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After its two brilliant prequels I was expecting the conclusion to the Sands of Time saga to be nothing short of epic, but instead, the series went out with a whimper.

Continuing where Warrior Within left off, the game starts with the Prince, who is now voiced by the same actor as the first game (yay!) returning to his kingdom with Kayleena, who is also voiced by a different actress (Consistency? What's that?). 

There, he discovers that the Evil Vizier (who is also voiced by a different actor) from the first game has taken over Persia and now, it's up to the Prince to write his wrongs and undo everything he did in the previous two games (noticing a pattern yet?) where along the way he'll re-meet Farrah (yay!) who is now voiced by a different actress (Noooo!).

Two Thrones was Ubisoft's attempt at appealing to fans of the Innocent and whimsical Sands of Time, while still keeping enough violence and broody dialog to lure in fans of Warrior Within and in my opinion the game completely falls flat on both ends, gone is the broody, intense Prince from the second game, which I don't personally mind, however, instead of seeing him trade witty dialog with Farrah like in the first game he does so with...himself, or rather a representation of his darker desires, this would ordinarily be a genius concept with a lot of potential but instead his "darker" is more annoying than threatening and imposes about as much respect as Krang from the old Teenage mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon and as a result, most of the conversations between them sound like something from that show.

You might like the fact that Farrah from the first game is back... that is until you realize she acts nothing like she used to, she went from a kind hearted princess with a wonder to how she views her world to a pretty generic battle hardened archer, so outside of a certain pomegranate themed conversation (you'll know when you get there) she just acts and sounds like a completely different person.

You'll notice I haven't talked much about the gameplay and that's really... because there's not much to talk about other than a few downgrades, remember the awesome combat from the first game? Well, all the blood was removed so it's not as satisfying to behead someone. Remember the quasi-sandbox of the second game? Yeah that's gone, now all levels are fully linear and you can't go back.

The only new additions were the occasional chariot races which act like a very simplistic on-rails game and the new "Dark Prince" who is better at combat but his life is constantly draining, so you'll have to kill enemies to regain it.

All in all, this game as a disappointment, downgraded gameplay elements, boring story, boring character and a serious lack of consistency with any of the previous two games killed what could have been one of the best trilogies ever made in the gaming world.

Pros:
- Platforming is still fun
- The Combat is still fun... though not as fun as in Warrior Within
- You finally get to see the Prince and Farrah together

Cons:
- The story tries to appeal to fans of both Sands of Time and Warrior Within, but it falls flat
- Sandbox feel of Warrior Within is gone
- The inner dark voice feels more like a cartoon villain
- Almost every character is voiced by a different actor
- Farrah? Is that you? What happened to your personality?

Packaging review: Found in the Prince of Persia TRILOGY HD review

The sequel to the excellent Sands of Time was very off-putting for a lot of people, the main reason being the artistic and thematic changes, now, going from a storybook feel to a more violent and heavy metal themed adventure, this was probably used as a ploy to sell more copies.

In this game, the Prince is being hunted by a monster known as the Dahaka, this mythical beast is trying to undo all the changes in the timestream created by our main character in the previous game, so he travels to the Island of time, where he hopes to undo all of the chaos that he created in both games.

For some reason the Prince's voice actor changed (why?), to be fair he does a good job at portraying a darker character, but I miss the old Prince, but to me, the real issue is the fact that Farrah is not in this game (Nooooo!), instead having been replaced with Kayleena, a very attractive but also very boring and cliché character who gets very little screen time, she also happens to be voiced by famous Hollywood actress Monica Belucci, though she really doesn't add anything to the role that any decent actress wouldn't be able to replicate, it's just a shame that all the smart and whimsical dialog from the first game was instead replaced with dark and broody inner monologues from the Prince itself with the occasional swearing.

