For those that were able to get past the inconsistencies and discrepancies of Warrior Within (myself included), there was a good game to be found up until the ending. The endings would have had to be the most bitter-sweet part of the game. There were not one, but two disorientating and confusing endings that left the player wholly unsatisfied. Thankfully, The Two Thrones takes the “proper” ending and pretty much puts everything into place. The Prince is heading home, with the Dahaka defeated and the Empress of Time, Kaileena, by his side. Upon arrival, he finds that all hell has broken loose in his beloved Babylon. But who on Earth would have the need to raid Babylon? Well for anyone who played through Sands of Time will come to realize, that Mr Vizir from was never actually defeated and is still searching for his eternal life. By capturing the Empress and sacrificing her with the Dagger of Time, he unleashes the corrupting force of the sands. The Vizir and his armies are infused with the corrupt power but somehow the Prince manages to escape with only minor afflictions. However, once again, the Prince is at the centre of disaster and has to fight his way back to finish The Vizir once and for all.
The Prince is reduced to stealing food from the stores
The story is probably the strongest and best of the series and easily one of the best of the year. Virtually everything that was left open at the end of Warrior Within has been closed off in a satisfying manner. The character and narrative development takes queue from the first title and builds on it. As in the first game, the game is narrated by voiceover but this time it’s done by Kaileena. This is topped off minor things like very noticeable transformation in the Prince’s attitude and personality as the game goes on It’s these things that make it rich, deep and satisfying. Not only does the story do a good job of leading the player through the tale of fighting to get to the Vizir, by hacking through his army and saving the people of Persia but it brilliantly portrays the Prince’s internal conflict. However, the quality of the story will only apply to people that have played all three games. That and there are still some events that occurred between Sands of Time and Warrior Within that aren’t fully explained. There is meant to be some sort of explanation in the DS and PSP games but in general they aren’t really essential to enjoying the game.
The story is one of the games strongest features but the gameplay hasn’t been forgotten. The Two Thrones reverts back to a more linear style of gameplay, akin to Sands of Time and thankfully, it doesn’t hurt the game one bit. After playing The Two Thrones, we realised just how much was missing in Warrior Within with respect to Sands of Time Gone are the insane puzzles and total lack of direction sense of Warrior Within but the improved combat remains. Still, the developers have managed to put in a few additions as well. For the most part they’re good but there are still a few loose ends.
Firstly, the most incremental and noticeable change is the addition of the Dark Prince. He comes in the form of a disembodied voice that conflicts with the Prince’s true self. It drives him to do the desperate things that he has done, drives him go back a fix his mistakes rather than face the consequences. As mentioned, it’s something that the game portrays very well. However, the embodiment of this darkness comes in the form of a sand monster that the Prince will occasionally transform into. Being only partially corrupted by the sands, the Prince can still retain his human form (while others don’t) but the corruption has caused the dark prince to have greater control of what happens to the Prince.
Prince is dying to know what's behind the mask
The player has no control over when the transformations occur but the portions only last for a limited amount of time. During the time that the Prince is transformed, he will have a new arsenal of moves and attacks, with retaining a lot of the old ones. Rather than being able to pick up a secondary weapon, the Dark Prince has whip-sword that can be used in combat and to reach far away objects. An example of this is to pull blocks that are across a chasm or to swing across great distances by hanging onto a lamp. The platforming portions add more than before and he’s much, much stronger in combat than the regular Prince. However, the downside is that your health is draining at a very constant rate and unlike the Sand Wraith, you will die when it hits zero. To replenish health, you need to absorb sand refills that can be found by smashing a pot or vase and by destroying other sand creatures. Being stronger is definitely more convenient and the element of being against the clock keeps you on your toes, but one can’t help but feel that there is a bit of shallowness to the whole concept.
The Prince has a few new moves at his disposal, as well as pretty much all of the old ones. The game tends to favour the new ones and that’s what most of the platforming and environmental puzzles will revolve around. As mentioned, the game is a bit more linear but it is all for the better. The game manages to get back to the feeling of agility and nimble, acrobatic movements that made Sands of Time so epic. In The Two Thrones, the hands-down best thing has to be the amount of refinement in these actions. Running, jumping, climbing and clambering has never been so intense and enjoyable. With the help and proper use of the time-manipulating powers, mistakes and experimentation help to make a great experience. The excellent level designs mean that if you stuff-up or can’t find the way, it means you haven’t looked in the right place or thought about it the right way. The game also gets the feeling of epic leaps-of-faith absolutely spot-on. The recent Prince of Persia games have epitomised the feeling of not being able to make it but in fact landing just right perfectly. The only slight downer in The Two Thrones seems to be a lack of trap laid areas and the ones that are a quite forgiving and whollistically simple. No wonder Babylon was taken over.
