Prince of Persia Universe

[Katarn07]

The Sands of Time (SoT) is one of my all time favorite games. It's unique way of story telling and the beautiful locations mixed with clever puzzle solving and somewhat drab yet addictive combat made for a great game.

 

Warrior Within (WW) wasn't too great. Truth be told, I never even beat the stupid thing. The way it's done with the forced dark atmospheres, the change in the Prince's attitude and the world around him were some terrible choices. I found combat, the little I played, to be a confusing and too hard to pull off combos. And the music? Don't get me started on how terrible that was.

 

The Two Thrones (T2T), however, looks amazing. It appears to take both Sands of Time and Warrior Within and put their stories together along with their best elements in to one amazing game. I don't expect the magic of the original, but it does look to be an improvement on Warrior Within's whole atmosphere.

 

Anyone here that plays T2T, be sure to post your thoughts on it along with your thoughts on WW. I lent WW to a friend. He didn't beat it, but he played far more than me. He agrees SoT is much better, but he said it's still a good game. I may have to give it a second chance.

 

And since I don't have a PSP, I won't comment on the WW remake for that. Instead, I'll just show you this if you haven't seen it already. I for one think it looks intriguing. I don't play CCG, but I have played some miniatures games in which you customize your squads and have the stat cards so I don't think it could be too different than that. I'll wait for a review and some hands on articles before I even really think about purchasing it.

 

EDIT - Heh, there is a hands on preview at GameSpot. I'll have to add Battles of Prince of Persia and T2T to my rather small Xmas list. I asked for SoT and WW last year without really playing them so I don't feel I was cheated outta money for owning WW. I'll have to play this DS game first, then WW and T2T for the whole chronological order thing I suppose.

[Kain]

I got T2T the day it came out...which was Wensday. All I gotta say is OMFG ITS ****ING AWESOME!!! I own all the ones for PS2 and this is really the one that caps them all off. Get it ASAP

[swphreak]

I played WW for awhile, but with all the time travelling, you'd need a PhD in Back to the Future to understand it. I took it back and traded it in for another game. I agree, the first one was better.

[Boba Rhett]

I just paid my college bill..... someone send me money so I can get T2T!

[Darth Groovy]

I been reading up on that Prince Of Persia PSP version that is coming out. PSP still has a lack of games to choose from, but that one looks pretty. I have never played a POP game, but it looks fun. Should I just start with Sands Of Time and go in the order they were released?

[BongoBob]

My god I want to play T2T so freakin bad

[Katarn07]

I been reading up on that Prince Of Persia PSP version that is coming out. PSP still has a lack of games to choose from, but that one looks pretty. I have never played a POP game, but it looks fun. Should I just start with Sands Of Time and go in the order they were released?

 

Definately go in order. When they call this a trilogy, they mean it. The stories are all dependant on one another and T2T is actually a continuation of an alternate ending to WW so even those who beat it once may be confused I read. I'll do it the way T2T calls for I suppose.

[Kain]

Man, I just had this huge review written up and my ****in IE crashed. So I'll post my grades

 

SoT:A-

WW:A-

T2T:A

[toms]

Sands of Time is one of the best games of all time. period.

 

A lot of it's charm came from its unique presentation and genius way of telling the story... so when they chuched all that out to make it ful of teenage angst and boost the combat (in a game that was never about combat) I took offence and refused to get Warrior Within.

 

In anticipation that they might have gone back to their roots for T2T I've picked up a 2nd hand copy of WW now, but i haven't quite gotten around to playing it yet. 2 more levels of Deadly Shadows to go, then i'll crack open the Warrior Within and see if they've wrecked it beyond recognition, or if the cool bits still manage to shine through.

 

The PSP is basically a remake of WW, so i wouldn't go out of my way for that one.

 

Its sweet that they've got the original SoT voice actor back... shows that even they realise they messed up with WW.

[Katarn07]

Playing through WW for the first time and going in with low expectations, it is quite good. The Prince isn't as likeable and no, that doesn't work for the story at all. I just wanna know how to end it with the alternate ending so I can jump right into T2T no problem

[Mike Windu]

I hated Sands of Time because of the repetitive combat.

