Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones Review

Anannya Sen’s Review

The latest instalment of the Prince Of Persia series, or POP as we call it and this one is a classic.

Way back in the annals of history one of the first games we ever reviewed here at Mobile Game Faqs was Prince of Persia ?? the Sands of Time. It was a mark of how good games were at the time and the latest version based on the console game Prince of Persia 3 ?? The Two Thrones, is no exception. The game is stunning to look at and great fun to play.

Firstly the visuals which have really taken things to a new level. The introduction and main title pic are beautifully drawn and full of colour which makes complete use of as much processing power as your phone has. I thought that if the intro graphics were this good, there was no way the game could match up but it does, and very easily. The main characters are well animated and have a look and feel akin to SNK fighting characters (from KOF and AOF series??). The detail on the backgrounds is great and the use of colour really gives the game a superb atmosphere. In between levels the still pics of the Prince and the girls requiring rescue (which are probably suited for FHM and other lads magazines or adult anime) will have you realising that the future of mobile gaming looks good. Although I??ve briefly mentioned it, I have to touch upon the animation again. This game is about acrobatics. We all remember the cool swinging and running along walls but now the Prince and his alter ego really do moves that Spider-man or Batman would be proud of. The running up walls, somersaulting from pole to pole and hand gliding down ropes are stunning and the fighting moves are getting to be along the lines of those SNK games I mentioned earlier with combos and death moves!

The sound is probably the weakest aspect of the game, although it??s not bad. The main tune when you load the game up is really well made and very Arabian sounding. The tune plays a little when you start the levels but unfortunately doesn??t continue or loop, although this is a problem that many developers are trying to get around. There are some sound effects in game, but these are limited to some slashes and blocking sounds, although the tones when you select options from the menus I could do without. If the main tune had looped in game with a volume option and there were some more sound effects, maybe for the acrobatics, it would have been perfect.

The controls are simple and complex at the same time. You can use the D or key pad and there are full instructions as well as hints in game so don??t worry about remembering them at first. The basic directional movement is there with 2 as a jump and 1 and 3 as diagonal jumps. If you keep running at a wall, ie the wall is on your left and you keep pressing left, you??ll run up it a little and jump off. To wall run use 1 or 3. When rope climbing, use 2 to flip up to avoid objects. Combat is simple with the 5 button your main slashing option, you can also use the 2 button to block or jump over people to attack from behind. There are combos depending on how many times you pressed 5 and when the opponent is grounded, use 5 to finish them. For the Dark Prince the controls are similar, although 2 and 5 will use his chain which is really cool and he has special chain attacks but pressing 8 then 5. He can??t flip over people but can roll under them with 8 and has even cooler death moves than the main Prince. Aerial and hanging attacks are all there with 5 and you can even ride someone??s head and chop it off. Whew! Sounds difficult but don??t worry, you are led through them like a baby.

It??s a long review as all the POP reviews are, but there??s so much to say. The playability is fantastic as the game really feels like a 16 bit or arcade game at times. The levels are enjoyable to play and the acrobatics and slashing really cool. It??s not all simple stuff either as there are Indiana Jones style massive boulders to contend with and chariot races as well. And as for the last few levels, I??ll leave them as a surprise. Having 2 main characters with different moves in a mobile phone game shows how much potential these games have. Both characters are great to play and the stunning graphics combine to make this a really cool experience. The plot and the pics of the girls (wah wah wah) between do keep you interested and the final levels are really fun to play. The combos and death moves and gravity defying antics haven??t been better in a phone yet.

The lastability is not quite as good. There are 8 levels which do take a while to complete. The game autosaves at the end of each level and there are checkpoints within each level. You can continue the game from your last checkpoint while playing although the number of continues that you use will be part of your overall score for the level. If you exit the game and come back in then you have to start at the start of your last level. Each level has 2 difficulty settings and you get a score at the end of each level which you can try and better. One cool feature is that you get a survival mode which is a set level where you can run and jump around and try to stay alive and kill as many enemies as you can. Again this has a high score element. The game can be suspended and resumed but unfortunately is only one player and as yet I don??t think you can play as the Dark Prince on survival mode. Still, the game is so much fun that I??m going to play it through again on hard to see what happens!

Another excellent game from Gameloft, they rarely go wrong and in this version have highlighted just what a mobile phone is capable of. If you like these sorts of games, this one??s for you!

We are becoming harsher here at Mobile Game Faqs hence the 91 score but this means the game is really head and shoulders above the competition!