Monday 11 Dec 2006

“You will battle to save your people. You will fight to exact revenge. But the greatest war rages inside you: the battle for your soul.”

The Two Thrones begins just after the conclusion of the Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. The Prince of Persia is making his way home to Babylon with Kaileena, the Empress of Time, at this side after rescuing her from the Island of Time. His hopes of peace are soon shattered when he finds his kingdom ravaged by war and invaded by a powerful enemy. Quickly thereafter Kaileena is captured and subsequently murdered, unleashing the Sands of Time which strike the Prince and begin to work a change in him. Slowly he becomes aware of the Dark Prince within him, who vies to possess him completely. The Dark Prince is a corrupt version of the Prince: ruthless, reckless and sadistic.

Your quest takes you through a constant running battle along the streets and rooftops of Babylon. The Dark Prince within spurs you onto revenge, while your true nature guides you towards saving your enslaved people. The game dynamic does not allow you to choose which side of the Prince will win as the path is strictly linear, yet the cut scenes are enjoyable with the Dark Prince offering some amusing dry humour.

Armory of a Prince

The Prince of Persia carries the ever handy Dagger of Time as his primary weapon and can collect one additional secondary weapon from slain enemies including swords, axes, maces and daggers. These weapons weaken over time and constantly have to be replaced, but given that enemies are in abundance it is never difficult to keep the Prince armed.

The Dark Prince also carries the Dagger of Time, however, due to his immensely powerful Daggertail, a mid-range chain-like weapon, he can’t pick up additional weapons but he is not left wanting. The Dark Prince is a formidable fighter and boasts an array of fighting moves that eloquently dispatch enemies in jaw-dropping style, that is if you are patient enough to learn the combinations to do the moves. Personal experience revealed that button mashing, although not as eloquent, works just as well and can produce some exciting on screen action. With any ultimate weapon there is a catch and for the Dark Prince it is his health, which constantly drains away. You will be constantly striving to replenish his health by breaking jars and killing enemies, which both fill his sands of time, while moving forward to finish the stage.

Token accomplice

Farah is the daughter of the Maharaja of India and was brought to Babylon as a slave for the new ruler. You must rescue her early in the game as she “aids” you in your quest to defeat the new ruler. She is only really brought in at key points in the narrative to remind you to do the right thing and save your people rather than exact revenge, and in doing so does little directly to assist you. Nevertheless what would an epic game be without a buxom femme fatale warrior to spur you from your lethargy into heroic action.

There where many memorable moments during the decade which I spent playing through this game, some sequences over and over again so many times that I am sure that should I be overcome with Alzheimer’s in later years, these moments will endure as they are so burned into my memory that they will forever haunt me. Don’t get me wrong, I like a good challenge, but come on folks…it is supposed to be fun and I didn’t choose the ‘hurt me plenty’ difficulty level either. I have limited time to play and spending it redoing the same level repeatedly because some sadist level designer thought that would be what the world wants is not how I choose to spend this time.

There are a number of very well executed scenarios in the game, one being the chariot race. You climb in the chariot, spur the beasts into action and away your go thundering through the streets of Babylon. Amazing! The controls are very responsive, you get to bash attackers that try to climb into your chariot and, most importantly, ramp your vehicle through the narrow streets. The pace is hectic and adds an excellent change to the hack and slash sword fighting which you have to do the rest of the time.

Silent but violent

You can evoke speed kills on enemies if you are able to prevent them from seeing or hearing your approach. The speed kill allows both the Prince and the Dark Prince to perform specific attacks that take down one or several enemies in a single shot. It is only available when the corners of the screen go slightly white and the unnerving sound of a heart beat thumps from the sound system. During the speed kill sequence for the Prince you need to press the square button at the exact moment that the Dagger of Time flashes white. For the Dark Prince you press the triangle button repeatedly.

The movement system in Two Thrones is very slick, although you need to be comfortable using many butting simultaneously. An impressive array of vertical, horizontal, rebound and chain jumps are possible as well as necessary to get through all the puzzles and past the enemies. The Dark Prince can use his swish Daggertail to swing on poles and the nifty dagger slide down curtains is just plain cool! To add to the mix is a daunting selection of fighting combo moves for the ardent gamer. You can and will end up climbing ladders, ledges, columns, poles and beams from alleyway to rooftop in your seemingly never-ending quest for peace in Babylon.