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A Perfect Conclusion to an Amazing Series

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 17
Date: December 06, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I still remember when the original Prince of Persia came out. Not the Sands of Time, but the two-dimensional PC version from the nineties. It was one of my favorite games. The series dragged for awhile, and then they began the current trilogy by releasing the Sands of Time, Warrior Within, and now, finally, The Two Thrones.

It's necessary to talk about the previous two games for a bit, because The Two Thrones takes a lot from both of them. In Sands of Time, what I felt was the real strength of the game was the storyline, along with superb voice acting and graphics that were ahead of their time. The prince was versatile and very easy to maneuver. Although the game was rather short, it was a fun ride. The major complaint about that game was its fighting engine, which was, admittedly, a bit bland and boring. With Warrior Within, they greatly improved the fighting engine, adding all sorts of maneuvers and combos and two-weapon fighting, which added another level of fun to the game. What Warrior Within seemed to lack from the first game, however, was the atmosphere. The prince didn't have Farrah (from the first game) as a companion to work with, and other than with boss fights, there was little dialogue. It was a much....darker game. Bloodier, gorier, and the music was laden with Godsmack and all sorts of heavy rock which, although during a few of the battles I thought it made it fun, seemed out of place.

The Two Thrones took what worked from both of the previous games in the trilogy, and dropped what didn't. The fighting engine from Warrior Within has returned, and has been improved. In Warrior Within it didn't really matter to me if I had two weapons or not; in this game the prince is MUCH deadlier with a second weapon (and also seems to lose it faster). I kept on finding I was looking to pick up a second weapon often, which is something I liked. They also added 'quick kills' to this game, where if you can sneak up on someone it gives you a sequence where you have to press the slash button as your blade lights up--and it's not extremely easy. The window you have to hit that button in is short enough to give you a challenge, but not too tough. Plus, they have quite a few different animations for it, so you can't just get used to one pattern for it. Boss battles have a level of difficulty, but aren't too tough.

The storyline of this game is also done very well. They lightened up the atmosphere that was so dark in Warrior Within. Although it's definitely not a light-hearted storyline, the voice acting and lighting in general seems to have made it much...cheerier. The prince (as you can tell by all of the previews and the artwork on the cover of the game) is now, well, schizophrenic. His darker side--I guess you could call it his warrior within--is now a voice in his head, and the prince banters with his darker half constantly. I found myself looking forward to the dialogue as much as anything else in the game, especially towards the end of the game.

A note of caution about the story: there were two endings to Warrior Within. The second ending could only be unlocked by acquiring all of the health upgrades. The story to The Two Thrones continues from the secret ending, not the normal one. If you didn't get the secret ending to Warrior Within, you may be confused as The Two Thrones begins.

The graphics to this game are essentially the same as Warrior Within. The cutscenes are incredible, but there aren't too many of them; there are far more in-game cutscenes using the regular character models than there are videos. The character models aren't bad, but they're not great, either. I don't think I can really complain, but the prince looks, well, lanky sometimes. I guess 'awkward' would describe him well. It's not that he looks stiff, or anything like that, but he just, well, bends in a strange way here and there. You can't really blame the game for that, though, because with all of his versatility he ends up in all sorts of positions, and so for some of them not to look completely natural is (in my book) easily forgiven.

The prince still moves in pretty much the same way from both of the previous games. He can run along walls, climb anything, jump unnaturally high--you get the picture. He certainly has some new things he can do in this game, but not very many. What I find neat about this game (and the previous two) is that although a lot of the things the prince can do are COMPLETELY impossible, the animation is done in such a way that you *almost* believe that it's possible. Almost. His moves are believable, which is a real credit to the animations he has.

