“You were supposed to
die.”
Prince of Persia the Sands of Time was
well known for its, great sound, great game play, unique story progression and
for its Persian inspired themes. So, naturally, when thinking about a sequel
there was only one thing that could make a great game even better: GodSmack. I’ll
just let that sink in. Oddly enough the song seems to work with the darker tone
of the game but it still feels strange to have it play in the game, and it does
play. After the first few times, however, it just becomes background music, and
when you hear it, you know you better start moving.
There
are a few things this game does right and a whole lot it doesn’t. As the sequel
to one of the greatest games in history there are bound to be a few hiccups.
One of the first things you’ll notice upon playing the game is that the enemies
speak. This is fine and all but when they only have three lines to choose from
they get old very fast. One of the more aggravating enemies in the game even
exclaims “The pain is exquisite,” as you slice her in half. Really though,
developers, if you are going to pay to have someone say lines, then have them
make up some as they go along. Don’t just give them six lines to say and call
it a day. I mean really tell me this isn’t annoying:
“He’s the one the Empress wants dead.”
“Help me with this.”
“Send for reinforcements.”
“He’s the one the Empress wants dead.”
“Help me with this.”
“Send for reinforcements.”
“He’s the one the Empress wants dead.”
“Help me with this.”
“Send for reinforcements.”
“He’s the one the Empress wants dead.”
“Help me with this.”
“Send for reinforcements.”
“He’s the one the Empress wants dead.”
“Help me with this.”
“Send for reinforcements.”
I think you get the picture. Before we get into the other
aspects of the game let’s introduce the characters. There are five people to
watch out for this time, as opposed to the first game, where there were only
three.
Characters
The first of these characters is
the Prince, pictured above, voiced in this game by Robin Atkins Down (Luxard in
“Kingdom Hearts 2”), who is a much more hardened character. The game proves it
by having him call someone a “bitch” in the first five minutes of the game. It
also likes to remind you by having him scream out at random for random reasons.
It kind of makes him sound as if he is constipated. This may be the case
though, as the Prince is being chased by a creature known as the Dahaka. This
beast won’t let him sleep, it won’t let him eat, or bathe, or even stop long
enough to use the restroom. Also conspicuously absent from this game is the
companionship. In the first game he had Farah to talk to while solving puzzles.
Even when he was alone he talked to himself about what Farah had said or done.
In this game the Prince just yells “Next” at enemies even if he is nowhere near
defeating them. When he is solving puzzles the most you’ll get out of him is
screaming. As you face the Empress mid game he says to her “I’ve been thinking
. . .” every time I see that scene I wonder at what point he stopped screaming
at nothing and when he started thinking and why I did not hear anything about
his proposal until this moment.
Shadee
voiced by Alicyn Packard is a dominatrix in the company of the Empress of Time.
Why does the Empress need a dominatrix you ask? Well other than to kill the
prince, Shadee also acts as a conscience to the Empress of Time. Naturally of
course, the Empress does not listen and proceeds to try and defy her fate. In
the end, Shadee turns on the Empress of Time and it’s up to the Prince to try
and save by killing the Shadee. She has a brief moment later in the game but it
is short lived. After she’s dead, if you return to certain areas of the game
you cans still hear her ghost calling out for your head. It’s a neat affect
that I’m fairly certain was also just lazy development.
Dahaka,
voiced by Richard Dumont, is the monster that keeps the Prince constipated at
all times. He makes it his life mission, in fact. This thing shows up at random
times throughout the game and chases you down hallways. If you fuck up or move
in the wrong direction, even for a second, you are dead. Interestingly though,
when he does speak you cannot understand a thing he says. That is because he
speaks in reverse. If you rewind time after you hear him speak you can hear
what he says. For those of you who really want to know here, just imagine the
song in the background as “I Stand Alone” by Godsmack. Now, as it turns out,
this beast has one weakness, water. How a beast “created” by the Sands of Time
in order to make sure that the timeline remains exactly how it’s supposed to be
has a weakness to water is beyond me. The reason for this is, most likely, so
you can kill him in the” true” end.
Kailina
a.k.a the Empress of Time voiced by Monica Belucci knows she is going to die,
having seen it in the time line. She decides, like the Prince, that she doesn’t
want to die, and so tries to change her fate. That is, perhaps, why the Prince
is so fond of her. So much so, in fact, that at the end of the game he saves
her from the Dahaka and sail off to Persia where her and the Prince “share a
vision” while going at it. Monica Belucci does a splendid job of making the
character sound, somewhat of Persian descent. She is the only one though. While
I can’t speak for the Dahaka, the Prince, Shadee and all the other inhabitants
are American. Actually, the prince is
British, but same thing really. I suppose since this game takes place on the
Island of Time it could be anywhere. Honestly, as much as I complain about it, I
like the voice acting. It just gets irksome when you have to hear the same
thing all the time. That and the producer’s decision to have the Prince yell
and scream at nothing. But I digress. I have no qualms with this game really.
The last of the characters in the
game doesn’t really have any speaking parts, so I’ll put him in further down.
Story
The story is fairly simple. The
Prince, after releasing the Sands of Time in the first game, was supposed to
die. Oddly enough there are several clues to this in the first game. Obviously,
the Prince escaped his fate, so now; he is being hunted by a giant monster with
only one purpose. Kill the Prince. In a moment of respite from the beast the
Prince visits a blind prophet who tells him about the Island of Time. The
Prince sails there only to have his boat destroyed by Shadee. They fight and
the Prince ends up on the shore of the island. Once there, he has to find his
way to the Empress and
kill her. Along
the way he finds that he is not the only one seeking the sands. There is a
black wraith that is following him. You learn why only after the Empress is
dead.
