Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
Score: 90% ESRB: Mature Publisher: Ubisoft Entertainment Developer: Ubisoft Montreal Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 Genre: Action/ Platformer (3D)/ Puzzle
Graphics & Sound: The third iteration of the Prince of Persia series is just as visually stunning as the first. Everything about Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones looks amazing, with animations being the real highlight. The smooth transitions between moves are a real marvel and look very natural. Watching the Prince transition from a wall-run into a backflip and then pulling off a combat move are as fun to watch as they are to perform. The game even manages to squeeze in a number of little details that manage to bring the entire game to like. Two Thrones’ soundtrack brings back the Middle-Eastern tunes from Sands of Time rather than the death metal anthems that made you want to mute Warrior Within. While you’ll still hear a guitar lick here and there (the metal hasn’t completely gone away), everything fits with the game’s setting much better. Sound effects are reasonably good, though they did feel a little weak at times. The same goes for voice work, though I did like the internal-monologues that would pop-up at times during gameplay that helped to set up the Prince’s mindset.
Gameplay: Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones offers two story paths that not only tell different stories, but have their own play styles, offering both old-school Prince of Persia action (i.e. everything that made Sands of Time great) as well as something for people who love to unleash pain. Players take the role of either the “Light” or “Dark” Prince during the game. When playing as the “Light” version, you’ll play through the more traditional Prince of Persia game, placing agility and trickery over the all-out brute force experienced when playing as the “Dark” Prince. (And, for those wondering, by “Dark” I mean evil, so those fearing the return of Warrior Within’s angst-ridden emo-Prince need not fear.) The game’s story picks up after Warrior Within with the Prince returning to Babylon for some much-needed rest. But, as these things tend to turn out in games, the Prince’s dreams of rest are shattered when he finds Babylon under siege by dark forces looking for Kaileena, the Empress of Time, who just happens to be on the Prince’s ship. Kaileena is eventually kidnapped and killed, unleashing the Prince’s dual personalities and the Sands of Time. In short, Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones should have been the sequel to Sands of Time. Instead of taking the decidedly different direction seen in Warrior Within, Two Thrones builds on what made Sands of Time fun – namely combat and platforming puzzles. In particular, the platforming elements make much more sense this time around and feel much more dynamic without becoming too drawn out or repetitive.
Difficulty: Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones manages to be challenging without becoming too frustrating. As with the previous two games (more so with Sands of Time), most of the game’s difficulty lies with figuring out how to do things. For example, the simple act of reaching a high-up ledge usually involves a series of timed jumps and carefully executed wall-runs. Of course, this does lead to some trial-and-error runs, but the sequences are laid out in a logical manner, so it won’t take too many run-throughs before you get the hang of things. Combat also requires a bit of brain rewiring to achieve success. You’ll rarely find yourself in an even fight, making it important to use the Prince’s speed to jump between foes and keep them all off-balanced.
Game Mechanics: The series' signature combat system returns and, like nearly everything else in the game, feels much more like the original than the game’s last outing. At the same time, some of the slicker aspects of Warrior Within’s combat have also been included. The result is a much more exciting game that gives you a number of options for dealing with foes. If you want, you can take the ninja route and try to dispatch everyone without a sound, or jump into a battle and take on multiple enemies at once. Stealth kills, known as Speed Kills, are the more rewarding of the two combat types (the other being normal melee combat). Speed Kills are available in nearly every encounter, but some will require creative thinking (and timing) to pull off successfully. Once you’re able to get the jump on an enemy, you’ll be prompted to hit the “X” button at just the right time (the Prince’s weapon turns white), initiating a short, scripted kill sequence. Screw up your timing and you’ll be thrown into a normal combat situation in which you’re usually at a slight disadvantage at the start – so there is some risk in trying to Speed Kill everything. When you’re not fighting, you’ll find yourself performing all manner of acrobatic feats. So, if you’re not a platforming fan, it would be best to stay away from The Two Thrones as you’ll find yourself doing lots of it. Generally, the controls are very responsive and take the form of context-sensitive actions. Pressing one button in one section will trigger a different move than if you’re by another. Sometimes this can lead to problems in other games, but it is pulled off here with few glaring problems, the more common of these being the simple act of timing. If you’re a fan of the Prince of Persia series, it should go without saying that you’ll enjoy The Two Thrones. For those, like myself, who were turned off of the series by Warrior Within, The Two Thrones should be enough to win you back to the series. *Note: As of this writing, no Backwards Compatibility patch for Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones is available for the Xbox 360.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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