Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
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| Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones | |
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| Developer(s) | Ubisoft Montreal |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft |
| Designer(s) | Kevin Guillemette |
| Engine | Jade |
| Platform(s) | GameCube, PlayStation 2, Playstation Portable, Xbox, Wii, Microsoft Windows, Mobile Phone |
| Release date | Playstation 2 December 1, 2005 December 2, 2005 June 15, 2006Xbox, GameCube & Microsoft Windows December 1, 2005 December 9, 2005Wii & PSP April 3, 2007 April 5, 2007 April 5, 2007 April 3, 2007 |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: M ESRB: T (Wii/PSP) OFLC: MA15+ OFLC: M (Wii/PSP) PEGI: 16+ |
| Media | 1 DVD |
| Input methods | Keyboard and mouse, gamepad |
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones is a video game developed and published by Ubisoft. It was released on December 1, 2005 in North America for the Xbox, PC, PlayStation 2, and the Nintendo GameCube. It was released for PlayStation Portable and the Wii[1], under the title Prince of Persia: Rival Swords with the Wii version utilizing the motion-sensing functionality of its controller.
Following Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, The Two Thrones is the third game in the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time series.
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[edit] Plot summary
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The plot summary in this article or section is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the article. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot. |
The Two Thrones follows the second ending of Warrior Within, in which the Prince kills the Dahaka and successfully alters Kaileena's (The Empress of Time) fate. While on a ship on route to his home city of Babylon, the Prince tosses his magical medallion overboard, as he believes he no longer needs it. He has promised Kaileena that no harm will come to her in Babylon, but upon returning, he is horrified to find the city is burning and ravaged by war. His ship is attacked and he and Kaileena are thrown overboard. Kaileena is taken prisoner after drifting ashore.
After fighting his way through the city, the Prince discovers that as a result of his efforts on the Island of Time to prevent the Sands of Time from being created, the events of the original games never happened- the Vizier was never killed. Worse, he now possesses the empty hourglass, the Dagger of Time, and the magical staff. The Vizier is now in search of the Sands of Time, and has captured the Empress of Time to get them. Just as the Prince finds Kaileena, the Vizier kills her, and unleashes the Sands of Time, which strike and mutate the Vizier's lieutenants into hideous sand monsters. Then, by impaling himself with the dagger, the Vizier transforms into a terrifying immortal winged creature. The Prince is also struck by the Sands of Time, although the effects on him are not revealed until later in the story. The unleashed Sands of Time cause the palace to fall apart and collapse. The Prince falls as the floors collapse around him, but not before stealing the Dagger of Time.
Later, the Prince finds that the Sands of Time have split him into two personalities: his usual self, which although flawed strives to be good and noble; and the "Dark Prince" who represents the more cruel, avaricious, and arrogant aspects of his psyche, and is manifested as a bitter and cynical inner voice. Whenever the Dark Prince is dominant - in the absence of water, and when he is able to feed on the Prince's fear and anger - the Prince assumes his dark, corrupted form, although his mind remains intact. In his natural state, the corruption of the Sands is limited to a glowing wound on his left arm and shoulder, where the Sands had fused a razor-sharp chain weapon known as the "Daggertail" into his flesh.
Meanwhile, the Vizier has transformed his army (and even some of the population of Babylon) into Sand monsters. While searching for a way to defeat the Vizier, the Prince once again encounters Farah, who does not remember him, and is surprised that the Prince knows her name. Although initially wary of the Prince, she agrees to help him defeat the Vizier.
As they travel together, the Prince continues to endure the inner struggle between his compassion and the selfishness of the Dark Prince. The Prince's growing affection for Farah compels him to embrace a more selfless perspective, beginning with concern for Farah and developing into compassion for his downtrodden people. As this begins to happen, he realizes that the Dark Prince, who claims to be part of him, is in fact a Sand monster, who is vying for control of the Prince and his kingdom. A particularly heroic and selfless deed proves a turning point in his mission, as his heroism inspires a new hope in the populace. With their spirits lifted by the knowledge that their Prince is fighting to save them from the Vizier, they rise up in defiance of his army, and provide just enough of a diversion for the Prince and Farah to get through the horde of Sand warriors guarding the palace.