Not only has the prince become schizophrenic in this game, but he has taken it one step further--his darker half takes over quite often, completely transforming his appearance. His dark side is MUCH more fierce of a warrior, holding a weapon in his off-hand that is essentially a giant chain, which he is very proficient with. You'll find it extremely easy to defeat enemies when you play as the dark side, but there's one catch: the prince's health drains over time. It replenishes fully when you get a sand tank. This may sound familiar from Warrior Within, where the prince was a sand wraith for some time, but there is quite a difference with the dark prince. The sand wraith had unlimited sand tanks; dark prince does not. The sand wraith would stop losing health at a certain point; the dark prince does not. If you don't improve your health, the dark prince will die, so it forces you to be quick as you go through certain puzzles trying to get back to being the normal prince. In general this doesn't become too much of a problem, as there are sand tanks in just about anything you smash while being the dark prince, but towards the end of the game it got pretty difficult, especially if you haven't gotten many health upgrades (which I didn't).

There were also some chariot races that they added. They weren't extremely fun, but I didn't find them to be a burden, either. One of them was pretty difficult, and ended with the most difficult boss battle in the game, so it's a good idea not to use up all of your sand tanks on the chariot race (which I did) because you'll need them in the boss battle, or else you'll play that battle QUITE a few times, especially if you haven't gotten many health upgrades (which I hadn't, and it took more than twenty attempts for me to win that battle). What makes the chariot races difficult is there's no health meter; if you crash you die. The chariot was maneuverable enough that the controls didn't cause you to crash, but sometimes it was difficult to see what was ahead, and the difficult race was a few minutes long--pretty tough if you don't want to use your sand tanks (which, believe me, you don't).

I already mentioned the voice acting. The music has changed from Warrior Within to be more...arabian. It fits well with the atmosphere. I found that oftentimes, especially with the Empress of Time (who narrates the story) it was difficult to hear her, so you'll want to turn voice sounds all the way up and sound effects and music down to be able to hear everything. Sometimes she would begin narrating JUST as I went to save my game, and it would cut her voice off, so that I didn't hear what she had to say. It's not a huge deal--nothing she said specifically had anything to do with any puzzles or anything, but with the story being as good as it is, it would have been nice to hear everything.

I also found that I relied on the sands MUCH less in this game than in the previous two. Some of the powers I got I never even used. Call it a credit to the well-programmed fighting engine, call it a credit to the game giving you a good clue as to where it is that you have to go, and the controls following what you tell it to do. But other than a few mistimed jumps, or poorly-executed 'quick kills,' I rarely needed to rely on the sands.

Overall, I think this game--and series in all--has been outstanding. All too often the sequel to a game becomes old hat, just a bland remake of the previous version. The Two Thrones is not bland. You may get sick of some of the puzzles here and there, but the superb storyline told through excellent voice acting makes you keep on wanting more. If you haven't played the previous games in the series, I'd suggest you do so before playing this game. Although you don't need any of the knowledge from previous games to be able to get through this one, they don't put much effort in brushing you up on what has happened in the previous games. Overall, The Two Thrones provides a satisfying conclusion to a series that has been outstanding throughout and constantly improving. It's a shame that the conclusion to this game is so final; I don't think I could ever get enough of this series, but alas, this is the finale.

The paramount ending for an outstanding trilogy

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: December 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

In an industry that has become so lackluster that finding a worth while game is a one in a million shot, the POP (Prince of Persia) series has stood out like a 40 karat diamond. A highly original story backed by amazing game play is the key to what makes POP so brilliant. The original next gen release, Sands of Time, was engrossing to say the least. The follow up, Warrior Within, while not a fan favorite hit close enough to the mark to be enjoyable. I own both and would recomend them to anyone without a second thought. The Two Thrones, the final addition to the trilogy, is following in big foot steps. The Prince has come home to find everything in ruins. From moment 1 The Two Thrones is outstanding. borrowing graphics from WW is something that I can overlook for the sake of the amazing story that follows. All the new elements and added gameplay make for an exciting re-learning of POP. For fans of the series Ubisoft took what was great about SoT and WW and made an even better final chapter, while losing what was not needed. To anyone just picking up the POP series I would recommend you start with Sands Of Time you can't go wrong. Either way this is an exciting end to a series that has brought millions joy, pain, and out right entertainment. If I could give this more stars I would.

