Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones Review

By Kristan Reed Published 9 December, 2005

Schizophrenic.

Version tested: Xbox

Ironically for a game whose central mechanic involves turning back time, Ubisoft has spent the last 12 months trying to do just that.

After the majestic, understated, balletic brilliance of The Sands of Time, the splittle-flecked gothic angst of The Warrior Within was a shockingly unnecessary change of direction. Leaving most evangelists of the original ashen-faced, it was akin to the mortified humiliation of seeing your charming, witty best mate turn into a possessed, spiteful, drunken lunatic just at point you've introduced him up to all your cute single female friends. "Honestly, he's not normally like this," you plead as he vomits down Suzie's top.

Worse still, it was a very public mistake. All those people you'd spent a year raving about The Sands of Time to rushed out and bought it, meaning we've had a subsequent year of people whining at us in return. And what sucks even more is that now both sets don't really care about The Two Thrones. Even the die-hards mutter cynically that it'll be another Warrior Within, despite Ubi's repeated protestations that "no, really, it's much more like the first one! Wait…come back!"

Shot to the heart - and you're to blame, Ubi PoP: a bad name

So, in with a bullet at No.29 in this weeks' UK chart, it's as you were, with The Two Thrones apparently destined to suffer the same underperforming fate of the first in the trilogy - despite being the storming return to form Ubi promised it would be. If we had some Sands of Time on us right now, we'd bloody well rewind to 12 months ago and put this game on the shelves instead of The Game That Killed The Faith. Gah.

In this concluding part of the trilogy, the Prince returns to an under-siege Babylon with a new lover, Kaileena, only to find that the nefarious Vizier is back - and hungry for revenge. Naturally, he wastes little time in murdering your new beau, and swiftly unleashes the Sands of Time - making himself apparently immortal in the process. Full of righteous vengeance - but torn in two by the effects of the sands of time - you have to chase him down and finish this sorry episode once and for all.

In a nod to the previous games, you'll effectively play both princes; the charming, softly spoken 'light' one of The Sands of Time and the surly 'dark' prince so unloved in The Warrior Within. Rife with internal schizophrenic dialogue, it's actually a neat way to address why, exactly, the game's lead protagonist changed so radically in the last game, while giving us (for the majority of the game) the return to the original values of The Sands of Time. It's even the same voice actor, pleasingly.

Bounder

'Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones' Screenshot 1

…and now toss him over the balcony.

But what did we actually want from a sequel to The Sands of Time anyway? It's a question most fans would have addressed at some point, and not all that hard to answer, in truth. The combat was a bit lacklustre in the original, for sure, demanding little more from the player than finding the nearest wall and bounding off it repeatedly and slashing wildly. But then, of course, Ubi went and placed far too much emphasis on the combat in The Warrior Within and managed to alienate a huge chunk of its audience in the process. We also wanted the same quality of devious-yet-satisfying platform puzzling, and for it to perhaps be a little longer. As spellbinding as The Sands of Time was, it was all over far too soon. Could Ubi right the wrongs of both, once and for all?

The instantly recognisable thing about The Two Thrones is compromise: the way it strives for a balance between everything it does, never overcooking the frenetic combat nor throwing the kind of puzzles in your way that have you frantically looking up the solution with abject exasperation. It also gets the look and feel right once again, returning to locales befitting of a Prince from Persia, replete with a soundtrack that's similarly more sympathetic to the subject matter, and ties it all together into a hugely satisfying 15-hour foray that gets its claws into you just like the original.

Obviously, Ubi hasn't just junked everything from The Warrior Within. The much-vaunted Free Form Fighting remains, giving you pages and pages of single weapon and double weapon combos to try out. To be honest, there's way too many to remember, but after a while you'll settle on what works for you - and for those of us that just want to get to the next platform puzzle as efficiently as possible, Ubi has just the thing: the Speed Kill. Essentially, it's a means of dispatching an unsuspecting foe with a deadly stealth attack that finishes them off in anything from one to five carefully timed blows.

Speed demon

'Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones' Screenshot 2

Moving in for the kill: Speed Kills are a true delight.

