Since the resurrection of the Prince of Persia games three years ago, Ubisoft has turned the franchise into one of the best platform game series’ available today. Starting with the Sands of Time and then onto The Warrior Within, each princely game keeps what works, fixes what doesn’t and keeps a continuous storyline through each adventure. For the third installment, it again continues the story from the previous two games in which we find the prince returning to Babylon with Kialeena after his defeat over the Dahaka. As the prince reaches the Babylonian harbor, his ship is destroyed and he and Kialeena are separated. You are soon taken captive by the Vizier, whom many may recall from the first game, and are reunited with your love, only to watch as she is gutted and the Sands of Time within her are released into the world. As the sands spill forth, they infect everything once again, turning all living beings into sand creatures as well as having a unique consequence on you. It seems the hidden, dark, brooding temperament of the prince is now able to rise to the surface and take control of his body at certain times as well as trying to persuade you into doing unscrupulous things.

Now, not only do you have to find a way to stop the Vizier, who has taken the form of a mighty fiend, but you must also battle your inner demons as well. The game play is very much like the previous games, almost identical even. The prince is still an unrivaled acrobat, with his wall-running, pole swinging, curtain sliding ways, along with a few new tricks up his sleeve. In addition to the plethora of feats the prince can accomplish, he now has the ability to use small gaps to slide down and climb up, bounce off shutters that are partially open and use plates on walls to jam his dagger into to scale walls. Although the new movements do add some more depth to the puzzle solving aspect of the game, it tips you off quite easily as to where you need to go. When you see a spring board shutter or a plate on the wall, you automatically know you will need to be using it, so you can trace the steps backwards from there to figure out the path you will need to take to reach it.

One of the main problems with the two previous games was the combat element. Battles were long and difficult and were merely an act of button mashing and jumping over heads repeatedly. With The Two Thrones, you now have the ability to perform a swift kill. These kills allow you to sneak up on an enemy and take them out instantly with a series of timed button presses. When you approach an enemy, the screen produces a haze around it to let you know you are able to perform the attack. When you do, you will launch in to strike and will need to press the attack button when your blade flashes blue. These attacks are a blessing as long as you pull them off. If you mess up the timing, you will have to face the enemy in a regular, tedious battle. These swift kills also allow you to take out more than one enemy at a time as you bounce from one to another. There are also times that you will need to find the correct position in the area to start the attack as to not be seen. As in the previous games, you are able to pick up a secondary weapon to help you out in your battles, but soon enough you’ll come across a sword that kills enemies instantly and negates the entire purpose of the swift kills.

Through the entire game, as the sands inhabit your body, you will have conversations in your head with the dark side of your soul. The dark prince will often chat about any and everything but oddly enough, for someone who is meant to be evil, he really doesn’t sound it. His voice comes off almost nerdy when you would expect it to be menacing and wicked. At set times in the game; your character will turn into the dark prince, which adds a new level to the game play, puzzles and battle. When you transform and take the role of the more evil you, you need to keep on your toes and constantly moving as your health is constantly diminishing. You need to find sand, either from enemies or objects to replenish it before you run out. You also don’t use the dagger as your main weapon. Instead you have a weapon called the dagger tail, which in essence is a chain that extends from your body and can be used to whip and choke enemies. You can also use your dagger tail weapon to grab poles and swing from one to the next to make the environmental puzzles different for each character. Although the dark prince portions of the game don’t usually last too long, you do need to keep moving and the pressure and hectic pace make for some tense situations.

Not to ruin any of the storyline for those that are familiar with the series, you will run into some familiar faces from previous games that will help and hinder you. Being the third installation of the series, the story gets much more in depth with this release. For those that have not played the previous games; the disc does include cut scene movies that show you what has transpired in the previous games to help new comers make a little more sense out of what is going on. The Prince of Persia series has quickly become one of the most anticipated titles and with good reason. The latest addition is on par with the previous releases and is a definite must have for any fan of the nimble, fleet footed prince.