Prince of Persia The Two Thrones is fantastic

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 9
Date: December 13, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Prince of Persia The Two Thrones is one of the best games I played bieng able to stealth and ability to play as the Dark Prince or the Prince of Persia makes this an interesting game to fight the weaker half all his ability slightly less then the good half and to use the Dragon tail on enemies .and no crontrol of when you turn into the Dark prince an interesting feature ,the chariot race where he is hunted in maves he goes thru that he is hunted thruout the game,but this is a story of how he learns to be a prince and the deafeating of mass enemies to show gratitude for his position ,overall a grEAT GAME

AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: January 03, 2006
Author: Amazon User

i recently rented pop III and honestly i cant put the controller down. ive played the first pop and it too was phenominal. my favorite part is the split personality. if you want a challenging fighting game this is the one to buy

Back to Good

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: January 15, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The end of the "Sands of Time" trilogy marks a successful return to the style and fun of Prince of Persia - Sands of Time. The Two Thrones combines the good fighting mechanics of Warrior Within (WW) with the downright utter enjoyment that the Sands of Time (SoT) started two years ago.

The story picks up where WW left off, with the Prince returning home to Babylon. Before you know it, the sands of time make a comeback and the Prince is left in peril in order to save his kingdom. All the great platforming tasks of insane jumps and crazy obstacles are here, as are most of the "sand powers" found in the first two iterations.

Gameplay is the same for the most part. The new "speed kill" system is quite fun, but some may find it eases the fighting difficulty quite a bit. That being said, its not always the easiest thing to pull off, especially when multiple enemies are involved, but a cool addition none the less.

The graphics look better than ever, a slight improvement over WW, and a remarkable improvement over Sot which was jaw dropping only two years ago. The rendered cut-scenes look good and the sound is clear, including all the voice acting where the original actor from SoT has returned to voice the Prince. He does a great job again and really adds to the overall quality of the game. The music is a return to the orchestral sounds of eastern decent, and the hard rock has left the building to much acclaim.

This game is very linear, which some people may stray away from. There is no multiple back tracking like WW. However it is enjoyable from start to finish. Even the new chariot races are interesting, but some may find them slightly out of place. There is one Boss fight in-particular that will cause many frustrating moments to all. After a few times (or perhaps dozens) studying the patterns and getting your attack down, it becomes no problem.

I did experience one glitch that caused my game to freeze at a certain point several times. After searching around on message boards, it seems to be a common problem. I was able to get past it after resaving over the save point file. A word of advice - have at least a few different save files along the journey so you don't have to start over at anytime.

The ending is completely appropriate to the trilogy, and leaves you hoping the Prince will one day return. This game is a little on the short side. At around 7-8 hours for me to complete, it seemed shorter than the previous two. All in all, a great game. A must play for anyone who enjoyed the previous two, or for fans of third-person action adventure. You owe it to yourself to play the first two beforehand though, if only to see the story from beginning to end, and to experience one epic adventure.

A Timeless Classic Comes to an End

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 02, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The Prince of Persia series has left a huge mark on the gaming world. The newest in the series makes that mark permanent, keeping true to the entire series. Fans old and new alike, should be satisfied.

The prince has returned from the Island of Time to Babylon with his new love Kaileena. To those who didn't see the alternate ending to the previous title, Warrior Within, you may find yourself a little confused here. As they come into the harbor, they're ship is invaded and Kaileena is captured. You soon find that the man behind the attack is the vizier from the very first game. He then murders Kaileena and unleashes the sands of time on Babylon. As the prince, you're going to battle to save your kingdom and avenge your lover's death.

The prince has to worry about more than just the sand creatures and the viziers warriors. Because of the sands of time, he'll also have to confront his arrogant self from the past. There will be moments in the game where the prince will have a conversation with... well... himself. The darker version of himself. This stems from the fact that Warrior Within suffered heavy criticism and complaints from fans about how arrogant he was in Warrior Within. This in and of itself would be easy to poke at were it not done so well. The voice acting is A+ material, and the change is consistent throughout the entire game.

You're also given the oppurtunity to play as the Dark Prince from time to time. As the Dark Prince you'll have an interesting weapon that resembles a chain. The Dark Prince is much more aggressive in combat, and a lot of fun to play as. The downside, however, is he constantly looses health. Luckily for you, this isn't a problem at all. Every enemy you defeat drops health to restore you. You shouldn't run out of health very often. The only hard part about playing as the Dark Prince is his acrobatic moments. You'll eventually get it down, but you'll probably die several times first.