To alert you that a Speed Kill is possible, an audio cue kicks in and the screen goes blurry around the edges. At that stage you must tap a button to invoke a slow motion manoeuvre, and just when the screen goes monochrome you then have a split (and we mean a split second to stab another button to land the blow correctly. Get your timing all wrong, though, and you're thrown off; forced not only to fight them in the normal freeform manner, but their mates as well. Mastery of the Speed Kill is not only a lot of fun to engage in, but it saves you a whole lot of hassle in the process, meaning you can creep through entire sections unscathed.

Once the prince gets his Sand of Time power back (yes, it takes a while), the game instantly becomes about five times more fun. For a start, you can make up for all those silly mistimed and misdirected jumps, but - more crucially - you get the chance to rewind failed Speed Kill attempts which seems to aid progress no end. Without this ability entire levels would otherwise become a huge slog where the odds are so hideously stacked against you, you simply wouldn't have the motivation to try and slug it out with everyone at once. For example, at several points along your quest you'll come across a Sand Plate, which is guarded by a sentry or three. Alerting these guards is bad for several reasons, but chief of them is the fact that they call for back-up, meaning that a fairly straightforward couple of speed kills can turn into a back-to-the-wall effort to even stay alive. After a period of failing Speed Kills and being forced to repeatedly duke it out with a crowd of enemies, you'll quickly learn the benefits of clean Speed Kills - and appreciate the ability to re-do them when they go wrong.

Later on, new unlockable abilities like The Eye of the Storm help the prince even more, allowing you to use one of your sand tanks to slow down time. Needless to say, this helps enormously when you're seriously outnumbered as well as giving Ubi another means of inventing devilish puzzles that require legging it over to a rapidly closing door. Oh, and it looks pretty cool, too. Even further into the game the Sand Winds and Sand Storm beef up your ground attack abilities - like the smart bombs in Golden Axe, but a bit more furious, and capable of instantly wiping out everyone around you. We find flatulence in the office after a big night out in Tandoori Nights has much the same effect.

You wouldn't like him when he's angry

'Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones' Screenshot 3

Easy does it: such gymnastics are par for the course for our battle-scarred prince.

Ahem. On top of that, the prince's new 'dark' side opens up other new gameplay possibilities, with a different combat style as well as a marked change of puzzle approach into the bargain. Unlike The Warrior Within, there's no dark world or anything as tedious as that; in The Two Thrones he's more like the Hulk in that he gets periodically possessed by an uncontrollable rage that transforms him into a 'ruthless, reckless and sadistic' character. Equipped with the flexible Daggertail, you get to whip everything in sight, as well as use it to swing between objects while traversing unfeasible chasms. As soon as he finds water the dark prince 'cools down' again, and normal service is resumed.

The chance of pace and change of tactics is a welcome one, rather than feeling forced and contrived. While the dark price is far more powerful in terms of combat (able to wipe out hugely powerful enemies with relatively little effort) the effects of his dark powers constantly drain his energy, meaning every section becomes a frantic rush to find more enemies to kill and pots to smash in order to top up his ever-draining reserves. After this ceaseless panic, you’re more than happy to be able to take your time again as the prince, and as such the gameplay feels nicely measured and balanced between the various styles it flits between.

Taking away the Speed Kill, though, it's fair to say that the combat still feels a little too random and a bit of a button mashers' paradise for our liking. Next to, say, Devil May Cry 3 or even God of War it's a game with almost too many combos, too many options and not enough of a clear focus on what actually is effective. For far too long you'll be fumbling along, never quite sure what move you just pulled off, or which one is actually the most effective against whom. Next time, Ubi, a less is more approach would work better. Sometimes you can have too many, especially evident when half of them seem to be based around pressing the same button multiple times. An invitation for a mash-fest or what?

Hounds of hate

'Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones' Screenshot 4

Back in the chain gang: the daggertail is as deadly as it looks.

Some of the enemies, too, seem designed specifically to kill you off as quickly and unfairly as possible, and being greeted by sand-gobbling canine hellhounds three at once is likely to rile even the most hardened PoP idol; especially when you realise you can simply leg it. Why even put them there if you can just scarper? Either place tough enemies in manageable numbers, or reasonably challenging ones that come in waves; just plonking you in an environment against creatures three times harder than anything you've faced, and then giving them the power to rob you of the only advantage you have (i.e. Sand) is a curious design decision. Most things in the game are pitched at just the right level of challenge, but there are some areas that will craze the living daylights out of you, so be prepared. Bring a cushion.

