This picks up after the previous one, and does so well. The basic stuff is the same, with some tweaks(among them, notable improvements). The plot is summed up, since it relates to that of this one(which is quite good, and very nearly has everything coming together as well as that of the prior one). Between the two, The Prince has changed... I suppose being mercilessly hunted down by a seemingly unstoppable force will do that to a man(you are chased by it, as well, in highly intense and exciting portions). Almost all of the emo is gone, and, well, he's turned into a sheer bad-ass, which fits the surroundings and, well, all of this production. With this comes one of the new things to this: The Free Form Fighting System. This adds a lot of attacks, around 50, including about 30 combos... only a few are in The Sands of Time. Sadly, this is at the cost of the amazing updated chess-match style combat of aforementioned, where you need tactics, countering your opponent and skill(the rest of this still requires that, as well as the patience and trained fingers that the former did), and you're left with typically being free to just spam powerful strikes. There are two entire sets of swordplay: A single blade, and one for having something in the other hand, as well. And that can be a variety of weapons: Maces, daggers, axes... 50+ individual ones, total. You can pick up what others drop, or you can smash one of the plenty of cases of them. You can even throw the secondary one straight into someone else... and you'll literally see it there, sticking out of them. There is a greater amount of battle in this than before in these, and sometimes they last longer against the specific ones. Unfortunately, it gets to be too much, and they wind up being annoying. This one heals you right before saving(not counting the Auto ones, that you don't control and can't return from if you quit), with next to no exceptions. Apart from that, this is tougher than the one it immediately succeeds(it does have three difficulties, however), but it may also be shorter... it does have at least two different endings, though. There are also unlock-ables, artwork, and even videos, behind-the-scenes type and others, to give more re-playability still. They went overboard on the Bosses... the frequency is silly, so many in this, at the length it is... and the last one can be downright ludicrous in how hard it is. You have, well, gain, the same abilities(and new ones) as last time around, and this has Tutorials, as well... it also has a pretty nice slow-motion death feature, that you can adjust, and it's got subtitles. The story develops nicely, and it's a marvelous idea. It is not as vague and has less mystery, not as much room for interpretation, as that of the one this is the direct sequel to. This has a few bugs, but I didn't run into any big ones. The puzzles are well-done, and they tend to make sense. The story-telling ranges, but the cut-scenes are effective and well-directed when at their best. The CGI is astounding. The graphics and animation are smooth, crisp and excellent. Realistic water, dust, etc. The lighting is stunning. The engine is close to the same as the first of this new trilogy, which also means that the camera problems remain. You won't always get to move it the way you want to, and if it suddenly turns on its own, you'd better be prepared to press the corresponding directional keys right away. You still have regular, First Person view and the panoramic one. This does still not happen all that often. The enemies are well-done, and the AI is almost exclusively not half bad. They don't only block, now, they also dodge. The team decided to throw in taunts, and this can get goofy, as it has elsewhere. And please don't ask me why there are vampiric dominatrixes in this. The types of foes are fairly diverse. This takes place in the same location, with numerous areas... however, it also operates in the past along with the present, so you'll see the appearance of them in not only one, no, two periods. You'll want to remember what you work your way past... chances are you'll pass it again. Thus, this is the first of these to give you a map, not to mention put you in a situation where you *need* it. The level design is remarkable. This is definitely darker than the earlier ones... there is blood and some gore(although that does not reach the heights of the original two), you can grab a stranglehold and proceed to cut across the torso, and slice those you are up against in half, etc. The tone is bleak, grim. The humor from the one that precedes this of the recent ones is largely gone. This is arguably a tragic tale, more-so than that. It can be downright disturbing. The music is mainly hard rock, yet there is a somber orchestral(well, on piano) score, as well. And there is Persian-style tunes, they're just integrated into aforementioned heavy metal... think of it as remixing. If you're into brooding and awesomeness, you should get a real kick out of this. I sure did. The audio in general is rather well-done... the voice acting is marvelous. The character writing is credible. Sounds all seem right. This brings a couple of traps into the series that haven't been done before, and alter a thing or two. Acrobatics are pretty much the same. Violence is perhaps a relative matter here. The nudity is once again as close as they can come without it actually revealing anything. I recommend this to any fan of the franchise, the concept, and/or the continued adventures of the Persian heir to the throne, who simply will not spill the beans on what on Earth his name is. 8/10
