Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones

Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
Developer(s)	Ubisoft Montreal and Casablanca
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Series	Sands of Time Trilogy
Platform(s)	PC, PS2, Xbox, GC, PS3, Mobile ; Rival Swords - Wii, PSP

Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones is a third-person action adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft for the PlayStation 2, Gamecube, X-Box and Microsoft Windows. The game was released in December 1, 2005 in North America. A PlayStation Portable and Wii port, Prince of Persia: Rival Swords, was released in April 3d and 5th, 2007.

On November 19, 2010 and April 19th, 2011, The Two Thrones was included in the "Prince of Persia Trilogy" alongside The Two Thrones and The Sands of Time in a HD Collection for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Network. The Two Thrones marks the canonical ending of the "Sands of Time Trilogy".

Story

Introduction

Set immediately after the events on the Island of Time, the Prince returned to Babylon bringing with him his lover, Kaileena, the Empress of Time, only to find the city besieged by an unknown enemy. Later, the ship that the Prince and Kaileena were sailing on falls under attack. The boat is destroyed, and Kaileena drifts inland where she is kidnapped; the Prince witnesses this and begins to search for her abductors.

After wandering around for a while, the old Prince manages to catch up with Kaileena, only to find her in the hands of the Vizier. As before, on the Island of Time, the Prince canceled the very establishment of the Sands of Time, also resulting in cancelling the death of the Vizier.

However, when the Maharajah went to the Island of Time, he did not find the Sands, but books were found on island along with the Dagger of Time. After reviewing all this knowledge and receiving the dagger, the Vizier found that it would grant him eternal life, for which he needs the Empress of Time. With this knowledge, and from a vision granted by the Dagger, the Vizier when to Babylon, to await the Prince's arrival; knowing that the Prince would be returning there with Kaileena.

The Prince, seeing that the Vizier had plans to kill Kaileena, charged at him, only to be captured by an ambush by one of his minions. With the Prince watching on, the Vizier stabbed Kaileena with the Dagger of Time, recreating the sands and killing her. He stabs himself with the Dagger and gains the power of immortality and possesses Kaileena's essence. He becomes "Zurvan, the God of Time". Releasing the power of the sands once again, its power corrupts all Babylon, including his two bodyguards and, eventually, the Prince. During the chaos, the Prince was able to escape and once again acquires the Dagger of Time. He wakes up to find himself in a sewer, his left arm infected by the sands.

Taking Back Babylon

During his journey, the Prince is helped by Farah, who remembers nothing of their previous adventure because of the changed timeline. As a result of being infected with the Sands, the Prince's darker side is given sentience in the form of the Dark Prince. The Dark Prince is, at first, a cynical and brutal voice in his head. However, as time goes on, the Dark Prince is able to take control of the Prince's body and transforms his appearance into that of a shadowy Sand Creature. However, in order to sustain himself, he must use the sands of his enemies and his only weakness his water.

Another issue are the decisions that the Prince would have to make; being divided into only reclaiming his title and throne or being a true ruler, taking care of his people before facing his enemy. Farah will be decisive on this role, always reminding the Prince that his people and the nation's peace comes first compared to the simple and arrogant desire for vengeance against the Vizier. On the other hand, the Dark Prince will act as an opposite influence, always remembering the Prince of his quest of blood lust, and stopping to save people will only delay him to find the way to the throne.

After many battles, puzzles and the unfortunate kidnap of Farah by the Vizier, the Prince finds the body of Sharaman and his sword. The Prince finally realizes his childish and arrogant attitude and decides to face the consequences of his previous actions.

After a difficult battle, the Prince plunges a dagger into the heart of the Vizier, thereby killing him and contradicting the immortality of his greatest foe. Sands from the Vizier and the Sand Creatures merged into the image of Kaileena. She thanks the Prince for the kindness he showed her. After that, the Prince gives her the Dagger, and she removes the last bit of sand that infected Prince. After this Kaileena's spirit passes on.

Fighting the Dark Prince

Suddenly, the Prince and Farah hear a strange ringing. The Prince sees his crown, but when he goes to pick it up, a man approaches in a cloak, and picks up the crown. The person is revealed to be the Dark Prince, who wants the Prince's kingdom and mentally strikes him with the Daggertail.

