Jordan Mechner

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity

It's been a long road for the Prince of Persia. Coming from out of nowhere to score a smash reinvention after years of lying fallow, the masterful Sands of Time was both a surprise and a pleasure. The sophomore followup, Warrior Within, was an effort that was structurally admirable, but left many cold with darker aesthetics and harsher tone. Unlike some developers, Ubisoft must have been paying attention to the unhappy comments because this third iteration, The Two Thrones, is a solid return to the form and style that made so many sit up and take notice.

Game Description: Prince of Persia: Two Thrones picks up the incredible action and adventure of the series with an all-new chapter. The Prince has returned from his adventures with his love, Kaileena. Instead of the peace that he longs for, he finds his homeland ravaged by war and the kingdom turned against him. The Prince is captured and Kaileena has no choice but to sacrifice herself and unleash the Sands of Time to save him. Now a fugitive, the Prince discovers that past battles have given rise to a deadly Dark Prince, whose spirit gradually possesses him.

I'll have to admit that I approached Warrior Within with a great degree of hesitancy. I was absolutely head-over-heels in love with the first game, and I still view it as one of the greatest revivals of the current (and soon-to-be-over) era.

The game industry continues to labor under the deluded notion that sex, scantily-clad women, and lots of blood and guts equates with being mature. It doesn't—anyone with an actual ounce of genuine maturity knows this—but that doesn't stop developers from taking a fine franchise and "tawdrying it up" in the process.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes

Game Description: Prince of Persia: Warrior Within is a sword-slashing sequel to the hit game, Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time. This time, our Prince is hunted by Dahaka, an immortal incarnation of Fate. The spirit seeks retirbution against the Prince, but he is wiser and deadlier than he was. To avoid his preordained death, he'll travel to the infernal core of mankind's worst fears.

In his review, Brad really nailed the chicken/egg relationship between Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and ICO. ICO is one of my favorite games of all time, and it's the game I've used when trying to demonstrate to disbelievers that yes, videogames can be art. And until Sands of Time came out, it was the only game ever made that I felt comfortable referring to as beautiful.

The Sands of Time is a fine 2D platformer, but a rather undistinguished and disposable specimen. Perhaps "fine" 2D platformers just don't cut it anymore, and the golden age of the genre is best left as a memory.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Violence