 

I'm not much of a puzzle person, so I figure the game wasn't for me. Video game puzzles are just.... meh to me. I can't keep interest in them, and usually just look at a guide to pass through it.

[Katarn07]

I hated Sands of Time because of the repetitive combat.

 

I'm not much of a puzzle person, so I figure the game wasn't for me. Video game puzzles are just.... meh to me. I can't keep interest in them, and usually just look at a guide to pass through it.

 

Combat in WW is better than in SoT, but still repetitious. I love the puzzles in these games. There was one in SoT I loathe. One of the first biggies: activating the palace's securtiy system. It's all trial and error for me. But all the others, including the mirror chamber which took me quite some time to get past, were fun. And the story in SoT is one of my favs ever!

[Kain]

Playing through WW for the first time and going in with low expectations, it is quite good. The Prince isn't as likeable and no, that doesn't work for the story at all. I just wanna know how to end it with the alternate ending so I can jump right into T2T no problem

 

Get all the life upgrades. You'll know if you did it right or not because at the very end of the game you'll be presented with the Water Sword(the water becomes very relevant early in the game).

 

And the only reason WW combat would become repetative would be if you mashed the same button combo every fight. I found a table with all the possible combos on it and its friggin huge.

[MTV2]

im waiting for a trilogy set...and they better come out w/ a trilogy for POP

[Kain]

im waiting for a trilogy set...and they better come out w/ a trilogy for POP

 

And if they don't?

[abespam]

i haven't yet finished WW, but yeh its quite below par when compared to SoT. The combat is fine and i suppose it looks better than SoT but every other element in a video game was inferior to SoT.

 

This alternate ending in WW is that the other opening for T2T? I just want to know because theres no way im gonna get every life meter, and i'd prefer to know all of the story of WW before starting the T2T.

[Kain]

i haven't yet finished WW, but yeh its quite below par when compared to SoT. The combat is fine and i suppose it looks better than SoT but every other element in a video game was inferior to SoT.

 

This alternate ending in WW is that the other opening for T2T? I just want to know because theres no way im gonna get every life meter, and i'd prefer to know all of the story of WW before starting the T2T.

 

In the beginning of T2T the voice over says(not an exact quote mind you)

 

...most believe that the Prince returned alone; the amulet destroyed, the empress dead, the Dahaka appeased. But this is not what happened. The truth is the Prince saved the empress from her destiny and returned with her to Babylon...

 

So it basically tells you that if you didn't get the alternate(or as most call it, the REAL ending), that you ****ing blew it

 

And its not hard to get all the Health Upgrades. Just goto like GameFAQs or something. Especially since everyone but me seems to have some sort of angst against WW and doesn't want to play it...

[TiE23]

I only played PoP:SoT

I still really want to get WW, has been that way for awhile.

 

Edit: Real life PoP! http://www.thatvideosite.com/view/1266.html

[Kain]

I only played PoP:SoT

I still really want to get WW, has been that way for awhile.

 

Edit: Real life PoP! http://www.thatvideosite.com/view/1266.html

 

That movie hurt my feelings.

[toms]

Penny arcade have done a comic that apparently recaps some of the story leading up to T2T... but i can't access it right now.

Link from this page: http://www.penny-arcade.com/2005/12/07

[MTV2]

And if they don't?

if the don't, i'll walk up(or phone) Ubisoft and say "Hey, make a trilogy for Prince of Persia. Everyone will love it, all 3 games in one! it's like an orgy in a box!"

[Katarn07]

I got Battles of Prince of Persia for the DS and am loving it. It shows a nice transformation of the young, innocent Prince of SoT and how he transforms into the dark, brooding warrior in WW.

 

And I only found two life upgrades. I got them all in SoT so I'm sure I can find them all in this one. I'll double check the FAQ just in case I did miss one.

[toms]

Playing through WW for the first time and going in with low expectations, it is quite good. The Prince isn't as likeable and no, that doesn't work for the story at all. I just wanna know how to end it with the alternate ending so I can jump right into T2T no problem

 

How you getting on with Warrior Within?

