When Ubisoft released
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, it was one of those beautifully
extraordinary games that was swallowed whole in a sea of commercialized games
both good and bad. Yet the game was able to develop quite a following and why
not? It brought back the PC classic and reintroduced it with better visuals, a
solid story and great combat. Then came Prince of Persia: Warrior Within,
a darker game but with even better fighting mechanics. Now Ubisoft has spawned a
new chapter – one that might not be very different from last year but boy does
it offer quite a ride. In Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones we just don’t
get one Prince but we get two of them.
Sailing home at last with
the Empress Kaileena with him, the Prince returns to Babylon only to be brutally
ambushed and left for dead by the remains of his ship. When the Prince wakes up
he sees his great city in flames, his people being slaughtered and Kaileena
snatched up and taken away. What’s a good Prince to do but rise up and fight
back the only way he knows how … with plenty of bloodletting and his acrobatic
skills. Yet as he sets out to discover the identity of those who have taken
control of his city, the Prince discovers another part of himself – a darker
self – that threatens to overtake him and turn him into a far more dangerous
threat.
Armed with his usual
choice of bladed weapons, the Prince can double-wield two blades and is armed
with a number of free-form moves and Speed Kills. The screen blurs when a Speed
Kill can be performed and hitting the enemy at the right moment is necessary to
pull off a Speed Kill successfully. The free form fighting has been tightened as
well but it still allows you to pull off combos and other slick moves anyway you
want to so you can be as creative as you want in battle. You can even pick up a
sword and throw it at an enemy. The Time Powers are back and they’re helpful in
avoiding dangerous traps.
Mixing the platform-styled
antics of Sands of Time and the brutal kills of Warrior Within,
the game blends both action and platform acrobatics perfectly. The real dramatic
change, however, comes in the form of the Dark Prince. Remember when I said that
the Prince discovers a darker part of himself? Well the Prince has another side
to him that’s the polar opposite of the sweet Prince we know and love. This
Prince even looks different and prefers a different kind of weapon to perform
his vicious kills. Using his Daggertail (a chain-like weapon with blades), the
Dark Prince can swing on poles using his weapon and even wall run to other
harder to reach areas. It’s like playing two different characters. The game also
tosses in much variety, pitting you against giant-sized bosses and even tossing
you into a chariot race.
On the graphics front,
The Two Thrones looks great on the GameCube. It doesn’t look as amazing as
the Xbox version but it still looks so good. The soft lighting from past games
makes a return in this game and the slow motion moves look just as amazing.
While the cut scenes can look a bit murky on the Cube, the game’s environments
and characters look more than decent.
The game’s sound is once
again a series highlight with its excellent voice acting that brings each
character to life. It’s great to hear the Empress of Time narrate the tale,
injecting interesting comments between breaks or when you push the pause button
or save the game. The sound effects are also nicely detailed to the point that
you’ll hear the wind pass through open shutters or water trickling from a nearby
fountain. The game’s score is also a real treat and no different from past games
in the series so if you loved it the first time around you’ll love it again.
Without deviating from its
familiar free form-fighting and acrobatic style, Prince of Persia: The Two
Thrones is still one satisfying and action-packed GameCube game. It’s a bit
on the short side, yes, but with a great tale filled with twists and turns and
battles aplenty, you won’t help but be drawn into a game that’s well worth the
price of admission. If you’re a long-time fan of the series you can’t go wrong
with this one.
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Gameplay: 8.5
The game controls are far smoother
than Warrior Within and there are some better Speed Kills that are
satisfying to pull off. Once again, the free form fighting is a blessing but the
Dark Prince adds more variety to the combat with his deliciously wicked kills.
Graphics: 9.0
While not as sharp as the Xbox
version, the GameCube certainly gets a beautiful-looking game with wonderful
character detail and environments that look amazing. There are a nice number of
good animations and the visual effects will not fail to impress.
Sound: 9.6
Once again the series is blessed
with an amazing voice-acting cast that peppers the game’s story with great
dialogue. The sound effects are still just as wonderfully detailed as the first
two games and the game’s score is just plain gorgeous.
Difficulty: Medium
Fighting multiple enemies is still
tough as are the environmental traps Prince of Persia fans are already too
familiar with since Sands of Time. The much bigger bad guys will have you
really giving the Prince quite a work out.
Concept: 7.0
The game’s story is a great one and
while the entire experience isn’t incredibly lengthy there’s enough here to put
a smile on the face of any Prince of Persia fan. The slick new moves are
cool but it’s the chariot battles and the Dark Prince that will stand out in
this adventure. The extras are just so-so and there really isn’t much to go back
to once you finish.
Overall: 8.9
Not much different from last year’s
game, Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones is yet another great GameCube
action game fans of the Prince will thoroughly enjoy from start to finish. With
a solid story and interesting twists that have the Prince divided between good
and evil, this is another game you’ll want to buy right away.
