Prince OF Persia: The Two Thrones, Full Review... a kick ass game :)
The TT starts off on a very peaceful note with the prince and his new found love, Kaileena about to enter Babylon. Instead of being welcomed by his people, his ship is greeted with arrows and boulders that decimate his ship, separating him from Kaileena. She gets captured and is taken to the evil Vazir, who in his quest for immortality, unleashes the sands of time by thrusting the dagger of time into her.
Messing with all that sand has slowly begun to corrupt the prince's soul and when the Vazir unleashes the sands, he also gives birth to a darker, heavily tattooed and sadistic alter ego of the prince: The Dark Prince. So now the schizophrenic prince must come to terms with his alter ego and reclaim his kingdom while finishing the Vazir off once and for all. More of the story is revealed in the form of conversations, the prince continuously has with his alter ego. This particular aspect of the game will appeal to fans of SOT as it's reminiscent of the constant bickering that took place between the prince and Farah in the Sands of Time.
In order to reach the Vazir, the prince will have to traverse Babylon eliminating anyone and anything that dares stand in his way. I mean sure, he's a seasoned warrior and can kill enemies with a swift blow of a sword, but fighting wave after wave of enemies can get a bit tedious. To provide respite from button-mashing, TT introduces a brand new element to the series: Quick Kills. To avoid direct confrontation with enemies, the prince can sneak up behind them and initiate a quick kill that'll eliminate them quickly and quietly. Before you execute a quick kill, the screen starts blurring, after which you'll engage in a mini-game of sorts by pressing Square (which is to strike), whenever the prince's dagger flashes. Time it well and you'll have the pleasure of watching the prince dispose off his enemies in cool ways; blotch it up and you'll have to face the drudgery of hand to hand combat.
Quick kills can be performed by the dark prince as well, only this time round you'll have to press Triangle, to choke or decapitate your foes. If for some reason you do manage to screw up, worry not, as the dark prince is stronger in combat. Armed with the Dagger Tail (blade attached to your wrist via a chain), he can unleash a fury of devastating moves on multiple opponents. While jumping from pillar to post (literally), the dark prince can use the dagger tail as a whip (think Indiana Jones) to reach distant areas. The only drawback of transforming into the dark prince (which by the way happens randomly throughout the game) is that everything becomes a time bound exercise as you continuously lose health (just like when the prince became the Sand Wraith in WW). Slay enemies or break pots and pans scattered around to gather sand and regenerate health.
Platforming as the prince will have you feeling a bit nostalgic as it does bring back memories of Sands of Time. Besides the usual wall runs, jumping and leaping, the prince can now jump diagonally off walls and can jam his blade into wall gratings, which can help you gain altitude or complete a long wall run. Pulling off these moves successfully really makes you appreciate the animation that's gone in to make the prince seem so athletic and catlike. There are times in the game where you'll probably find yourself stuck in certain areas not knowing where to go or what to do next but the trick is to scrutinize every square inch in the environment to try and scope out your exit. Boss fights that'll include some mammoth characters can get frustrating at times, as finishing them off will involve a lot of patience and trial and error. During many boss fights (especially the one involving the Axe and the Sword dudes) you'll not know what to do initially as your strikes will not affect them at all. This puts a spoke in the wheel as you're bogged down to an endless amount of trial and error crap after some brilliant platforming. Frustration and monotony may tend to creep in during Chariot races as well because one wrong move could lead to your untimely doom. While on the chariot you better keep an eye out for ramps, forks in the road and enemies that'll force you into walls or other stationary objects.
Ubisoft's philosophy of fusing the two games is extended in the visual department as well. The game looks like a blend of SOT and WW, with some areas looking cheerful and bright; courtesy of the bloom effect (dreamy look), while some look pretty dark and gloomy. Even on the PS2, the game looked good and the frame rates were pretty constant most of the time. Even though most levels are very linear, the TT eliminates the need for backtracking, unlike WW which made you run around in circles at times.
Godsmack has been axed for a more Persian-ish theme (composed by SOT's composer), which complements the game perfectly. Voice acting is top notch with Yuri Lownethal reprising his role as the prince, and Robin Atkin Downes playing the dark prince well. Dialogues are well written and the constant bickering that takes place between the prince and his alter ego are humorous with your alter ego constantly taunting you or mocking you. Kaileena co-narrates the game along with the prince, but is way too soft and un-clear at times. Eat some food, woman.
NOTE: I'm not sure if this is restricted only to the PS2 version, but there is a game stopping bug in the first boss fight (jawless gladiator). In order to blind him, you'll need to stab him in both his eyes using Quick Kills. The problem is that for one of the eyes, instead of flashing thrice, the sword only flashes twice. To get the second hit, you'll just have to try and try and try and hope you get the second hit right.
Minor annoyances and bugs aside, The Two Thrones is a satisfying conclusion to the POP trilogy. Fans of the series will love it and even if you're a newcomer there's no way you won't enjoy running up walls, sliding along ledges, dodging deathtraps, and performing some wicked aerial acrobatics.