The chariot races, too, seem like a slightly pointless addition, as slick as the EA-style cutaway slo-mo's are. With one hit death the order of the day, it's a case of getting lucky, choosing the right path, steering pursuers into obstacles, hacking aggressors off and hoping the twitchy handling doesn't make a mug of you while you're doing it.

While the game still stacks up nicely as a whole, it's surprising to note how dated some of the visuals are starting to look. Maybe it's partly down to playing too many 360 games lately, or being spoiled by the likes of God of War or Shadow of the Colossus, but the stunned awe that PoP once inspired is replaced by a comfortable, familiar acceptance that what we're seeing is no longer standard-setting: time has caught up with it a little. Don't get us wrong, it's still a beautiful game, replete with excellent environments drenched in a heady atmosphere that most games still struggle to match, but it's the little things that irk now. Take the animation; in most senses it's still as spot-on amazing as it always was, but you start to notice the odd things, the strange lurching jump that doesn’t look as though it should land but does. Combat manoeuvres, too, have a tendency to look daft, with some animations looking unfinished or inappropriate. At its worst, glitches creep in, with enemies reacting very strangely indeed, choosing not to follow you when stood six feet away from you (despite the fact you're busy stoving their pal's head in). Meanwhile, the game's context sensitive combat system makes it a real pain to do simple things like jump onto a nearby platform to evade them. It's difficult to climb on a box when you're backing into it. Grrr.

Reclaiming the throne

A lot of this is nitpicking, of course, and arguably applies to all of the games in the series - and games which a lot of people loved to death. It's just as well there's so much to love about this one as a whole, too, with that same determined one-more-go feel about it as The Sands of Time. In all the respects that matter, The Two Thrones is the sequel we were hankering after all along. It's got a takes a measured approach to combat, pitches the atmosphere at the same eery, mysterious level that we loved about the first game, and wraps it all up with one of the more flexible control systems imaginable (quick point though, Ubi: why can't I invert the look up/down?) that make it possible to enjoy the kind of trap laden environments that would make Lara's eyes bleed at the prospect.

The Two Thrones might well be the concluding part of a trilogy, but it's really The Sequel That Should Have Been. An excellent return to form, Ubi: thanks for listening.

8 / 10

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Picture of Kristan.

About Kristan Reed

Kristan is a former editor of Eurogamer, dad, Stone Roses bore and Norwich City supporter who sometimes mutters optimistically about Team Silent getting back together.

Read more articles from Kristan by visiting the Kristan Reed archive page.

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Comments (72) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Talha #1 6 years ago

    What will you be winning?

    Anyways, as expected. I think the 'shot to the heart' headline is one of the wittiest ones I have ever read.

    The game is great people. Go ahead and buy it without fear. The magic is back. Remember, Sands of Time also got an 8 here!

  • freedumb #2 6 years ago

    a 9

  • smelly #3 6 years ago

    Ace. Consider it bought.

  • tengu #4 6 years ago

    I thoroughly agree. Awesome game.

  • Stickman #5 6 years ago

    Like deathgibbon, I can't wait for my free copy and PS2 to arrive shortly.

  • Talha #6 6 years ago

    Hey, does EG hand out its prizes to its favorite forum posters? You morons.

  • alimokrane #7 6 years ago

    finallp POP the two thrones reveiwed ... but with an 8 I was expecting somehting like a 9 but hey it's still good. Go buy this game NOW ... Seriously NOW

  • tengu #8 6 years ago

    No Talha, forumites never win the compos :)

  • Talha #9 6 years ago

    Then how come these two are gloating so shamelessly?

  • Talha #10 6 years ago

    Um...oh... OK - silly me. Just got a little jealous that's all!

  • Blerk #11 6 years ago

    I think it's time to reintroduce PoP into my gaming time. Yes.

  • tengu #12 6 years ago

    Did I read right there's a PoP game out for PSP next week? Could be a winner as well.

  • feinry #13 6 years ago

    what about the differences between platforms? does the xbox version have any online possibility, like warrior within my ass did? cause i'd prefer the cube version, but i'd like to try some online this time

  • Talha #14 6 years ago

    Hey, WW XBOX really did have an online? I didn't know that. TBH I can't see how online makes any sense in this, but then having not seen the online mode I may be completely off the mark.

  • El_MUERkO #15 6 years ago

    woop!

