One of the most influential series of games from the nineties, Prince of Persia 2 continues where the first game left off, as again the Prince is confronted with a series of puzzles and traps in order to rescue the Sultans daughter from the evil Grand Vizier Jaffar and clear his name.
There are fifteen levels for the Prince to work through in this game, and completing a level can often require you to play it more than once. You will find yourself doing less climbing and hanging from ledges, as this has been dropped in favour of combat.
As in the original Prince of Persia, the prince has a certain amount of time to reach Jaffar in order to succeed, with the real time taken to complete each level being deducted from the game clock. This helps to create a sense of urgency in what otherwise could have been a very slow game, and if I have one main criticism of the game then this is it: the effort that has clearly gone into improving the graphics in the game meant that it did feel a little clunky at times. But this is a minor drawback when you consider that there really was nothing like this around at the time. A true original.
Other additions to the game worth mentioning are the ability to
use a magic carpet, and for the prince top become a shadow in order to get past certain areas.
Graphically, this game improved heavily on the original, with the platforms replaced by beautifully drawn landscapes which helped to create a bigger sense of atmosphere, and made the game feel like more of a journey. Enemies are brilliantly animated, appearing more frequently than in the original and with more on screen at once. This also gives the game more of an epic feel.
Combat in the game remains the same, swordfights are just as fun as in the original, and the Prince can now use magic on his foes such as fireballs. Magic can also be used tactically to aid the prince’s quest with healing spells and the ability to fall like a feather to overcome large drops. Extra enemies have been added to the game, so in addition to Jaffars guards you will come up against skeletons, snakes and mythical creatures. As usual, the further you get into the game, the more difficult these foes will become to defeat, thus training your skills in order to face Jaffar at the end of the game.