Luckily, not all of the changes in this game were as off-putting, for starters the combat received a much needed (albeit violent) upgrade, you can now pull off dozens of new moves, my favorite being the decapitation and use different swords. The platforming also received some subtle upgrades, they're barely worth mentioning and that's a good thing really, if it's not broke, don't fix it, I also like how you can return to previous areas you've been to and look for secrets, giving the game an almost sandbox feel to it

I can't say I fully understand the changes made to the series, but if I judge the game by its own merits I have to say I enjoyed it about as much as its predecessor for different reasons, yes the dialog was pretty much your typical standard fare, but at least the plot itself was much tighter and even had a few interesting twists, the combat was much improved and the platforming is still VERY fun, but the locations weren't nearly as interesting and the heavy metal soundtrack was a bit hit and miss, overall it's still a great entry to the series that gets a bit too much hate from fans of the first game.

Trivia: Did you know the creator of the original Ms-Dos Prince of Persia did not work on this title? He also mentioned he "wasn't a fan" of the artistic and tonal changes.

Pros:
- Platforming is still fun
- Quasi-sandbox feel to the game
- Combat was vastly improved
- The soundtrack isn't as good as Sands of time, but it's still good
- I actually like the Heavy Metal feel to the game

Cons:
- But not everyone will, enjoy the changes to the feel and pacing of the game
- Prince? Is that you? Why do you act nothing like you did before?
- Good God Shadee, put some clothes on!

Packaging review: Found in the Prince of Persia TRILOGY HD review

When Ubisoft announced a reboot to the old Ms-Dos Prince of Persia series I rolled my eyes thinking this was going to suck, however, I couldn't be more wrong, Sands of Time turned out to be one of the best games in that year.

You play as the Prince of Persia (duh!) as he and the Princess Farrah of India navigate a huge death-trap filled Palace inhabited by sand zombies, trying to reverse time and prevent a cataclysmic event he created.

Running through the Palace is not an easy feat as you'll often have to climb, jump, wall-run, crawl or hang from ledges while still solving the occasional puzzle to get where you want to go, thankfully, the the artistic graphics and smart level design never makes this seem like a chore, the same can't be said for the combat though, there's too much of it and gets old, especially considering the somewhat limited range of moves and the fact that you're always using the same weapon throughout the game.

The game's main drawpoint is the ability to reverse time, which is a genius concept for a game like this, in a game where you'll constantly be falling over or get caught in traps it greatly reduces the game's trademark frustration levels, and due to a limited number of uses of this ability, it's still able to maintain a decent challenge level.

Overall Prince of Persia is a smart game and was handled with care by the developers, it's just a shame about the boring combat.

Trivia: Did you know the PS2, Xbox and PC versions had a remake of the original Ms-Dos Prince of Persia game as unlockable? Unfortunately this was removed in later releases such as the Prince of Persia TRILOGY HD for the PS3 

Pros:
- Some of the best 3D platforming ever, made even more fun by the use of the time travel feature
- Great story-book feel to the game
- Great Soundtrack
- A great love story that flourishes in a believable way between two very likeable characters
- Farrah is quite possible one of the best female characters to have ever been featured in a videogame

Cons:
- The combat isn't very fun and there's too much of it

Packaging review: Found in the Prince of Persia TRILOGY HD review

The grandaddy of the RTS genre created by the now defunct Westwood Studios (thanks a lot, EA) was a landmark achievement back in the day, sure there were other games similar to it before it like Stonkers and Herzog Zwei, but nothing quite like this.

In Dune 2 you control one of three different military factions who are sent to the desert Arrakis to mine the rare and valuable spice Melange, though this is really just a backdrop for the action, sure the cutscenes look great and even feature voice acting (impressive for a 1992 release), but the game doesn't really have anything resembling a plot.

I also enjoyed the weird techno songs featured in the game, I've never really heard anything quite like it, but they fit the game's mood rather well.

The game itself though is still really fun as you build huge bases and construct bigger and badder armies with each passing mission and the final battles are absolute chaos with you versus three different armies who allied themselves against you, but don't worry, for better or worse the A.I. in this game isn't the best so you should be fine.

Although you get to pick between three different factions the differences between them are a bit too subtle, as you'll only really notice them in the last few stages, I also found it annoying how you're forced to click every unit individually instead of choosing a group and then giving out the orders.

On the technical side of things Dune 2 could use some improvements, but the basic formula itself is still fun, especially when you play as the Harkonnen and you unlock the Death Hand, which is basically a nuclear missile that can level an entire base in one hit.