The Prince enters a mental realm and tries to eliminate the Dark Prince. The Dark Prince accuses the Prince of letting the power of time go. The Prince tells him that he has changed and no longer agrees with his ways. The Prince passes through many places from his past. He arrives on a platform with two thrones on it. Suddenly Farah appears and tells the Prince to leave this place of evil. Everywhere on the platform there are clones of the Dark Prince, who laugh at the Prince. After that, he begins to climb the steps leading out of the realm, which makes the Dark Prince panic. The Dark Prince is forever left behind.

The Prince wakes up on the roof beside of Farah. They start to talk, standing at the railing of the roof. Farah asks the Prince how he really knew her name. In response, the Prince decides to tell her his tale from when it really began.

Characters

• Prince - Arriving in his native Babylon, he must regain his throne and free the city from the Vizier.
  • Dark Prince - Is the alter-ego of the Prince and one of the two antagonists.
• Farah - She becomes an ally of the Prince after he saves his people and shows ideological renovation, she work with him again.
• Vizier/Zurvan - A enemy of India and Persia, the Vizier seeks to gain to immortality in the new timeline as a result of the Prince's actions on the Island of Time.
• Kaileena - Kaileena is kidnapped and killed by the Vizier. Since she is supernatural in origin, after her death, she does not disappear completely, but her sand essence is spread through Babylon.

Gameplay

Prince of Persia: Rival Blades for PlayStation Portable

The Two Thrones combines exploration and combat. Both elements make use of the Prince's acrobatic capability and agility. Throughout much of the game, the player must attempt to traverse the palace by running across walls, ascending or descending chasms by jumping back and forth between walls, avoiding traps, climbing structures and jumping from platform to platform, making other types of well-timed leaps, solving puzzles, and using discovered objects to progress.

During combat, many of the same moves vital to the player in other situations can be put to use to overpower enemies. An example is the ability of the Prince to rebound off walls in order to strike enemies decisively. The player generally attacks enemies and blocks using a dagger, although other objects/factors, such as the Dagger of Time and its time-control abilities eventually prove to be critical to victory.

In The Two Thrones, the Prince's acrobatic skills have improved. He is now able to launch himself off walls at 45 degree angles at strategically placed vertical shutters, slide down chutes, and balance on swinging poles, among other things. The designers have also improved the stealth system. Instead of merely being able to do more damage when striking without being seen, The Two Thrones uses a speed-kill system. If the player does not complete the speed kill, the enemy knocks him off and the speed kill fails. The amount of moves or the length of time required depends on how strong the opponents are. The same system is also used in some of the boss battles.

The Prince also develops a split personality, known as the Dark Prince, and this alter-ego constantly bickers with him in his mind about right and wrong. At times, the Prince physically transforms into the Dark Prince. These transformations are scripted and not controlled by the player. During these times, however, the Prince retains control of his body, and the player still has control over the character. For the most part, the Prince's dark side is simply an inner voice.

When controlling the Dark Prince, the player loses the ability to wield a secondary weapon, instead using the "Daggertail", a bladed whip fused to his arm. This allows medium range combat moves and new interactions with the environment. The Dark Prince also constantly loses health as a result of the semi-transformation, with eventual death from the loss. He goes back to full health whenever he collects Sand, from either a monster or object. Also, his Daggertail gives him a different button combination for speed kills, in which he strangles his victims. Coming into contact with water will allow the Prince to return to normal.

Reception

The Two Thrones has received mostly positive reviews. IGN gave it 9.0/10, saying "Two Thrones is great. The story is cool, the heroes are likable, the weak are pitiable, the villains are bastards, the major plot points are exciting, the art is grand, the sound is wonderful...and then the gameplay comes". Gamespy gave it four stars on all platforms, saying of the PC version "All of [the] settings, without exception, are stunning. As might be expected, the sharper, more detailed graphics for the PC version of the game are the clear winner when compared with the consoles, especially at higher resolutions". Gamespot gave it 8.4/10, while 1UP.com gave it an 'A' and Metacritic gave it a score of 85/100.

See Also