I finally got around to starting it last night and so far i've only sworn at the monitor about 100 times.

 

Its like they designed the first 15 minutes of the game to be the worst and most annoying they could possibly be, in order to drive away as many people as possible.

 

Menus are very generic and lacking charm, but the music doesn't seem as intrusive as i feared.

 

Opening CGi not bad but a bit long.

 

Then a stupid annoying cut scene on a boat with a half naked bimbo out of an S&M movie.

 

First boat level sucks. Graphically it looks worse than SoT and its just running down linear corridoors (not even climbing or jumping - did they forget it was a PoP game??). then you get an evil boss battle with no rewind... and find out that this much vaunted new combat system is actually completely pants... try anything clever and you get cut down, so just block and repeat the same 2 combos over and over again.

 

After dying in that boss battle several times by trying to be clever, and each time having to replay a boring part of the boat level, and sit through an unskippable cut scene I turn the console off in frustration.

 

That bimbo can't act, and hearing her say " you will never reach our shores alive" may be one of the most annoying things ever invented.

 

Few minutes later I decide I WONT ACCEPT DEFEAT and load it back up, only to find the 5 minute CGi is unskippable too... so I go and make a drink while it plays out.

 

This rock music has become very annoying when you hear it over and over again.

 

Finally beat the annoying bimbo after using cheap repetetive tactics. (Yay!)

Only funny bit is when the prince calls her a b*tch, which is exactly what i was saying at the time. Not exactly in character though.

 

Finally get to the proper game. And its nearly as good as SoT so far, as soon as you get into the platforming and attempting to find a route through a room the underlying magic shines through.

 

Graphics seem better now they are back to doing big buildings.

 

Changing secondary weapons appears entirely pointless so far.

 

Combat seems no better than SoT so far, except they have placed combat within the platforming, whereas SoT wisely kept them seperated. This increases the annoyance factor somewhat.

 

I'm pissed that they have dumped the excellent narration style of SoT, especially the "no wait, that isn't what happened".

 

Whoever voice acts the bimbo is terrible. The new prince is rather dull.

 

I gain a "sand power" for no obvious reason. huh?? In SoT the prince could control time because he had the dagger... here it is totally unexplained.

 

Still, it seems to be looking up now i've got the ability to rewind time and i've actually got to the real game.

 

(PS/ Battles of PoP has been getting terrible reviews.. averaging around the 4/10 mark.)

[BongoBob]

Well I just picked up WW from my cousin for a couple bucks, and mostly agree with toms. But how do you get the alternate ending?

[Katarn07]

To address toms' rant.

 

Yes, I agree the 'training mission,' music, menus, and early boss level all suck. I got past that first try with difficulty but pressed on. Then I got to this bird man and was confused as hell what that was. I realize it's a semiregular enemy you face here and there. After I beat him, I slid down the curtain and died without the rewind.

 

This time through, I replayed that. I still hate the menus and music (turned the music down to one notch) and it annoys me how quiet the voices are and how loud the screams are.

 

The game does return to its platforming roots once you go back in time once. And as for that thonged bimbo?

 

 

You get to kill her soon enough, but it's a bit harder since you must stop her once and a while from trying to kill Kaileena and the area around you is a bottomless pit. Make sure she doesn't toss you over it

.

 

And as for turning back time without the dagger, remember Farah's medallion protected her from turning into a sandwraith just as the dagger did the Prince and the staff did the Vizier. Basically, the Prince must manipulate Farah's medallion (that's what the HUD is) he received from her at the end of the first game. I'm just pumped to see she's back for the third one! She's the true one for the Prince, not Kaileena

 

Battles of Prince of Persia only has one official review and that's from IGN. 5.5 outta 10? I didn't read the review but I disagree with that. If you like tactical RPGs, you'll be able to enjoy it. The CCG aspect is a bit.... odd. It makes things a bit more interesting though since the hand cards are randomized. Very difficult at times and it makes the sessions a lot longer than you'd expect from a handheld game. The first level was only 15+ minutes. The last level I played, 12 or so, took me over an hour. That's not counting the hour I wasted in failing it several times.