  • Stickman #16 6 years ago

    No win for me either Talha, just wishful thinking. :)

  • smelly #17 6 years ago

    Hmm.. hang on, it's not selling well is it? I'll hold off and get it in the bargain bins next year. :-)

  • Pachinko #18 6 years ago

    So basically, it's a review that raves and goes all mushy - yet addresses none of the concrete shortcomings such as somewhat terribly placed continue and save points which will demolish a lot of people's hopes of ever finishing this one? Also, beware of the bugs in the PC version and framerate problems with the PS2 incarnation.

  • UncleLou #19 6 years ago

    The PC version doesn't work with the bloody Xbox 360 pad, btw. Which is a bit of a joke, seeing that one of the Ubi guys is quoted on the marketing site for the wired 360 pad saying how excited he is "that people will be able to play PoP:TTT with this brilliant new pad". The funny thing is that the pad works with PoP:SoT and WW. :p

  • Talha #20 6 years ago

    O-OH, does this mean that it won't work with DualShock 2 either? Stupid really. And is the PC version seriously bugged? I was planning to get that version.

    @Stickman: I have already admitted my stupidity!

  • asphaltcowboy #21 6 years ago

    Woohoo! PoP is on the Christmas list!

  • alimokrane #22 6 years ago

    The PC version for me is absolutely fine ... no bugs at all ... and the PS2 version I rented a week earlier works perfectly as well ...

  • tengu #23 6 years ago

    PS2 version is fine, yes, despite some frame rate droppage during the first hour or so of play.

    Clears up a treat after that though.

  • Kon #24 6 years ago

    Dammit! This just got me interested in PoP again.

    The problem is, i only just played WW for about an hour before putting it away in disgust.

    So.... Will the story in this game be alien to me though i played the first one a lot? Should i invest my time in this?

  • Talha #25 6 years ago

    I am going for the PC version, since consoles suck anyway! ;-)

    Actually I bought two copies of PS2 version of WW, and they both stuck in mid-game at the same point. Later I learned that I had played the game in a certain way, making a few choices in a specific order etc etc, 'awakening' that bug. That's when I got the PC version. I hope this time it is not the case, but I am not about to take another chance.

    @Kon: I advise you dig up Sands of Time from somewhere and play that first. You need none of the story in WW, believe me - skip that.
    Edited by 1 at 09/12/05 @ 13:29

  • Artemus #26 6 years ago

    I found the framerate dips around the sand portals and when there's loads of enemies on screen, but it's nothing game killing. And yeah some of the checkpoints are too far apart. The Dark Prince's draining health annoyed me as well, as it meant a lot of trail and error to get through some of his platforming sections.

    Good review anyway. It's a solid 'eight' for sure.

  • Kon #27 6 years ago

    @Talha , Actually when i said the first one i meant Sands of Time. That was a beautiful game. I did play the original on the PC a lot back in its time too though.

  • Artemus #28 6 years ago

    So.... Will the story in this game be alien to me though i played the first one a lot? Should i invest my time in this?

    Question one - no. It gives a recap of the good ending of WW.

    Yes you should buy it.

  • markypants #29 6 years ago

    Why does the picture linking to this article look like The Prince is sucking cock?

  • tengu #30 6 years ago

    LMAO!

  • kangarootoo #31 6 years ago

    "Why does the picture linking to this article look like The Prince is sucking cock?"

    Because of your wishful imagination ;)

  • Dr.Haggard #32 6 years ago

    Good review, I'll definitely be picking this up now. I'm still a little worried though - if the environments and atmosphere have more in common with SoT than WW (thank god) then how come all the screenshots I've seen have had that horrible cold palette that's more reminiscent of Warrior Within, the levels look very closed-in and the prince still looks a twat?

    Where are the warm colours, the soft dreamlike glow and the beautiful vistas of Sands of Time?

  • Milbe #33 6 years ago

    Somewhere at mid game the combat got really frustrating. Ninja Gaiden on hard seemed a piece of cake compared to this. So if anyone feels like not beeing a combat expert, start the game on easy setting.

  • Kon #34 6 years ago

    "Question one - no. It gives a recap of the good ending of WW. "

    That's good enough for me then.

    /adds to wanted list :)

  • Kon #35 6 years ago

    "Ninja Gaiden on hard seemed a piece of cake compared to this."

