Ubisoft revamps The Two Thrones with new gesture-based controls, but is the experience improved?

User Rating: 8 | Prince of Persia: Rival Swords WII
The bottom line is that Rival Swords is the same game as The Two Thrones with added Wii controls that sometimes better the experience and sometimes worsen it, but if I had to choose, I'd take a traditional control setup to the new gesture system. Bearing that in mind, I'm telling you to pick up the GameCube version of Two Thrones and play it on Wii if you need a fix of Prince of Persia. It's a lot cheaper and you aren't sacrificing the gore factor, if that's your thing.
At the same time, I'm conceding that if you do buy Rival Swords for Nintendo's next-generation console, you won't be walking away with a bad game. It is nearly as fun and engaging today as it was when it was first released in December of 2005 for the other systems.

I have, however, scored it significantly lower on Wii than on the other systems. I've done that not only because it's a year-late port, but also because the newly added controls actually lessen the end gameplay endeavor and because Ubisoft has otherwise brought nothing new to the table, choosing to completely ignore the prospect of adding new content or using Wii's added horsepower to its fullest.

Presentation:Same as Two Thrones with added Wii controls that don't always better the experience 8.5/10

Graphics: Outstanding in 2005, but less by today's standards. The environments are still pretty and the character animation fluid, but textures blur dramatically up close. 8/10

Sound: Very good. Whether it's Prince's inner-monologue or catchy background music, it hits just right 9/10

Gameplay: A truly fun action-platformer. The problem is that the Wii controls don't do much for the game and the lack of a second analog stick equates to some occasional camera issues 8.5/10

Lasting Appeal: A fun, engaging storyline will keep you glued to your set for the 8-10 hours the title lasts, but when it's over there's little to come back to 7/10

Overall: 8/10

My Verdict: Rent It First :)