For the final time in the Sands of Time trilogy, TVG returns to Ancient Babylon...

The various instalments in the Prince of Persia Sands of Time trilogy has been one of the staple titles in the run up to the last couple of Christmases, and this year is no different with the release of the swansong game in the series, The Two Thrones. Set in the weeks after the Prince's escapades in previous title Warrior Within, The Two Thrones follows the titular character on his return to Babylon with new love, Kaileena - the former Empress of Time. It seems that by resisting the urge to kill Kaileena and destroy the amulet on the Island of Time at the end of the second game the Prince has created a new timeline, which tells of the fall of Babylon and the death of the former Empress at the hands of long time enemy, Vizier (last seen being killed by the Prince at the end of Sands of Time.) A confusing paradox the likes of which hasn't been seen since the days of Back to the Future II, we're sure you'd agree...

As with Warrior Within, Two Thrones features a range of new gameplay elements, ranging from diagonal wall jumps, the so-called 'Speed Kill' system, and of course the appearance of the Dark Prince, a manifestation of the 'Light' Prince's negative personality traits and actions. Emerging as a result of the Sands of Time re-released when Kaileena is murdered, the Dark Prince offers a further level of depth to the gameplay, not least because of the personality's reliance on collecting the sands to replenish his constantly decreasing health. Adding such a new element could have been frustrating to the player, and whilst the gathering of sand (usually from the corpses of enemies) still presents a challenge there does seem to be careful balance to ensure that frustration levels are kept in check. As well as continuing the evolution of the series, the race against time to gather the sands is also a nod to the very first Prince of Persia game at the end of 1980s, where time was very much of the essence. The Prince's more demonic alter-ego has enhanced abilities over the so-called 'Light' Prince namely speed, strength, and agility - not to mention a rather nasty spiky chained weapon called the DaggerTail, which he uses to swing across areas and drag objects towards him.

A trademark of the series, the fluidity of the acrobatic animations is once again of the highest quality, with the Prince capable of Olympic standard manoeuvres and like previous instalments, the execution of the moves by the player are straightforward. Subtle changes have been made to the wide camera view with the developers making the system context sensitive to the various environmental puzzles, indicated by an icon.

Speaking of puzzles, the environments of Bablyon continue where the previous titles left off, with the Prince constantly finding himself running, jumping, balancing, sliding, and swinging through his war torn princedom. Combat is once again easy enough at its most basic level, but the game has quite a deep combo system, which enables the Prince and his alter-ego to execute a significant number of attacks in any given situation. Making use of these combos isn't essential however, and players may find it satisfying enough just to use the same techniques to destroy enemies. However the so-called 'free form' combat is very much a last resort in Two Thrones thanks to the integration of the new Speed Kill system into the game.

Essentially a system that allows enemies to be killed with greater effect and decisiveness, Speed Kill is certainly a technique that should be used when play is with the Light Prince since the opponents in Two Thrones are more formidable than in past title. Whereas fighting sequences in the previous Prince of Persia games broke up the flow of the acrobatics and puzzle solving, the Speed Kill system adds a new dimension of puzzle solving and actually helps with the maintaining a flowing fluid experience. To utilise the system, the Prince must be stealthy and unseen by the target; the screen begins to warp as he moves closer. Only then can players initiate a Speed Kill, which relies on pressing a button when the Prince's dagger flares, or rapid button presses when the Dark Prince begins to garrotte with the DaggerTail. Timing is especially important at these stages, with the enemies given time to react to the attack if the buttons aren't pressed at the right times.

One feature prevalent throughout the trilogy has been the powers of the Sands themselves, and The Two Thrones is no exception with the ability to (amongst other things) turn back up to 10 seconds of time useful on more than one occasion. Unlike Warrior Within (but very much like Sands of Time) the Prince doesn't have access to these powers from the beginning, however Two Thrones does utilise a fairly consistent checkpoint and saving system that should stave off any frustration from player mistakes. Obviously the ability to use these powers efficiently is an important aspect of the gameplay in Prince of Persia, and like the previous instalments, just as important is the replenishment of the sands, which can be found in various chests, pots (and the corpses of slain enemies.)

Whilst the introduction of the Dark Prince has added an extra layer of depth, the game remains very linear, with the transformations between the Prince and the Dark Prince (and vice versa) scripted and pre-planned. Continuing with the theme that sand and water doesn't mix, the Dark Prince reverts back to the 'Light' Prince when he comes into contact with the wet stuff, whereas a negative emotional waterfall of anger causes the darker alter-ego to emerge. What's most interesting is that when TVG was first introduced to Prince of Persia 3 (as it was back in April 2005), the Dark Prince would emerge when the Prince came into contact with fire, with Ubi keen to keep the method of transforming back to the normal Prince a secret. That was only eight months ago, and such a dramatic change in game design must have been the cause of much stress during the course of the year in both Montreal and Casablanca studios.

Acting as a break to the puzzle solving and yet ensuring that the flow and pace of the game is kept, the Chariot sequences were one aspect that when initially announced, I for one wondered whether it was the right move to make. Though short, the sequences are action packed with the Prince having to fight off rival chariots and boarding enemies through the streets of Babylon. Inter cut with the gameplay, short cutscenes of the chariot running other chariots into walls or making leaps, help to build the tension without getting in the way. After playing Two Thrones, my initial scepticism on the chariots has been alleviated with the reality being that I rather enjoyed them.

With all these additions being made to the game, there's a couple of elements from Warrior Within that have actually been taken out for Two Thrones. Most notable of these is the absence of chugging rock music, which certainly irritated a fair share of POP fans; instead the return of Arabic influenced audio will undoubtedly please. Both voice actors of the Prince in the previous instalments make their mark in Two Thrones, with the Sands of Time's Yuri Lowenthal returning to voice the Light Prince and Warrior Within's Robin Atkin-Downes switching to play the Dark Prince. In this respect it's one way for Ubisoft to explain the darker personality of the Prince in the previous instalment regardless of whether they'd planned the three game story arc or not.