    WTF?? How can anything make NG on hard (bar perhaps DMC3) look so? You're scaring me man..

  • davyuk #36 6 years ago

    Why does the picture linking to this article look like The Prince is sucking cock?

    Freud would like a word...

  • Stickman #37 6 years ago

    Why does the picture linking to this article look like The Prince is sucking cock?

    OK, now what do you see when you look at this card?

  • gerald #38 6 years ago

    I must admit i enjoyed PoP:WW quite much, after getting through the beginning ship section and turning down the horrible music. Lots of high quality plattforming-puzzles and the fighting is better than in SoT.

    Didn't finished it because of way to much backtracking in the last third... but that seems to be fixed in this one. Count me in.

  • the_dudefather #39 6 years ago

    "the nefarious Vizier is back - and hungry for revenge."

    just wondering, in the storyline, does the vizier even know the prince? as the events of the first game diddnt happen, after the creation of the sands was undone (in warrior within as far as i gather)
    Edited by 1 at 09/12/05 @ 14:26

  • tengu #40 6 years ago

    "just wondering, in the storyline, does the vizier even know the prince? as the events of the first game diddnt happen, after the creation of the sands was undone (in warrior within as far as i gather) "

    He knows who he is, but doesn't know him, no. The first game never happened, they keep that plot point going yeah.

  • alimokrane #41 6 years ago

    regarding the frustrating combat .. I know but you can stay clear of it when playing as the prince, you can manage to do the game with speed kills only when playing the prince except on those catacombs there are 1,2,3,4 and 5 hit speed kill combos use themwisley and you'll eliminate fighting all together

    here is the list detailing these speed kills (prince only):

    1-Hit is for the weak enemies like the archers, the one with bows. (2 versions of it, I think)

    2-Hit for the enemies you see most often (3 or 4 versions of it, I think)

    3-Hit is for the sand guards (2 versions of it, I think)

    4-Hit is for two enemies when one is behind the other (1 version of it I think)

    5-Hit for sronger enemies (2 versions of it I think)

  • Artemus #42 6 years ago

    I wish you got the uber sword all the way through. Nothing stands in your way.

  • firm3d #43 6 years ago

    tengu - Unfortunately, the PSP/DS Prince of Persia are just muddied versions of Warrior Within.

    Which I didn't like enough to go through again to get the ending upon which The Two Thrones is based; you know, the one you get if you got all the health upgrades.

    Having said that, the whole Wraith thing did redeem WW a great deal, in my eyes. I would say the mechanics of the Dark Prince are heavily based on that ... I'm assuming this is all cryptic enough that it couldn't be called a spoiler!?

  • Kon #44 6 years ago

    "Unfortunately, the PSP/DS Prince of Persia are just muddied versions of Warrior Within."

    Actually, that seems to be the case of the PSP version. The DS on the other hand is a whole different kind of game.

    Both look crap though.

  • RandolphScott #45 6 years ago

    CONTENT REVIEW:

    You call him the "dark price" instead of the dark prince.

    Picky aren't I?

  • Dynamize #46 6 years ago

    Yay! It goes on the Christmas list. Christmas day will be spent cosying up to the Prince...y'know, playing the game. The computer game, not another type of game.
    The PC version that is.
    Edited by 1 at 09/12/05 @ 20:27

  • StixxUK #47 6 years ago

    "Leaving most evangelists of the original ashen-faced, it was akin to the mortified humiliation of seeing your charming, witty best mate turn into a possessed, spiteful, drunken lunatic just at point you've introduced him up to all your cute single female friends. "Honestly, he's not normally like this," you plead as he vomits down Suzie's top."

    ...Alex?...


    Anyway, the only question that remains is this: GC or Xbox?

  • mustardkid #48 6 years ago

    "as he vomits down Suzie's top."

    spooky

  • Royal Fool #49 6 years ago

    Loving this game, it's very meaty and a worthy sequel to Sands of Time. Great fun to be had!

    The PSP version, called Prince of Persia: Revelations, is just Warrior Within with some new levels thrown in (and possibly some of the console version bugs and glitches ironed out).

    The DS game, Battles of Prince of Persia, seems to be a card-based Advance Wars/Fire Emblem clone of sorts...

  • Feanor #50 6 years ago

    "(quick point though, Ubi: why can't I invert the look up/down?)"