As they approach the throne room, they are ambushed by the Vizier. He captures Farah, planning on making her his queen and sends the Prince plummeting deep into a dry well, who survives only by transforming into the Dark Prince. As he goes further into the well, the Dark Prince's voice grows stronger and more hostile, fueled by the lack of water and the Prince's desperation. The Prince eventually comes across a dark room to find his father, King Sharaman, lifeless on the ground. Overcome with grief and taunted by the Dark Prince, the Prince finally recognizes his own immaturity underlying his constant efforts to undo his mistakes. He resolves never to walk down that path again, and to accept the consequences of his actions. With this resolution, he silences the Dark Prince and reverts to his natural form - without water. Taking up his father's sword he makes his way up the tower to complete his mission.
Using the Dagger of Time and his father's sword, the Prince is able to defeat the Vizier and free Farah. With the Vizier's death, his army vanishes and Kaileena's soul is freed from his grotesque form. She thanks the Prince by cleansing him of his corruption and removing the Daggertail, before leaving the world for another more suited to her presence, taking the Dagger of Time with her. However, as the Prince leans down to reach for his father's crown, he is confronted by the form of a dark warrior, as prophesied at the end of Warrior Within. Before the Prince's eyes, the dark warrior metamorphoses into the Dark Prince, who swings his Daggertail and draws the Prince into the mental realm where the two battle for control. With some help from Farah, the Prince realizes that battling his inner demon only serves to feed it, and will trap him forever within its realm. In the end he turns away and follows Farah up an ascending staircase leading to a bright cleansing light. Starved of anger, greed, and pride, the Dark Prince is finally defeated. The Prince awakens back in the real world to Farah's warm embrace.
Veterans of The Sands of Time are then treated to a tribute and reference to the first game in the trilogy. As they look out over Babylon, Farah asks the Prince how he really knew her name. He then begins to tell her the story of the first game, using the same monologue as the introduction and ending of that game, thus bringing the trilogy full circle: "Most people think time is like a river, that flows swift and sure in one direction. But I have seen the face of time, and I can tell you, they are wrong. Time is an ocean in a storm. You may wonder who I am and why I say this. Come, and I will tell you a tale like none you have ever heard...."
[edit] Rival Swords Expanded Plot
The PSP version of Rival Swords contains an expanded plot, but with much of the same gameplay. In The Two Thrones when the player stabs the dagger into the sandgate he is rewarded with a new ability, a sandtank, or sand credits. In Rival Swords, the player is transported into the sandgate. In three certain sandgates, the Prince will have to strike a statue of the Vizier
[edit] Alternate Plot Seen at E3
When the first trailer for the at-the-time unnamed Prince of Persia 3, it presented a much darker tone, similar to the one in 'Prince of Persia: Warrior Within'. Also shown within this trailer was a slightly altered plot where, Kaileena, instead of being killed by the Vizier, kills herself by jumping off a cliff to unleash the Sands of Time to save the Prince. Also, the Dark Prince had a different appearance, the Amulet of Time was still present on the Prince, a scene where the Dark Prince is fighting Farah, and several other scenes that did not appear in the game were shown in the trailer. It is obvious at some point that Ubisoft changed their minds on how they wanted to take the direction of the game.
[edit] Gameplay
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.