The combat has the major addition of stealth kills and believe it or not, it helps bring back the focus of platforming over combating. It’s been done pretty well, with the need to use the environment to get above or below the enemies eyeline, then their back is faced, you’re in the right position and the screen distorts, pressing the Y button will activate the stealth kill sequence, where you follow up by pressing X at the right moments. As easy as this may sound, the window for pressing the X button can be pretty small and the timings need to be very precise. Not only that, but you position in the environment is very important as well. The game encourages you, especially in specific situations, to utilize this new mechanic. Things will be much easier for you if you can pull off a string of successive stealth kills. The best part is that it doesn’t clatter the controls or mess up the system in general, it’s simple and very effective. Yet it manages to retain some tactical need for the best execution. Dark Prince has stealth kills as well but they're much easier to execute, since they're simply done by rapidly tapping Y.
That's right, bring a knife to a giant axe fight
The combat is intact from Warrior Within which was much more accessible and effective than the combat in Sands of Time. However, there is a problem with the fact that your primary weapon is the Dagger of Time. Because it is not that strong, it takes away from the combat and almost forces you to constantly pick up a new secondary weapon. The biggest downer is that you won’t pick up a new weapon until very late in the game, but even then, it will act mainly as a secondary weapon. Combat isn’t as prevalent as it was in Warrior Within but there still will be occasions where you’ll need to stave off many an enemy. Thankfully, most of these occasions are as the Dark Prince and for those wondering, you may still pick up the odd powerful sword as a secondary weapon along the way, though they are rare. The sand powers are a little diminished as well. There are only three of them and there is a distinct focus on the rewind and slow down abilities. A bit of a shame given that these were part of what revived the Prince and made Sands of Time good. At least that is a little bit of redemption in the much more entertaining boss battles that are built on finding the best way to pull off something of a stealth kill. Oh, and the Vizir battle is much, much harder and satisfying than the previous one.
The only other incremental addition to the game is that of the Chariot racing sequences. If you’re going to make the chariot move realistically, at least be lenient with collisions. They’re not very good because they have erratic collision detection, you’ll nick a side only to see your chariot shatter into a thousand pieces. That and the sequences feel underdone and they don’t really mean anything. Still, I hope you’ve got some sand tanks full, because you’re going to need them.
If there is one thing wrong with the game, it is that is tries to take too much from Sands of Time and it sometimes forgets that it is actually a game on it’s own. It also forgets some of the games heritage, as it no longer is a recreation of the original 2-D Prince of Persia but the latest in this trilogy. Length-wise, the game is slightly longer than Sands of Time but falls short of a once through with Warrior Within. Despite being the name, there is only one ending and the extras aren’t particularly notable. Still, the game should be commended on not dragging for as long as its former. The length feels right and even though there are portions where players may be questioning this, once it comes to the gripping climax, the satisfaction will make this feeling disappear.
Dark Prince punishes a Ubisoft employee for making Warrior Within
Graphically, the game is back to form in a huge way. The colourful and vibrant nature of the environments shows that darkness doesn’t need to be a dull and dark environment with no atmosphere. While there is life in the graphics, the game still does an excellent job of keeping you awe and still portraying the destruction around you. A lot of the environmental stick outs that made where to go so obvious are a lot more discrete this time round. The sense of epic proportions is back as well, especially when you’re climbing the outside of the Babylon tower and there is nothing below you. That and the art-direction is absolutely superb. Cinematically, the game uses slow-down perfectly and can be controlled in game with little hastle. Still, there have been some odd design decisions in the pre-rendered cut-scenes. Sound-wise, gone are the heavy-metal themes but the music that is there is better but not exactly up to the standard or kind that is required. That and it seems like it queues in at random and inappropriate intervals. The sounds effects are spot on and the voicing and voice-over work is much better than before. Interestingly, the role of the Prince is reprised by the same person who did the Prince in Sands of Time, while the one who voiced the Prince in Warrior Within is now the Dark Prince. Given the many conversations between the two (Yes, this is major part of the game), this combination is much more suitable.
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones is a just reward for anyone who has persevered with the series, with a stellar and satisfying conclusion to a great trilogy mixed with some of the most refined gameplay of the current generation. The quality of the gameplay may even be enough to help those who are unfamiliar with the games story. While a few things still aren’t right and some decisions are questionable, these are easily overcome by numerous improvements and additions that make the game better as a whole. Chances are that the Prince will make another comeback, but for now, we can bask in the glory that is, The Two Thrones.
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