Oh....and giving your hero the same lame-ass tribal armband tattoo that you have. Just how big of an egotistical art-director dork are you, anyway?

I've played this game though now three times. I still love how the game plays: the fighting system, the running around, the figuring out how to get from place to place. But I have to add my voice to the chorus: I HATE the whole dark and scary theme of this game. I hate the new badass prince. I hate his potty mouth; I hate his grunting attitude; I hate his brooding stares; I hate him. And my hatred extends beyond just the prince. The whole monochromatic palette that the art director made so much of: hate that too. POP:Sands of Time was such a fairy tale. I thought it struck a perfect balance between fighting and tension, and whimsical storytelling. Combine those things with the outright fantastic setting. There were times in POP1 where I would finish a particular room, and then just run around and LOOK at the scenery. I'd run to a particular ledge and hang off, just too look at the vista. There were parts of that game that just took my breath away. Not so with POP2. In addition to the fact that I don't like playing this new prince as much, the monochromatic palette makes me far less apt to notice my surroundings. I know that there are a couple places where you're out-of-doors, and there's actually a view of some sort. However, the way the game has been cast - colorwise - somehow it just doesn't have the same impact. And boy do I miss that impact.

Finally, the thing I hate most of all. I hate how the developers have now painted my favorite Prince into a corner. He's now the badass, and there's no real going back for him. They've taken a really original character, and made him just another Dante. I don't think I can forgive them for that.