There's a new technique added in The Two Thrones. This tactic is known as "speed-killing." By sneaking up behind an unsuspecting enemy, you can grab them. This begins an animation known as the speed-kill. The game will then pause for a moment and you'll have to press a button to execute a strike. You'll execute anywhere from one to five strikes. If you don't press the button, the speed kill will fail and you'll have to fight the enemy the normal way. But hey, if you mess up, you can rewind and try it again. The animations are incredible looking, and they're a lot of fun to pull off.

You can run across walls and perform some really awesome jumps of course, something Prince of Persia is very well known for. Several puzzles throughout the game require you to run along walls and jump to switches to get through. Again, some of them are done by a bit of trial and error, but they are, for the most part, fun.

There are also chariot races, but they're not much fun, really. A simple mistake could cost you your life. Once again, trial and error will be the key in succeeding. The good news is that you've got the sands of time on your hands. If you horribly screw up at any of these trial and error moments, you can easily rewind back so long as you've still got some sand.

The game looks gorgeous. The environments are a lot of fun to explore and sulk in, and the character models look good too. It's obvious at some parts that it's the same graphics used in the previous two games with almost no changes, but the previous games were gorgeous anyhow. Some of the pixels don't quite fit in with the environment, and that's okay. You probably won't notice them.

If you're looking for what is the best of the three versions, there's no clear winner. The XBOX version has great load times, but a few lighting effects cause it some problems, and the PS2 version suffers from slow down in some areas. There's almost nothing wrong with the Gamecube version, but it depends on what you want. If you want fast load times, go with the XBOX version, it's lighting problems aren't really that noticeable.

Overall, Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones marks a thrilling conclusion to a remarkable trilogy. Any holes it left in the plot are neatly filled. Any fan of the series will be satisfied.

The Good
+Still has gorgeous graphics
+Fun Gameplay
+Speed kills bring new style to the game
+Long game
+The story ties up all loose ends
+Fantastic Music
+Fantastic voice acting

The Bad
-A LOT of trial and error moments
-This is not for newcomers to the series. Newcomers to the series should start with the first game: Sands of Time, otherwise the story will just confuse the hell out of you

Prince of Persia - The Two Thrones

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 02, 2005
Author: Amazon User

If you liked either of the first two Prince of Persia installments, you'll dig The Two Thrones. Elements of each of the preceding games are still incorporated and there are a handful of new gameplay features. Some of the new features are new acrobatic abilities, a second playable character (the Dark Prince) who has his own unique set of abilities, and chariot riding. The score style music of The Sands of Time and the free form fighting of Warrior Within are both back for this nicely blended finale. Definitely check this out if you liked the first two. If you've never played the first two, you'll still relish this one if you enjoy sword fighting/adventure/puzzle games. In addition to the groovy swordplay, it is a very unique story and is quite unlike most of the games out there.

With the variety of moves you can dish out, you'll be serving up more combos than McDonald's!

Splendid!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 7
Date: December 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is totally rad! The stealthy action is awesome. The gameplay was tweaked when you now can play as the Dark Prince as well as the regular prince. Dark Prince has an awesome chain thing that comes out of his arm. SICK!

Have fun playing!

Freekman

THE PRINCE IS KING

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: December 27, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones is a great game. The best features are the speed kills and the daggertail! If you loved Warrior Within, you will DEFINATELY love The Two Thrones.

Excellent Game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: June 11, 2006
Author: Amazon User

So, if it's such an excellent game, why 4 stars on "fun" rating?

Well, it's a very very fun game, but some parts can get annoying and aggravating. And it seems as if the different levels of difficulty are achieved by handing you less and less health upgrades, which is kinda cheap, if you ask me. They physically limit you, instead of strategicly doing so.

But everything else is great about it. Graphics are great, not excellent, but great. Sound is great too. Gameplay is excellent and the story is very well developed. Kinda on the easy side in normal level, though. But, I guess nothing is perfect.

Go ahead and get this one. It's worth what it costs.

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