PS3 Review – Prince of Persia Trilogy HD

Moving on to Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, we see the culmination of all the Prince has learned as his adventure comes full circle. Returning to Babylon after ridding himself of the merciless pursuit of the Dahaka, the Prince discovers his homeland under attack by an invading army. Shortly into the game it’s discovered that the Vizier, thought to be defeated, never has been due to changes made in the timeline during Warrior Within. When the Prince realizes this is all a result of his actions he sets out to correct them, but in the process the terror of the Sands of Time are unleashed on the city, and he suffers corruption in the process which brings out his darker side, known as the Dark Prince.

The Dark Prince brings most of the new elements found within The Two Thrones. With a separate personality in the same body, the Prince argues with his dark side throughout the game, and from time to time changes into a dark form against his will. While taking on this dark form life slowly drains, but is healed by sands collected, which are generally plentiful in these situations. A new chain whip called the Daggertail is affixed to the Dark Prince’s alternate hand, which lets him swing across large gaps and extend his wall runs by quite a bit. It also makes for a powerful new weapon, but unfortunately it turns out it’s not the most fun to fight with, since cheap button mashing swings it around enough to destroy anything in range. It still manages to mix up combat a bit, especially since you’ll be collecting a lot of sands and can really put your powers to good use throughout these portions. Despite the Dark Prince’s presence in this round, The Two Thrones retains a lighter atmosphere during the game, with brighter outdoor areas, and colorful, sometimes humorous, commentary between the two polar personalities, which is refreshing after finishing Warrior Within.

While in his normal form, the Prince also has access to other new acrobatic abilities, and a new stealth mechanic. The stealth mechanic in particular is especially interesting, injecting new life into the series for approaching a situation. When approaching an unaware enemy from behind, blurring on the edges of the screen indicate the ability to initiate a speed kill. Speed kills dispatch enemies silently through a QTE sequence where the player is required to tap square the instant the Prince’s dagger flashes bright white. If pulled off successfully entire battle scenarios can be avoided by dispatching an entire squad this way, but in many instances failure will result in reinforcements incoming and a full scale assault on the Prince. As you progress this combines well with the Prince’s new skills that lend him further mobility, such as vaulting off walls at an angle thanks to springboards, or catching himself by stabbing his dagger into wall plates, since it allows you to maneuver around unsuspecting enemies for the perfect spot to strike from.

The game’s layout returns to the entirely linear form from Sands of Time, where you progressively move through areas towards your goal of the tower the Vizier has taken refuge in. A lack of collectible items, far less weapons to find, and much fewer health upgrades mean there’s very little reason to spend much time exploring the environment, which is a bit of a shame considering the effort that went into the detail of the surrounding architecture. Instead, all unlockables come after beating the game, in the form of cheat codes for secret weapons, and art galleries and video galleries. There’s also fewer sand powers this time around, with all the damaging powers reduced to one knock back explosion instead. Overall though, The Two Thrones makes the best transition of the series to the HD realm, with virtually no new audio or visual glitches appearing, and already having the best graphics in the series. Of the three though, the difference between this version and the original is definitely the least noticeable.

Something to note about this collection is the fact that the entire series is now 3D compatible, but lack of access to a 3D TV prevents me from commenting on how well this does or does not work. Besides that, each entry is available for sale separately over the PlayStation Store, so anyone interested in just one particular game can grab that instead. Buying the collection on disc is likely to save you money, as well give a complete story line, but it’s still nice to have the option of getting just the parts you like. If making that choice, get Sands of Time for a great story line and narrative, get Warrior Within for the pinnacle of the series’ combat and level design, or get The Two Thrones for the most acrobatic platforming scenarios, and some stealth action.

Prince of Persia Trilogy HD gives gamers a great opportunity to experience a classic series which has shaped the way we think about action platforming to this very day. Many games still imitate the groundwork laid here, and still fall short of accomplishing the same appeal, especially with respect to platforming mechanics. As a result, having all three games repackaged together in HD format makes for a great product with over 30 hours of gameplay, and at just $40/£29.99 MSRP is still an incredible value. Newcomers to the series have a great adventure awaiting them, and past fans will have a nostalgic time while collecting 3 platinum trophies for reliving the experience. While the graphical upgrade is quite good, it doesn’t make an enormous difference in the experience, so it’s hard to recommend a purchase if you still own the collection for PS2. Otherwise, this is the best way to experience Prince of Persia, since it offers more fun and challenge than 2008’s entry, and more depth of character, replayability, and game length than last year’s Forgotten Sands. Any way you slice it, these are still great classic games worth owning.

PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score



+ Fun Time Manipulation Powers

+ Acrobatic Platforming and Combat

+ 3 Games In 1 Packs Great Length & Value

– Wrestling With the Camera

– Infrequent Sound Glitches

8 out of 10

<< Previous Page

TRENDING