Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
It’s good to be the Prince…
Tags: Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones Categories: Reviews, Xbox Reviews
Posted by David Hinkle on Feb 8th, 2006
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones (title page) | 1 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Action | No | ||
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Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time no doubt blew you away the first time you laid eyes on it, and more-than-likely did so doubly when you picked up the controller to play it. For good reason, as the game showcased some awesome visuals and environmental puzzles the likes of which had been long forgotten since the days of the original Tomb Raider. It was a refreshing game, although short, that spawned a not-so-well-received sequel.
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The second game, Warrior Within, focused more on the action of the title and less on the exploration and avoiding of traps. Also, we saw a new angle to the prince, a grittier, angrier prince, who spoke with such seething rage that it was hard to keep from chuckling every time he delivered a line. While the merits of that title can be argued until the cows come home, it was good enough to spawn another sequel, the neat little bow on the wrapped present. Much in the spirit of both titles, Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones combines both games and both princes to make a game that holds true to its roots and still has a few surprised up its sleeve.
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The story this time around has the Prince and Kaileens returing from the Island of Time to find a Babylon under siege. As soon as the boat docks, Kaileena is kidnapped and, soon after, killed. It’s none other than that old vizier who has done it, as well, and he’s released the sands again, causing Babylon to turn into a war zone. The sands, affecting the people and spawning disgusting creatures, also is affecting the prince, and this is where the dual prince angle is brought into play.
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See, the Prince’s more arrogant, darker side is being brought out to the surface because of the sands, so you’ll be switching between the two during the game. This adds a lot of variety to the gameplay as they can both go about combat and solving the many environmental puzzles in their own unique way. The Dark Prince has a new weapon, called the Daggertail, which is half dagger, half whip. It allows him to really rip several new ones during combat and also allows him to swing across gaps as if he were Indiana Jones. The rub lies in the Dark Prince’s constant loss of health, which happens gradually over time. You can recover health from downed enemies, but when you’re in rooms that require no combat and you must get from point A to point B, things can become a little tense.
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The game’s visuals are still strong, although the architecture this time around really lacks a lot of the middle-eastern structures in the previous games. Babylon doesn’t look as visually appealing as one might hope, so that brings down the visuals a bit. On the other hand, all of the combat and enemy models, including both Princes, look good. A lot of the animations both Princes have, especially in vaulting off walls and such, look absolutely awesome. Never is there a case of the framerate slowing down and the lighting effects help mask any inconsistencies visualy.
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While this game is the end of the trilogy, let’s hope that it isn’t the end of the Prince. While many were worried about this iteration changing the spirit of the title so much like with Warrior Within, it instead manages to take the best bits of both and create a wonderful hybrid. The Two Thrones has rewarding gameplay, a higher volume of environmental puzzles than in Warrior Within, and does combat exceptionally well. It’s a shame to see it come to an end, but it was one great ride.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Return of good environmental puzzles + Dark Prince integrates into the game well + Combat is a lot better now |
8.5 |
| What Doesn't | |
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- Becoming too formulaic |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| A fitting end to a fantastic trilogy. | |
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Tags: Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
Posted by David Hinkle on Feb 8th, 2006 and is filed under Reviews, Xbox Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