While in Warrior Within the player fights with a sword, in the Two Thrones, much like The Sands of Time, the player fights with the Dagger of Time. As a result the combat is a lot less bloody as the dagger is too short to cut off the heads of his opponents or slice them in half, unless they are weakened first, or attacked in a Speed Kill. The designers have also improved the stealth system. Whereas in the Warrior Within, stealth wasn't an actual gameplay feature but merely an occasional occurrence, stealth can be used excessively in the new game in lieu of normal fighting. Instead of merely being able to do more damage when striking without being seen, The Two Thrones uses a speed-kill system. The system is a lot like the system used in the God of War for boss battles and allows the Prince to quickly and quietly kill off any enemy not aware of his presence. If the player does not complete the speed kill, the enemy knocks him off and the speed kill fails. It is very useful at times where there is a sand portal, in which the player has the opportunity to kill the portal commander and neutralize the chance of enemy reinforcements coming. The amount of moves or the length of time required depends on how strong the opponents are. However, because of this system, the strangle option as featured in the Warrior Within has been removed. The same system is also used in some of the boss battles. On the other hand, as the prince's personality appears less sadistic and violent than in Warrior Within, the free form fighting system is rather more limited, with the prince not being able to jump off enemies or rebound off a wall when in the air.
Another change in the gameplay is the fact that every boss needs a specific strategy in order to be beaten, while in the previous games it required nothing more than effective fighting, adding to the variety of the game.
Furthermore, the Prince takes control of a chariot twice in the game, radically changing the gameplay for a small period of time, where the player has to reach his goal without crashing or being killed by the sand creatures, which try to throw him off.
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 opens medium range combat moves (like pulling an enemy closer, then slashing them) and new interactions with the environment (such as swinging off poles to reach a ledge). The Dark Prince also constantly loses health as a result of the semi-transformation, much like the Sand Wraith from Warrior Within but 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. The Prince returns to normal after the player comes in contact with water.
The game itself is relatively short, with players of an average skill level able to complete a single story mode in about ten hours. Compared to the other games of the series, it has a more complex gameplay but less violence than Warrior Within and has a more "cinematic" style, due to the impressive speed kills, the variety of gameplay and the usage of slow motion, which was introduced in Warrior Within.
[edit] Development and production
The developers of The Two Thrones stated that they were aiming to make the game an equal blend of Ubisoft's two previous Prince of Persia titles. The first game, The Sands of Time, was relatively light in mood, while the second, Warrior Within, was significantly more dark and grim.
Yuri Lowenthal was confirmed to reprise his role as the voice actor for the Prince. Yuri was also the voice actor for the Prince in The Sands of Time. The Dark Prince was voiced by Rick Miller. Stuart Chatwood and Inon Zur, the composers from Warrior Within, both returned to compose the game's score, which has been described as "having Persian influences, but being much more epic than Sands of Time".
Many official videos were released involving humor, such as the bloopers of the mechanics (in a pre-rendered format) and "real-life" training.
[edit] Criticism and software bugs
An apparent software bug in Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones is the inability to invert the y-axis of up-down movement in the game's navigational view for players choosing to use a mouse as an input device. A setting in the game is included to do so, but does not have the desired effect.[1][2] The developers have also decided to use the Starforce drivers as its copy prevention system, for which they have received some criticism.[3][4] However, later versions of the game, including a special edition which includes the entire trilogy, have been released without Starforce.
[edit] Names in other countries
The game was released as:
- Prince of Persia: I Due Troni (Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones) in Italy
- Prince of Persia 3: Les deux royaumes (Prince of Persia 3: The Two Kingdoms) in France,
- Prince of Persia: Las Dos Coronas (Prince of Persia: The Two Crowns) in Spain
- Prince of Persia: Dwa Trony (Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones) in Poland.
- Принц Персии: Два Трона (Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones) in Russia.
- Принцът на Персия: Двата Трона (Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones) in Bulgaria.
- Prince of Persia: Cele doua tronuri (Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones) in Romania
- Putera dari Parsi: Dua Takhta (Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones) in Malaysia
- Pärsia Prints: Kaks Trooni (Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones) in Estonia
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Prince of Persia: Rival Swords official home page
- Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones at Ubisoft
- Gamespot movie index for The Two Thrones
- Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones at MobyGames
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