Killing
the Empress in the past releases fulfills the prophecy and releases the Sands
of Time. The Prince realizes this when he meets the Dahaka after Kileena’s death.
In running, he comes across a tomb, presumably his own tomb, the story isn’t
clear, where he finds that there is a mask which will allow him to go back in
time and try again (hence the fifth character, the Wraith). Now this is where
the story splits off. In the original ending, the Prince tricks Kileena into coming
to the present where he kills her and goes home. However, in the game there are
spots to upgrade your health, provided you can get passed the dozens of traps
that await you there. If you do managed to find all the health upgrades, and if
you pick up the water sword in Kileena’s chambers, then you are treated to the “true”
ending in which the Prince tricks Kileena into the present. She is then hunted
by the Dahaka, because she doesn’t belong in the present time line. The Prince,
with his water sword, defeats the monster, and the two of them sail away to
Babylon. The problem with this ending is that it confused a lot of people. Many
people, myself included, missed several of the health upgrade spots in the
original play through, and so got the “other” ending. Fortunately, I read about
the “true” ending and was able to locate many of the health upgrade areas and
see both. Still, very confusing though.
Gameplay
This
game plays much like the first with one major difference. The fighting doesn’t
suck. It’s probably the best in the whole series. Now, that being said, the
fighting still isn’t good. There are some things that the game does right, such
as making different enemies susceptible do different moves so as not to make
the fighting feel stale. Then, there are things the game does just to piss you
off. Like throw an enemy on the wall that you have to attack while you are wall
running or risk dying, using up all you sand, and having to start over. Those
women characters especially, the ones who like pain, are the worst. Not to
mention the exploding dog/ porcupines that won’t stop coming until you destroy
whatever gate the game wants you to destroy. So, yeah, if not for the women and
the exploding dog/ porcupines the game would have really great fighting
mechanics. Alas, that that is not the case.
Then, you have the giant trolls.
They aren’t completely, not fun to fight, but they are very irksome as well.
Once you get onto their back you have to keep an eye out for their hands as
they will try to grab you. Should they do so, they will likely throw you, more
often than not, to your doom. Another thing you will notice is that the game
has blood though you can turn it off if it’s not something you like. My issue with the game is mostly due to the
fighting. As mentioned above, there are several enemies that are just annoying
as Hell. When you are fighting said annoying enemies you are usually fighting
at least three at a time if not more. Often, the game will throw several groups
of enemies at you. It can get very tedious very fast.
One thing that the first game was
lacking was the appearance of boss fights. Well, this game amends that. Mind
you there are only four in the game, but still, there are boss fights. The
first and second are with Shadee. I count them as one because, well, nothing
changes other than setting. The third fight is with Kileena. The third is with some griffon creature after
you get the mask. The final fight, depending on whether you acquired the water
sword, is with Kileena, or the Dahaka. In all honesty, I kind of liked the fact
that there weren’t boss fights in the first game. It made the game feel more
like an upscale Ico. The Warrior Within, feels more like a failed attempt at a Ninja
Gaiden game with a decent story (For more on this subject see Ninja Gaiden 3).
Game Design
One
of the coolest aspects of the game is when you travel between present and past.
There is a really great cut scene that shows the progression of leaves and
vines as they begin to take over, or vis-versa. Of course, after seeing this
scene for the fifth time, it becomes less impressive. Much of the game takes
place between past and present as the Prince goes from area to area. Time
portals allow you to get to places that are unreachable in the present. It’s a
cool concept, accept for one thing. Most of the game takes place inside. There
are a few scenes, specifically in the garden, where you are allowed outside.
That is where the game really shines. The lighting affects in the first game
were beautiful. I loved to just stand there and admire the scenery. The garden,
unfortunately, is the only place where you can do that. The rest of the game
takes place, mostly, within the confines of the Empress’s castle. Not to say
that the castle isn’t beautiful in its own right, but let’s be honest, would
you rather look at a beautiful landscape or a hallway with traps? As for the
characters, they actually look quite good. The Prince’s constipation seems to
have done wonders for his complexion.
To conclude
What can I say about this really?
If you read my first PoP post you will remember the dungeon music that I said
didn’t really fit the game. Well, it’s back. I guess it fits here with the
darker tone of the game, but it’s unfortunate that it’s the only real music in
the game. Sure, you’ll hear a lovely melody as you move through present and
past, and you’ll hear “I Stand Alone” by Godsmack every time the Dahaka chases
you (just the tune fortunately), but still, those are the only pieces of music
that really stand out to me. I can’t recall any other piece of music in the
entirety of the game. It’s a shame,
because the first game had such great music. Now, before I go onto the next
game I would like to point out that there are more Prince of Persia games. A
game called Prince of Persia Revelations and Prince of Persia Rival Swords.
Revelations is Warrior Within, with, maybe, a few extra scenes thrown in. Rival
Swords is the same thing as The Two Thrones, with extra content. That said, I
am not going to do them. Unlike Kingdom Hearts, I cannot bring myself to
torture myself. I had a hard enough time with this and the next game. I don’t
need the pain of trying to play these games on a smaller screen. I did try
Rival Swords and gave up something like halfway through the story when I was
being chased by lava and got to a point where I couldn’t climb up anymore. That
was enough for me. After that, I was fortunate enough to buy Kingdom Hearts
Birth by Sleep. I need no other game for the psp than that.
Well that’s about it for this. On
to the next game . . . . . . . . .
Pictures taken from prince of Persia
wiki, I think. If it is your image and you know it, let me know so that I can
give you credit.
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