Fire the difficulty testers, but promote the story writers and level designers.
Then came "Warrior Within." While many people hated the darker tone of this game, I felt it fit perfectly with the Prince's ongoing story. While I didn't love this game, I did like it; something needed to replace the whimsical tone of the first game in order for the sequal to be as great.
"The Two Thrones" drove my into fits. I only wanted to complete this game to finish the storyline begun several years ago, so I set this game on "easy." You would think that the combat would be easier, the platforming more foregiving, the traps slower, etc. Well, if they were, I certaintly couldn't tell. In fact, from my observations the only thing that became easier was the combat. Well, when the your time is spent mostly platforming, this does not help.
Beyond that gripe, I loved the new mechanics. The Dark Prince introduced a new character with new weapons; a character who would die if he didn't find more sands of time. The chariot races were a fun diversion from the normal game, and I'm glad they didn't overdo it.
Alltogether, this was a fun game. But in light of the fact that it was supposed to be the final send-off to this "Prince of Persia" series, I feel it's only slightly above average. Fix the difficulty issues and this game would be at least receiving a "good" rating from me.