The Dark Prince using the Slinky of Death on his enemies.

The Two Thrones is the final installment in the Sands of Time series, and an excellent conclusion to the critically acclaimed and award winning trilogy. Featuring thrilling combat and plenty of enjoyable puzzles, The Two Thrones is sure to delight fans of the series and newcomers alike.

The Two Thrones was my first experience with the new Prince of Persia series, and I was pleasantly surprised that the game did indeed live up to all its hype. The series is known best for its creative mix of puzzle segments intertwined with intense and varied combat. Beautifully designed environments and an interesting and engaging storyline tie everything together into a remarkably well polished experience.

The story begins as the Prince is returning by ship to the city of Babylon with his lover Kaileena, only to find that the city is under siege and the harbor under control of unknown forces. Kaileena is quickly kidnapped and the prince sets off after her in hopes of rescue. Confusion may surround the beginning of the game if you have not played the previous entries in the series, as the characters, locales and history are not explained adequately for gamers new to the series.

As the prince makes his journey through the troubled streets and rooftops of Babylon you are quickly introduced the combat and puzzle system that has made the previous games so popular. The combat is similar to that of Ninja Gaiden, though without the precision and difficulty of the other renowned action series. Standard attacks are made using a series of 2-6 button combos that are relatively simple to execute, as well as special positional moves such as launching from a wall or swinging around a pole. Combat changes slightly when you acquire a temporary secondary weapon from a downed foe that is useful for some more powerful attacks.

New to the combat system in this installment of the series is the speed kill manoeuver, which can be used from a concealed position to quickly eliminate one or more enemies. After beginning the speed kill process the Prince launches towards his prey for a series of 2-5 attacks in which you must quickly press the attack button at certain intervals to correctly complete the kill. Miss an attack and the enemy will repel you and engage you in standard combat. Time the attacks correctly and you are treated with a gory death sequence for all enemies involved. Speed kills are an important part of The Two Thrones, where missed attempts can lead to difficult combat sequences with multiple enemies.

While the combat is both exciting and dynamic, the puzzle sections in The Two Thrones offer some of the more memorable and enjoyable sequences. While the story neglects to mention it, apparently the Prince is half-man and half-monkey. The Prince has truly remarkable acrobatic abilities that include the ability to leap across large gaps, run along walls, hang and jump from ledges, swing from poles and in general get himself to areas which no mortal other than perhaps Jackie Chan himself could reach.

Adventuring through the game becomes more interesting once you unlock the ability to use the Prince's primary power, the ability to control time. With the ability to rewind the action backwards a few seconds at any point, the Prince can often save himself from critical missteps or poor luck. Fall into a bottomless pit? Get your head chopped off accidentally? No problem! Just rewind time back a few seconds to before the event and miraculously avoid the same fate a second time. While sometimes overpowering, the ability is limited in number of uses as you must acquire new "sands of time" to replenish the princes supplies throughout each level.

Perhaps the biggest change for previous fans of the series is the inclusion of the Dark Prince mode. At certain points throughout the game, the prince will transform into his alter-ego, the Dark Prince, whose alternate fighting and puzzle mechanics bring additional variety to the game. The Dark Prince always has his whip-like chain weapon available, which he can use to dominate in combat as well as execute additional moves such as swinging from high beams or wall fixtures. All the extra power comes at a price however, as the Dark Prince's health is always dropping at a steady rate. Killing enemies or items found through the levels will replenish his health and allow him to continue fighting. His constantly draining health adds extra pressure to many puzzle sequences, as you must make your way through each segment quickly and make your way to the next enemy for your health replenishment.

While The Two Thrones represents the end of the popular trilogy, it's a very respectable one to be sure. The action is exciting and varied, the puzzles are challenging yet rarely frustrating and the environments are simply gorgeous. Whether you have played the previous installments or not, there is a lot of fun to be had in this action puzzler, and anyone old enough for the graphic violence will likely enjoy what this game has to offer.