Review #520: Prince of Persia - The Two Thrones

 Two Princes, one dagger.

 Just learn to smile already!

 Ubisoft are not the kind of company that would let their cashcows lie still, so a new Prince of Persia was developed, with the aim of mixing what made Sands of Time and Warrior Within so good. They succeeded, for the most part.

 So, the Prince managed to save Kaileena from her fate and prevent the sands of time for being created. Too bad the Vizier has invaded the Prince's town, and... as luck good have it, slays Kaileena early on in the game, thus unleashing the Sands of Time yet again. Even worse, sand demons pop up everywhere, threatening the Prince's subjects, and the Prince himself gets a chain grafted on his arm, which allows the Sands to corrupt him and give birth to the Dark Prince, a being made up of his darkest desires that tries to take control of the Prince's body. The story is alrightish, but nothing to write home about. It's a farcry from the Sands of Time, although at least it's not as juvenile as Warrior Within.

The dark prince is the game's biggest missed opportunity.

 The game plays pretty much exactly like Warrior Withing but slightly better. Combat is exactly the same but enemies aren't as repetitive as before, still, combat is easily the game's weakest element. Platforming has been expanded upon, now the prince can stab his blade on a few panels to hang on air, he can crawl upwards or downwards when between two very close walls and there're a few new trampoline panels that make no sense in a realistic setting but they are allowed because it's a videogame. All the new abilities don't add too much to the game, but parkour is as fun as it's always been, and having new obstacles is very welcome. There's also a new stealth mechanic that involves using QTEs to instantly kill an enemy. Bosses too require QTEs, but they are not as bad as they could've been. They tried to disguise them, since you only need to press Square when the Prince's blade flashes during the cinematic, but they ain't fooling anyone: Those are QTEs.

 The game's main gimmick is the new Dark Prince, and it could've been so much more. He can't grab a secondary weapon but he is stuck with his chain and can be used with either triangle or circle, for a total of three different attack buttons. Enemies can't even block his attacks! Platforming is quite different too, since you use the Dark Prince's chains to propel yourself on walls or use as a chain hook. How amazing could've it have been if you had to switch between both Princes to accomplish tasks? But nope, you only change between forms when the game demands it. It's quite a missed opportunity.

Stealth allows you to bypass many of the game's boring combat scenarios.

 The Two Thrones introduces Chariot races, there're two of them as well as a 'special' one in which you ride a golem. These are boring and add nothing to the game, but at least they are short enough. They really failed to understand that the game is at its best when you are jumping around, performing incredible acrobatics, rather than these sad attempts at action. Still, at least they are short enough, so you don't have to endure their clunky controls for too long.

 There's not much else to say about The Two Thrones, if you've played any of the other PoP games you'll be right at home, and if you hated them... this one won't change your mind. The little polishing it got does make it a better game than Warrior Withing, but sadly it's missing the spark that The Sands of Time had.
 8.0 out of 10