    This one little sentence means I will never consider buying this game. Good job, Ubi!

  • morriss #51 6 years ago

    backwards compatible?? please!

  • caligari #52 6 years ago

    Can anyone tell me if this is anything like the amazing old 2D Prince Of Persia...as I've managed to miss out on all of its 3D incarnations.

    Can I jump onto SPIKES?

    Errr...and are there any battles with my mirror buddy?

    I was about to say that they should remake Flashback in 3D...but I just remembered that they did and it smelt.

    Bring back Another World!

  • Eighthours #53 6 years ago

    All through the review:

    "Warrior Within was shit, Warrior Within was shit, Warrior Within was shit."

    EG review of Warrior Within: 7/10

    (better than Kameo)

    ;)

  • Scimarad #54 6 years ago

    Which tells you what they though of Kameo...

    Alternatively maybe it was a different reviewer:-)

  • gamerbunny #55 6 years ago

    Talha:Hey, WW XBOX really did have an online? I didn't know that. TBH I can't see how online makes any sense in this, but then having not seen the online mode I may be completely off the mark.

    Nah it was downloads and other stuff, anyway this looks 1,000,000 times better than Warrior Within, a must buy for any gamer.

  • neilka #56 6 years ago

    After scouring Google to try and find out whether this runs in 16:9 widescreen, and finding only indications that it doesn't, I was pleasantly surprised to find that in fact it DOES run in widescreen. Nice!

  • krudster #57 6 years ago

    Yes, definitely widescreen.

  • Duckers #58 6 years ago

    On the Crimbo list for me, too. Can't wait. Shame I haven't completed Warrior Within yet. Do you think that will be necessary to fully understand Two Thrones? Please help me with this question, somebody.

  • Duckers #59 6 years ago

    What? My comment just got eaten!!

  • Stickman #60 6 years ago

    Duckers, here is the answer you seek.

    No.

  • gypsumfantastic #61 6 years ago

    It's important, when considering the now roundly rogered-into-a-happy ending trilogy, to realise that whilst Warrior Within was a disappointment for many ICO and Sands of Time fans, there was much that the game got right. It would be churlish to pretend otherwise given that even EG gave it a 7/10. 7/10 is a respectable score for a game. The game disappointed primarily because of what *might have been*, rather than what was.

    Indeed, the free-form fighting system was a necessary if not sufficient addition. The Dohaka chases were fantastic. The game was longer, more exciting than SoT and had an engagingly mental Sci-fi plotline.

    But when all is said and done, this was not the sequel that Sands lovers (like myself) wanted. It entertained me, and indeed I completed it (both endings) with a wilfull glee. But in many respects it was a parallel universe to Sands of Time. Same gorgeousness, same ridiculously fluid controls, same environmentally-minded puzzles, just no... soul.

    One of the best aspects of The Two Thrones, and I'm saying this having sat up until 7am this morning, dishing out Speed Kill death to that cock of a Vizier, is that in tying up the storyline of the Prince, it even manages to convincingly contextualise the misstep in style that was Warrior Within.

    One can view the entire Sands of Time trilogy now as a coming-of-age story, redemption through acceptance and eventually growing up. Warrior Within represents the Prince's angst-riddent adolescence, full of misdirected rage and charmless anger. If Sands of Time was a story of the innocence of youth, The Two Thrones is a story of reconciliation, of a man growing up, accepting responsibility for his mistakes and becoming whole again.

    As a Prince game, if Sands was a 9/10, and Warrior a 7/10, then Thrones is a solid 8. It falls short of the majesty of Sands in a few key areas:

    * Pointless Chariot Races
    * Overly hard bosses (Ring of fire... Gah!) This is not what PoP is supposed to be about.
    * Not quite as magical as sands of time, at least until the moment at which the Vizier captures Farah. After that... wow.
    * Overuse of the wall-springs and the dagger-hold devices.
    * Game takes a while to find its stride.

    The game is buoyed up by its wonderful Speed Kill dynamic, the awesome final 25%, its return to form, and the brilliantly brief Dark Prince segments.

    8/10 is the consensus opinion. Thus it is unanswerable truth.