Protip: The Harkonnen are overpowered.

Pros:
- The first RTS game to use the formula we all know and love
- Good soundtrack
- The Cutscenes are pretty impressive for the time

Cons:
- Having to pick each unit individually is a chore
- Factions are unbalanced

The game's packaging is pretty easy on the eyes (excuse the wear and tear on my copy). It makes smart use of the artwork found in the actual game, depicting a soldier with some windtraps in the background the box art feels very fitting for the game.

The Instruction manual is a very simple notebook, this could be to either save costs or to give you the impression that these are the notes you take as an army commander... I choose to think it's the latter. 

In it, you'll find some basic exposition of the game's plot and very detailed information for every unit and structure in the game so it does make for a good (if short) read.

Finally, my version also came with a Virgin games catalog, that's always a nice nostalgia trip.

Developer: David Williamson

Publisher:  David Williamson

Sometimes, games suffer from nothing more than being on the wrong system, Hack, Slash, Loot is a simplified rogue-like game, it removes the concepts of leveling up and inventory, though personally, I feel this only works against it, though you can still improve your stats by picking up gear or drinking potions you find on the ground.

Now, it's no secret that this sort of game is heavily based on luck, after all, you often don't know what potions or other items do until you try them and some of them might improve stats you don't plan on using or in some cases it might actually lower your abilities, the problem though, is that by removing inventory and a leveling up system you become solely reliant on pure luck, on my first gameplay I found an item that would slowly regenerate my health each turn, meaning I almost finished the game, on the subsequent attempts I could barely get past the second floor as I kept running away from enemies and desperately searched for healing items.

To the game's credit, it does feature an assortment of classes and different dungeons (though I'm guessing the later is an excuse to charge DLC at a later point).

Overall I couldn't help but think that this game would have been great on a smartphone, something to kill 5 minutes of your time while you wait for the bus, but on the PC there are just too many alternatives... even if some of them are older than I am.

Pros:
- Easy to pick up and play
- Randomized dungeons add replay value
- Good if you have five minutes to kill

Cons:
- Not much good if you have more time then that
- Too shallow

Packaging review: This game is Download only

Developer: Synergistic Software

Publisher:  Sierra

Every once in a while you come across a game that tries to things differently even though they're often very rough around the edges. 

As the regent of a small kingdom in a similar fashion to games like Civilization or Master of Magic, you're expected to build armies, tax the population and build up a political network, it's actually a pretty complex system at first, though luckily you can tone it down if you feel it's too much for you.

Army combat is fought in a turn based tactics mode, similar to that of Master of Magic and to a lesser degree the Total War series, here you'll control your squadrons in a grid-like battlefield in real time, the combat itself isn't very deep but it is pretty fun and if you have a general who's a mage or a priest in the battlefield you can even cast magic, alternatively you can just bring magical gear with you, that will usually turn the tide of any battle. I really love that you can have massive armies on your reinforcement lines, just waiting to be sent to the battlefield.

Finally, you have a Dungeon-Crawling mode in a Doom-like 3D environment, here, you and up to three of your generals will form a party and go relic hunting, combat can be either turn based similar to Final Fantasy (but with D&D rules) or closer to MMO gaming, the combat is fairly fun, but the characters look so goofy when they're fighting up close as the thrusts and parries never physically hit the enemies' avatar (though it counts as a hit in game).

The Treasures recovered from this mode can be used to either improve your status or taxes in the Kingdom map mode, while magical items can be used in military combat and of course, there's always the bonus of having your generals level up, that's always handy.

Gorgon's Alliance is a pretty neat mix of genres, though I did ran into a few bugs and camera issues while Dungeon Crawling.

Trivia: The game reportedly sold less than 50,000 copies, though thankfully eBay copies are cheap and plentiful.

Pros:
- A very unique game
- The turn based strategy sections are deep and engaging
- Military combat is a bit shallower, but it can still be a challenge
- Dungeon Crawling is pretty fun
- You can just play one mode if you're tired of the rest of game

Cons:
- Military combat and Dungeon Crawling sections have poor graphics even by '97 standards
- The camera is pretty glitchy while dungeon crawling