zelda series. A big bad threatens the realm, and you must vanquish it. This time around the cel-shaded look gives the game an illustrative look, which is intentional because the series is taking a new turn. The Sands of Time trilogy was intended to be a realistic game in the world of ancient Persia, but the new series will be completely disconnected from that trilogy. Now Ubisoft Montreal is going after the fantasy approach from A Thousand And One Nights.

The Prince will have to defeat enemy bosses so that he may paint the world in light. Think of it as a mix between fighting back the Twilight Realm in Twilight Princess and painting the world in Okami. And for those of you who abused the time altering power of the sands…that has been removed. An unannounced something new will be replacing it.

The new Prince of Persia game is scheduled for release later this year on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.