By now, most of us know the story of Prince of Persia. The first game rocked, with excellent graphics and inspired platforming action, while the second game rocked... literally, with an overdose of loud rock music and a transformed protagonist who seemed more interested in revenge than in doing the right thing. Although the sequel offered equally fluid platforming sequences and a badly needed combat makeover, some fans of the series couldn't deal with the stark shift in attitude. That's where the third game comes in, because The Two Thrones manages to mix in both styles and ultimately serves as a sort of apology (and explanation) to forsaken fans. The incredible part, though, is that the mending happens entirely within the context of the story, which still manages to provide complete closure to the entire series. It's quite an accomplishment to go along with what is still an entertaining gameplay formula.

Prince's dark, vengeful, violent side has been given its own voice within his head. It's quite talkative, too, offering congratulations after battle and condemnation whenever Prince opts to help others in need. Prince and his dark ego even argue and bicker, and these internal dialogues are acted out by capable voice actors even while you are playing the game. At scripted points during the journey, the alter ego manifests physically as the Dark Prince, whose trademark weapon, the Daggertail, will be familiar to fans of Sony's God of War. This bladed chain serves to mow down enemies and grapple across otherwise impossible gaps. Dark Prince also requires sand to live, as his health continuously depletes. During combat, this requirement is simply not an issue, because every enemy and every breakable item will produce sand to replenish the health meter (and sand tanks, which power a few special moves). But the drain can be a real problem during extended platforming sections, especially if you tend to stop and think about how to proceed rather than push on and fix hasty mistakes with the Rewind power. After a few minutes of frantic slashing and swinging, you'll always find a pool of water to return Prince to his normal self. Overall, the Dark Prince is a cool feature that plays well into both the story and gameplay, and the transformations are occasional enough to feel like a special treat and not like an attempt to undermine the basic style of the game.

The other big new feature is speed kills, which are short, RE4-style scenes that guarantee an enemy's death if you can press the B button at very precise times. Speed kills can only be performed on an unaware victim, so you have to sneak up from behind or above. The game's enemies are dumb, so there is no heavy planning needed... just pay attention to the level design and look for a way to get the drop on the enemies. Except in boss battles, the use of speed kills is entirely optional, so you are always free to just run in and fight the old fashioned way. There are plenty of enemies which cannot be speed killed, so you'll need to learn to fight anyway. This game uses the same freestyle combat engine as Warrior Within, which is still very good, if overrated. Large battles tend to take place at sand portals, as in the first two games, but you can minimize the length of the fight by taking out certain enemies first (a process which can include speed kills), so a little strategy tends to make these sequences far less irritating than in the past.

As always, story plays an integral role in the game, and The Two Thrones delivers a good plot with brilliantly developed, memorable characters. The game begins with Prince and Kaileena sailing into Babylon, the home Prince has not seen in seven years. Yes, finally a Prince of Persia game that actually takes place in Persia! But Babylon is under siege by an unknown army, and Prince soon learns that his actions during the second game have reversed much of what transpired in the first game... leading to the return of some long-lost characters. I won't spoil the rest, but the ensuing journey to the Babylonian palace is an eventful one which will especially please fans of the first game in the series. Major scenes are punctuated with CG movies, impressively produced but quite grainy thanks to compression for the GameCube version.

The in-game graphics are clean and striking, both technically and artistically. Prince is perfectly animated, and both of his character models look great. This series has always had fantastically sharp textures, which is quite important considering how much time you spend looking at walls and ledges. The lighting effects are also eye-catching, though the environments in The Two Thrones are not as spectacular as the elaborate gardens and mechanical towers in The Sands of Time. The real disappointment, however, is in the frequent frame rate stuttering, which can happen in large, open areas or when several enemies attack at once, which is often. The game is so fluid and believable otherwise that it's really sad to be pulled out of your reverie by the screen coughing and chugging. Nevertheless, this is a beautiful game with a wide variety of locales to show off, including a mind-blowing, psychedelic area in the spirit of Psychonauts.

But enough of the comparisons to other games. The Two Thrones strives hard to complete the Prince's saga, and it succeeds in every possible way. Despite some questionable style elements in the middle chapter, the Prince of Persia trilogy is a remarkable achievement, a trio of great games that tell an interesting story and provide tons of old-school platforming, all within a single hardware generation. Yet, each game is rather distinctive. The Two Thrones aims to please fans of both previous episodes, and it does exactly that, without falling into the trap of being one big, compromised mess. Rather, it's a fun and satisfying adventure with the perfect balance of each style. This game comes highly recommended, especially to fans who passed on Warrior Within or played it but were dissatisfied.

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