Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Has first game's charm -- for mature players only.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this a violent action game. Players mainly use swords and knives to slice up enemies. They shank and gut enemies (humans and monsters), slice throats, stab eyes, chop off heads, chop enemies in half, and slice enemies down the middle like sides of beef. The game depicts bloody battles. Also, some female characters are scantily clad, but there is no nudity. The game does encourage some creative puzzle solving.

  • The Prince is inclined to save innocent people, but he must argue with his Dark side that encourages letting innocents perish. The Dark Prince must kill enemies to live.
  • Players chop and slice enemies into pieces, sometimes bloodily. Includes throat slitting, dismemberment, and decapitation. Players also witness death by clubbings and arrows.
  • No nudity, but some characters are dressed provocatively in revealing clothes.

What's it about?

In this installment, the Prince's personality has been fractured: He is now sometimes the good prince of the first game, but his long, violent quest has led to the formation of a compromised and cynical Dark Prince. These two personalities vie for control of the Prince as he fights the evil vizier for control of time. The light Prince's adventure still mainly consists of running, jumping, and swinging through graphically gorgeous environmental puzzles. Regularly throughout the game, the Prince will change into the Dark Prince, who -- while still acrobatic -- is stronger in combat and has a chain-like whip he can use to swing from and to decapitate enemies -- but his weakness is a health meter.


Is it any good?

 

PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE TWO THRONES completes a trilogy that began with the fabulous Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time in 2003. The game formula -- lots of acrobatic feats and puzzle-solving in huge, beautiful environments -- was roughed up a bit for the grittier second installment, The Warrior Within. The Two Thrones mixes elements of both games, creating a more complicated and compelling protagonist. The death-defying gymnastics remain easy to control; The Prince also uses the more-complicated combat system introduced in the second game.

The Two Thrones is definitely a violent game, but it succeeds in mixing the best parts of the first two games. Mature teens and adults fans are sure to love it, while younger teens may be better off sticking with the T-rated first game.


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What families can talk about

Families can talk about the complicated protagonist. How does he differ from the way he was portrayed in the first and second installments? Does it make sense to you that his quest has made him cynical? Is it more fun to play with the Light or Dark Prince? Many games let players embody characters who are not necessarily good or heroic; is this healthy?


This review was written by Chris Jozefowicz
Teen, 18 years old
April 9, 2008
 
Not that bad!
This is a decent game, its really not that bad. There's no blood even though the ESRB says there is ??? violence is prevelent though not explict nor is there any nudity as the ESRB also so falsly accuses it of. Definatly a Teen experience 13+

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 
Great Game
To start off, the violence is not actually as graphic as the description here seems to suggest. For instance, unlike the previous game Warrior Within, when you fight flesh-and-blood humans, decapitations, cleaving or otherwise dismemberments do not occur. When one executes the moves that would normally cause this to happen, there is instead a small spray of blood and the victim falls to the floor. It should also be noted that after the beginning of this game where most enemies are human, there is practically no blood in this game at all. When non-human enemies are slashed into bits the player observes a very unrealistic splitting of polygons while disolving into a yellow mist.Also, although the prince does start the game off very cynical and revenge-hungry, he is eventually redeemed and that is what the plot in this game centers on. The lesson eventually learned by the character is that a warrior must fight for someone other than himself or he will simply be a monster. In fact, at the end of the game our protagonist finds himself in a confrontation with his evil alter-ego. Violence against the beast eventually proves futile, and in the end the prince wins by turning his back on the dark prince, abstaining from combat. This game has very good morals in it.As far as the actual game goes, it's excellent. The puzzles are interesting, the animation is beautiful, and the fighting system is very smooth.My only gripes about the game are certain extremely frustrating sections where one tends to die over and over again, being forced to repeat rather tedious sections multiple times. It occurs to me that while allowing a child to play this game would not be an unforgivable offense, it would actually be much worse to allow the same child to watch an older person play it, as they will likely be witness to a spray of profanity from the player with the larger vocabulary.

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 
Only for teens
This game is a real great game if you are at least 13. Although it is rated M it has material suitable for teen gamers. the part i thought was great about is that it has so many puzzles which actually make your child think what strategy to do. when i saw how dark and evil warrior within was and i saw this game it was a lot better. this game has violence which was the ony thing that worried me but some of the things you fight are sand creatures and puff into sand. so this game i think is appropriate for anyone 13 and above.

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 
I only played a few levels but the game didn't seem that bad. I think there is nudity but only a quick shot. The review somehow forgets to mention that the blood can be turned off. I didn't hear any profanity. The speed kills and fighting aren't really all that bad.

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Teen, 16 years old
February 19, 2010
 
There is honestly nothing wrong with this game. There is violence with close range weapons like swords and stuff but there's barely any blood, this sites violence rating got it all wrong. This is a really good game however fairly complex, recommended for teenagers.

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Teen, 16 years old
April 9, 2008
 

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 
I LAUGHED
I HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO SAY THAN LETS PLAY!!!!!

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Teen, 14 years old
November 4, 2010
 
perfect for teens
yo common sense thans a billion I was'nt able to buy this game because to game case says it has nudity but you say it dont so im buying it and byther way im not a parent im only 13

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Teen, 15 years old
November 8, 2010
 
im going to buy it

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This review was written by Chris Jozefowicz
Platforms:Xbox
Available online?Not available online
Genre:Action/Adventure
Developer:UbiSoft
Release date:December 19, 2005
Price:$49.99
ESRB rating:M

This review was written by Chris Jozefowicz

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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