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Prince of Persia: Rival Swords
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Graphics & Sound:
Prince of Persia: Rival Swords is the last game in Ubisoft's Prince of Persia trilogy. This is the Wii's version of Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones. The game has seen life under the Two Thrones name on every one of the previous generation of consoles. Why the name was changed is a bit of a mystery, since no major changes occurred when it was brought to the Wii.
To answer your first question, yes, the Prince loses his shirt in this game - the trilogy has come full circle! Moving on, in comparison to the previous game in the series, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, you'll notice PoP:RS has a lighter, brighter color palette. That's not to say there aren't darker areas in this game. There are a range of areas, from dark, crumbling underground ruins to colorful hanging gardens. It's just that the average scenery seems lighter.
I can't compare the Wii version to every one of the different console versions of the game, however. If you've already seen this game on Xbox or the like, don't expect too many changes. The Wii version has a bit more color depth, and sharper definition, especially with the component cables being a more common accessory. Strangely, however, there are some pretty obvious clipping issues, especially with the Prince's hair. Seams in many large buildings and objects also pop out noticeably. You'd think these issues would be less, not more prevalent on a next-gen system, but they are.
One feature of this version of the game (you might view it as a lack of a feature) is the lack of blood. It would have been nice for this to be optional at least. My Wii bugs me about parental controls with every internet update anyway, you'd think somehow they could work around it.
The metal/rock inspired music of the last game has been exchanged in favor of a more traditional, Middle-Eastern type of score. I personally miss the rock music, but those who weren't fans of it can breathe a bit easier. Voicework is of the same high quality as ever in Rival Swords, with great performances from all the characters. Though the Prince is still ridden with guilt and anger, like the artwork, he seems to try to look on the bright side of things more often now. I am, however, wondering why the Empress Kaileena's lovely accent has gone missing from the last game. Her "new" voice works well as the narrator, either way.
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Gameplay:
In Prince of Persia: Rival Swords, you once again play as the Prince, who is as determined as ever to right his mistakes. He returns to his homeland of Babylon after his trip to the Island of Time. Instead of returning to a peaceful city, he finds it overrun by enemies and consumed in flames. He eventually discovers that in righting his past mistakes, he had created new problems. What's more, the Prince becomes "infected" by the Sands of Time. It creates a second personality inside the Prince, one that embodies the Prince's darker, violent thoughts.
It's actually quite amusing to listen to the Dark Prince banter and berate the Prince throughout the game. The Prince might wax nostalgically about the good old days in Babylon and get cut off by the Dark Prince who has no interest in such sentimental things. It's an interesting dynamic, and you get to root for whichever one you like.
It isn't, however, a thrilling power trip when you play as the Dark Prince. He might be dark and imposing-looking, but he's a fragile creature when you get down to it. First, your health continually falls when you take the form of the Dark Prince. Since it can only be replenished with sands, you're constantly on the run for objects to smash or enemies to kill in order to retrieve more sands to stay alive. Because of the time constraint, you can't take time to plan your route the same way as you can with the Prince. Therefore, you'll probably end up repeating many more sequences as the Dark Prince just because you couldn't figure out where to go before your health ran out. Now the Dark Prince is definitely more powerful, but he never really strikes me as an awesome force to be reckoned with. I appreciate the challenge of playing as the Dark Prince, but the transformations can feel like an annoyance sometimes.
Really, the Dark Prince is the defining difference in this installment of Prince of Persia. I don't want to spoil anything, but I really expected this dark antagonist to have some big surprises in store, and I was a bit disappointed at the end of the game. Nonetheless, the story and dialogue are interesting, and provide some insight into what motivates the Prince. The game is painfully short, either way. |
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Difficulty:
Since there are a few different types of gameplay throughout Prince of Persia: Rival Swords, the difficulty varies in different parts of the game. During general combat, you can decide whether or not you want to try the Stealth Kill option. During boss battles, however, you're forced to use these Stealth Kill sequences. If your timing is off, you have to start things all over again, which can be very, very frustrating. Puzzles also vary in difficulty, sometimes just because they don't make any sense: the solution seems to be impossible even for the Prince's superhuman athletic ability. That means you get used to randomly running along walls, jumping and hoping something is there for you to grab, and being somewhat surprised when it works out.
Overall, there's quite a bit of trial-and-error required. This is not so bad, since the ability to rewind time is something the Prince gains in this game again. Although the puzzles can be less about puzzles and more about leaps of faith, the paths you are meant to follow are more clearly laid out than they were in the last game. And since save points are abundant, you always seem to get a breather right when you need it. |
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Game Mechanics:
Of course, we all want to know how the Wii controls are utilized in Prince of Persia: Rival Swords, since little else about the game seems to have changed from its Two Thrones twin siblings. The good news is that they work remarkably well. Something about the Wii-mote and Nunchuck just feels more intuitive than a traditional controller for this game. The simple fact that "letting go" is reserved for one hand, and attacks and other actions are reserved for the other hand probably has something to do with it.
While the Wii controls work fine during the general movement and puzzle-solving portions of the game, this is because they are basically the traditional button and analog stick controls that Ubisoft has refined throughout the previous Prince of Persia games. Combat and Stealth Kill sequences, on the other hand, rely on the motion controls. I can't say that the Wii's motion controls add any benefit here. At first it feels fine to swing the controls in order to swing your weapon. During later, more difficult sequences, the motion controls felt a bit more touch-and-go. That's not to say they can't be mastered, but I did miss a good, solid button press at times. Also, while I liked the option of using Stealth Kills to defeat normal adversaries, I resented being forced to use the Stealth-Kill sequences in order to defeat bosses. One simple mistake would force you to repeat the sequence over and over, with no alternative means to defeat the enemy. And sometimes, you don't know if you were too early or too late, so it can be hard to correct yourself. It got to be quite tedious and frustrating. Hey, sometimes I want to play Dragon's Lair and sometimes I want to play Prince of Persia: RS, but I'd like to have a choice.
Prince of Persia: Rival Swords doesn't offer a dramatically new experience of the game. Whether you find it a better experience depends on how you feel about the Wii control scheme. If you've already played through it on an older system, you've seen what there is to be seen. If you haven't played it in any form yet, and you have a Wii, and you really need to see the final game in the Sands of Time series, then, my friend, go ahead and pick up this version. |
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-Fights with Fire, GameVortex Communications AKA Christin Deville |
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