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> Results: Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
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Following the extraordinary critical and commercial success of "Prince of Persia: Sands of Time" and "Prince of Persia: Warrior Within," it's no surprise Ubisoft Montreal didn't mess with the formula for its third action-adventure epic in as many years: "Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones."
Once again you play as the agile Prince ﾖ who resembles an older and scruffier Aladdin from the animated Disney film ﾖ capable of running up walls, jumping over deep chasms and balancing on 20-foot high beams before dropping down on unsuspecting enemies. He can take on numerous baddies with brutally violent yet graceful hand-to-hand sword and dagger moves and also must solve various puzzles such as rotating statues in a certain manner to reveal an entrance to a hidden tomb. Though somewhat confusing at the start of the game, the story picks up where "Warrior Within" left off: the Prince decides to return home to Babylon with the beautiful Kaileena, the Empress of Time, only to find the kingdom ravaged by war. In fact, the pair's boat is ripped apart by attackers as soon as they hit the shore and Kaileena is taken prisoner. Your first goal is to find your lover and then confront the evil enemy that has invaded this once-peaceful city. Similar to past games in this series, you can also control time, such as slowing down a fighting sequence to gain an edge -- or even "rewind" time in case you lose a battle to a hoard of nasty enemies, so you can devise another strategy and try your luck again. While toying with time sounds like fun, the deep fighting system is really what will keep gamers enthralled in this single-player adventure. Sure, you can ward off some of the easier bad guys by "button mashing" ﾖ a term used to describe frantically hitting random buttons on the controller to see what happens onscreen ﾖ but soon players will learn some of the cool moves such as holding onto an enemy's arms with two hands and then running up their body before flipping them over your head so they smash into a nearby wall. Or you can jump and kick one enemy while in the air before swinging around the neck of another with enough time to unsheathe your scythe to finish the job. The Prince can also wield two weapons at once, and will even engage in a thrilling chariot race at one point in the game. "The Two Thrones" is a much darker adventure than its predecessors. For one, the game designers have implemented a "duality" feature, which means you can morph from the noble Prince into his ruthless alter-ego, the Dark Prince, to unleash a relentless wrath of bloodshed on rival fighters. Introduced about two hours into the game, players will learn what caused the birth of this "evil twin" and will begin to master his unique abilities and special Daggertail chain-like weapon. Also new to this third game in the series is stealthy "speed kills," which challenges players to remain silent while approaching an enemy from behind, above or below, and perform a graphic finishing move before he knows what hit him. Oh, and wait until you get a load of the tough "boss" characters you'll be forced to fight from time to time. Gamers can also unlock special DVD-like features on the making of the game, which can be viewed from the main menu. Whether you're a console or PC gamer, this lengthy and challenging game will unquestionably satisfy fans of the popular "Prince of Persia" series and newbie action gamers alike for its intense fighting, beautiful environments and deliciously dark story.  
Decapitation, bisection, being impaled on a spike, eek! There is an option to turn off the blood in the display options, but um, there are still all those heads flying around! Perhaps they should have included a modesty option too because there's a lot of skin on display here. Also the ability to be morph into an evil guy adds another disturbing dimension, one where you're rewarded not for heroism, but for carnage.
This is a great game. Unfortunately, it earned its M rating. Prince of Persia Warrior Within is definitely not one for the kids based both on the challenge and the content. Younger players insisting on swashbuckling and daring do let me recommend Gamer Dad's Game of the Year from 2003, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time or, even further back to Prince of Persia on the Super Nintendo. Sorry kids, this one's for the Gamer DAD. Kid Factor by Wayne Belton This review edited by Andrew Bub Comments? Chat about it in our forums! Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones |
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