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Ubisoft Montreal continues the story from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time with a darker and deadlier Prince, one who is more mature and a craving for battle. This time round, the Prince must fight Fate itself, which has taken the form of Dahaka. Hunted by this immortal incarnation, the Prince embarks upon a path of mystery and mayhem to a cursed island stronghold where only through bitter defiance and deadly combat can he emerge victorious with his life.
Prince of Persia 2 (PoP2) throws you straight into the heat of battle where you must defend yourself against the un-dead warriors of the Empress of Time boarding it. This frantic start is also your tutorial where you must learn how to block, jump, strike and throw before you are overrun and killed by the intruders. This also highlights the first major addition and vast improvement over the first game in the form of a more complex combat system. No longer have you got a few fighting moves but a whole range of combos based on whether you are using a single weapon or dual wielding. When using a single weapon, you can grab enemies and throw them or even use them as a shield before strangling them but this option becomes redundant when dual wielding as you can now perform more powerful combos. Dual wielding damage and effects are determined by what kind of weapon the Prince is holding, for example if he picks up a mace, you will end up knocking your opponent to the ground as it is a blunt weapon whilst you slice and dice them with your sword in the other. The secondary weapon degrades with use, forcing you to throw the weapon at an approaching enemy, wait until it vanishes with constant use or just disregard it in order to pick up another weapon. Have no fear though, secondary weapons are littered all over the place and defeated enemies leave their weapons behind for future use.
The use of the “Sands of Time” have been included due to the talisman Farah gave him at the end of the last game allowing the Prince to still have the ability to control time. Additional powers have been added to the existing inventory, so not only can you rewind and slow down time, you can now speed up time called “The Ravages of Time” enabling the Prince to attack enemies at light-speed. Another power which has several grades of strength is called “Breath, Wind and Cyclone of Fate”, this power lets the Prince do a strong ground attack that will hurt several enemies simultaneously. The further you progress the more abilities become available.
The main strength of the last game were the environmental puzzles, so with no surprise you will be glad to hear that you will need to rely on all the acrobatic moves of the Prince to ensure that you survive the numerous obstacles and traps. A few new moves have been added to enhance the experience such as the rope swinging along the wall, beam walking and the incredible sliding down a wall tapestry using your sword. To break up the puzzle solving of each room, you will on occasions have to make a dash whilst being chased by Dahaka, because if he catches you, you’re fate is sealed.
Graphics:
This is where the game differs greatly from “Sands of Time”. Gone are the colours and fairytale feel of the Arabian nights, instead a darker tone has replaced everything. In fact the easiest way to describe the difference is by comparing “Sands of Time” to Will Young whereas “Warrior Within” is more like Metalica. The animation of the acrobatics and combat is superb and flows naturally, nothing awkward about the Prince. The environment has a very natural look to it and has been beautifully designed to immerse the player in both the Present and Past areas. As mentioned before, this game does take on a darker tone which is well represented in the combat. No longer will the enemy just turn to dust but instead you are treated to wide variety of death scenes such as decapitation, bodies sliced in half either vertical or horizontal and other impaling moves with lots of blood and gore. This may pleased many players but what was so lovable about the first game was the mystical and bloodless feel to the game.
Sound:
The sound has also been affected by the new dark side of this game. Heavy metal has now replaced the gentle Arabian background music, but it works well with how the game has been presented and doesn’t deflect your attention from the main action. Footsteps, clattering of swords, traps and water are of good quality but sometimes the voices of the main characters let it down with such cheesy one liners especially from the Prince whilst fighting which make him sound arrogant and full of attitude.
Longevity:
Unlike “Sands of Time” which only took about 8hrs to complete, this game has been more or less doubled in length and will take most gamers at least 15-20hrs. The inclusion of Live only increases the game with a “Time Attack Mode” and an “Arena Survival Mode”. Downloadable content has been mentioned in form of new maps for both modes online.
Round Up:
Overall, this game is a worthy sequel to “Sands of Time” even though the flavour of the Arabian Nights has gone to the dark side (sounds like Star Wars). The campaign mode will keep you occupied for some time and with Live added to show off your skills via a league table. In my honest opinion, if you like puzzle adventures and want a break from the usual hack and slash or shoot ‘em ups, than this game is a must. Forget hiring it as it will take you longer than the rental period to finish the game and once you start, you wont want to put it down.
Pros:
- Stunning environments and animation
- Excellent combat system
- LIVE enabled.
Cons:
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