    In allowing the unification of the odd style of Warrior Within (a game I still enjoyed a great deal, despite its stylistic missteps) with the wonderful magic aura of Sands of Time, and allowing a story of redemption to come to fruition that neatly ties together the stories of the Prince, Farah, Kaileena and the sands, The Two Thrones is a fine ending to an excellent, if problematic trilogy. Fans of third-person action-adventures, and fans of either of the first two games will have an engaging time. I did.
    Edited by 1 at 10/12/05 @ 22:11

  • Dirtie #62 6 years ago

    "Shot to the heart - and you're to blame, Ubi PoP: a bad name"

    Heh, I like that one.

  • media_junkie #63 6 years ago

    Hmmm combat is still rubbish, especially after God of War. Your weapons lack any sort of impact, you can barely tell if your blows are landing or being blocked. Combo system is totally useless, youll just end up button mashing and hoping to chain a few hits together. Speed kills help by not having to kill enemies face to face.

    Really if they cant get it right they should go back to a simplistic parry & thrust system like in the original 2d PoP. In any case its really about the platforming, at least that still works.
    Edited by 1 at 11/12/05 @ 16:56

  • Artemus #64 6 years ago

    I've just gone back to Sands of Time (fourth playthrough) and its still as great as ever. It does confirm to me however that Two Thrones is still some way behind it. The characters art and enviroments are so much more vibrant and memorable. The combat actually seems fine and far more effective (although this could be because they've made the enemies tougher in TT to force you down the speedkill route). And the Sand powers are far better realised. Longer rewinds, better slow mo and the brilliant freeze move. Not to mention the way it upgrades. Apart from rewind I've never really touched the other powers in TT.

    I guess the real question is, is it actually possible to better SoT?

  • Talha #65 6 years ago

    Interesting comments. As Gypsum said, I also insist that WW was a great game IN ISOLATION. Had we not been smitten by the magic of SoT, that would have been a niner, no kidding. I also think that this is perhaps the greatest platforming trilogy ever -

    I am playing through SoT right now as well. Just can't seem to get it off my hard drive. Hey, any of you guys think StarForce protection stinks?
    Edited by 1 at 12/12/05 @ 05:51

  • Jonathan_Fakenham #66 6 years ago

    \\ quote, caligari
    \\
    \\ I was about to say that they should remake Flashback in 3D
    \\ ...but I just remembered that they did and it smelt.
    \\
    \\ Bring back Another World!

    Yes they did, but remember,
    the first 3D version of Prince of Persia sucked aswell

    Well actually, I kind of enjoyed it at the time,
    because I didn't own any current gen consoles,
    and I was all needy for a decent platformer for my PC.
    It still really sucks in longer terms though..

    They really _should_ remake Flashback in 3D, that'd be awesome!
    Edited by 1 at 12/12/05 @ 05:52

  • RandolphScott #67 6 years ago

    I cannot stress how evil the checkpoints and saving is in this game. Some levels are a masterclass in how to suck the fun out of an otherwise brilliant game.

  • feinry #68 6 years ago

    I wanted to buy the NG version, but then faced a weird price prolicy at GAME: 29£ on PS2, 34£ on Xbox and 38£ on NG.... wtf? how can you support a console if you have to pay 10£ more than the ps2... as I have all the consoles, it's a hard choice. better get Battalion Wars to please my NG ^_^

  • CosmonautX #69 6 years ago

    how can you support a console if you have to pay 10£ more than the ps2

    By not buying at Game? Seriously - do a bit of shopping around and you should be able to find most new GC games for £30.

  • Milbe #70 6 years ago

    Quote:
    "Hmmm combat is still rubbish, especially after God of War. Your weapons lack any sort of impact, you can barely tell if your blows are landing or being blocked. Combo system is totally useless, youll just end up button mashing and hoping to chain a few hits together. Speed kills help by not having to kill enemies face to face.

    Really if they cant get it right they should go back to a simplistic parry & thrust system like in the original 2d PoP. In any case its really about the platforming, at least that still works. "

    This is spot on. I always wonder why developers never learn from other games!

  • Pachinko #71 6 years ago

    The combat is a piece of cake and overall a step back from WW. Basically all you have to do is jump on the enemy and then slash, jump in the enemy again, slash, rinse, repeat.

  • Freek #72 6 years ago

    "(quick point though, Ubi: why can't I invert the look up/down?)"

    This one little sentence means I will never consider buying this game. Good job, Ubi!

    Options menu...it's all in there....