Let me start off the review with a little joke. In Hungarian, if you say ‘to be on the throne,' it means ‘to take a dump.' Get it? The Prince of Persia takes a dump twice. Yes, I know … I'm hilarious.

Anyways, The Two Thrones was one of my most anticipated games this holiday season. Once again, I was a bit let down. Yes, I know, many Prince of Persia fans will try to hunt me down, but here is the reason why.

Let's start with the basics, shall we? The graphics in The Two Thrones are nothing special. Perhaps because the game is a multiplatform game, but other than the lighting effects, the game leaves much to be desired. The cutscenes are very nicely made, and I do not understand why they were not used as much, as opposed to the horrid FMVs (Full-Motion Videos). The FMVs are like a Shakespearean play. The characters gesticulate and articulate like characters in a cheesy melodrama (and speak like one too).

The music is very well done-it is more like The Sands of Time's than Warrior Within's. Many people hate the music in Warrior Within, but I thought the music suited that game, as did the music for Sands of Time and The Two Thrones. The voice acting for some of the people were well done, but I think some others were not quite, thanks to the different voice actors/actresses. For example, I found Farah's voice and Kaileena's ‘Shall I continue my story here next time?' to be annoying.

The gameplay also leaves a bit to be desired. The game works like a hybrid of Warrior Within, Sands of Time and surprisingly another one of Ubisoft's franchises: Splinter Cell. The puzzles (which are uninspired and rather boring) seem as if they were in Sands of Time, except much more tedious. The combat works a lot like in Warrior Within, which was quite good, except it is rather annoying when I stopped pressing the buttons seconds ago, yet the prince slashes away into thin air, sometimes doing a jump or two, making himself fall to his demise. Otherwise, the combos are very smashing (pun) and have a very jaw-dropping feel (i.e., when running up the wall, coming back down with a backflip and instantly killing a few baddies). The level design is more like Warrior Within's, except it is not varied like in Warrior Within. Most of the environments feel the same, and you can feel bored quickly. Splinter Cell comes to play during the speed kills. The speed kills need to be done stealthily and are quite nifty. Most of the enemies have different methods of getting killed, and the Dark Prince has his own style (choking), which is pretty brutal but equally pleasing. Almost all bosses require speed kills, which is up to the player to decide if it's the stupidest idea ever or the most ingenious idea of all time. Chariot races are okay but a bit redundant, as it is only in the game for two runs. You can get health upgrades like in the previous games, but other than getting more durable, you don't get an alternate ending like in Warrior Within, which I found disappointing. The game is only a bit longer than Sands of Time, and you can beat it under 10 hours.

The Dark Prince is an interesting addition. I will not reveal spoilers regarding the story because I think the player should not be robbed of an interesting twist. You change into the Dark Prince every so often (sadly, it is the game controlling it, not you, which I think would've been a more interesting experience to see the player controlling the Dark Prince and being him whenever s/he pleases), and turn back to the Prince once you reached water. With the Prince, you can be more violent and do more acrobatic stunts. A little deja vu from the Sand Wraith in Warrior Within, as you lose life continuously, and you must get sand to heal yourself.

I liked the previous two Prince of Persia stories, and since The Two Thrones was the finale of the Sands of Time trilogy, I was quite excited. I expected something epic, such as in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King or as in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (or even Episode VI: Return of the Jedi). It was a mistake to do so because I sadly didn't get the kind of ending I would have liked. Once again, no spoilers, but be warned that you will not get a truly epic ending. It was nice, but not what I-and most people-expected. I personally found The Two Thrones the weakest game of the series, with Warrior Within up first (yes, many diehard fans will want to kill me now). Don't get me wrong, The Two Thrones is a good game, but it could have been so much better.

Overall, Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones is an all right finishing to a pretty good trilogy. Although, as I said, it isn't an Episode III or VI, it isn't horrible either. Since you can finish it quite quickly and the extras aren't that interesting, you should rent it and go buy another game that is out this holiday season.

Jan 9, 2006 | 5 comments
Mate Bors