History of Prince of Persia 

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t all began back in 1989 when Jordan Mechner released Prince of Persia on the Apple //c. It was a game with simple graphics but featured some of the most amazingly fluid animation ever seen in a game.
Jordan had videotaped his brother doing many different styles of animation and incorporated it in his programming. Mechner's previous game, Karateka (1984), also featured some brilliant animation, especially for its time when other games featured pixelated blocks as their protagonist.
Prince of Persia, or PoP as it was nicknamed at the time, was something of a platformer full of treacherous traps and puzzles, like fall-away floor panels, spikes, and sabre-wielding foes. In addition to the deadly traps, the unnamed protagonist (who wasn't a Prince, by the way) had to rescue the princess within an hour's time, or face failure.
The original version of Prince of Persia was re-released in 2007 for Xbox Live Arcade and in 2008 for the PlayStation Network. Both versions featured enhanced graphics and animation, and included more acrobatics and references to the Sand of Time series.
Five years later, in 1994, Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame was released with better graphics and a larger environment filled with all sorts of nasty contraptions and a whole new dynamic with the protagonist's shadow.
In 1999, Prince of Persia took a leap into the polygonal world, with the appropriately-named (but not very original) Prince of Persia 3D. It played similar to the original series, with a more dimensional world--a precursor to the following games in the series.
In 2003, arguably the best Prince of Persia game since the original was released: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. The Sands of Time garnered high praise for the game's finely tuned mechanics, storyline, and gameplay.
The Prince of Persia took his darkest turn with The Warrior Within, the following year, which took the game into M-rated territory. This wasn't the only change to the game. Jordan Mechner, who had worked on the 2003 title, did not work on The Warrior Within, stating in an interview that he was not happy with the level of violence and the direction of the art style. Despite the changes, the game still received praise from reviewers, although some felt that the charm of The Sands of Time was lost with the grimmer and grimier style of The Warrior Within.
2005 rounded out The Sand of Time series with Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones. This game continued a similar sense of style to that of The Warrior Within, including another M-rating. It received generally favorable reviews, but some felt that it was more of the same but with better graphics.
In 2008, the Prince of Persia experienced a reboot of the series, taking the game into, yet again, a new direction, this time with a whimsical cell-shaded art style and a female companion. The game also presented the player with something of a no-fail mode. Anytime the player was about to perish, whether it was at the end of an enemy sword or by falling off the edge of a very high ledge, the main character would be saved by the wispy female companion.
2010 marked two significant releases in the Prince of Persia franchise. First, the series saw its film debut with the release of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. The film starred Jake Gyllenhaal as the rogue prince, and was roughly based on the 2003 game of the same name. While the movie was generally not well-received by reviewers and had little substance, the movie was seen as an entertaining swashbuckler, and was significantly better than most video game adaptations.
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands was also released in 2010, coinciding with the release of the film, but had very little to do with it other than the two being based on the Sands of Time series. The Forgotten Sands is the follow-up to the 2005 Sands of Time series, The Two Thrones. The game received mixed reviews with most of the criticism falling on the overly simplistic combat.