Prince of Persia: Rival Swords

The Wii version looks zero percent better to my eye than the original release of this game, but enthusiasts of the franchise may want to take this for a spin to try out the unique controls. [May 2007, p.88]

The game is just fun to play, and the story is satisfying pulp. [May 2007, p.62]

Nothing here warrants shelling out for the game if you played it on another console, but if you missed out (and you want to play it on the Wii instead of picking up a cut-priced last-gen copy of Two Thrones) it'll keep you busy for the 12 or 15 hours the campaign will take you.

It is becoming too easy for developers and publishers to just add minor things to games and then port them to other systems, especially the Wii.

While some of Prince's acrobatic movements are decent with the Wiimote, the combat — especially the Speed Kill — suffers badly, and overall, the game performed better with a tradition control scheme.

If you missed Two Thrones, or are the type of person who craves that motion sensing control, go pick this one up, because even with its flaws it is still Prince of Persia done right.

There’s nothing particularly wrong with the Wii version, but the controls don’t make a huge difference in this year-old game, either.

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.

Rival Swords is much the same game as "Two Thrones," which means it's still good, but it's nearly a year and a half late to the show.

If you haven't played "The Two Thrones", Rival Swords is definitely worth a look. [May 2007, p.84]

Too little, too late.

As compelling and solid as "Rival Swords" is, we can't ignore the fact that many people already played and completed it 16 months ago. A GameCube game in Wii's clothing. [May 2007, p.88]

Don’t expect next gen visuals, rather an example of a top quality last gen game. The unique controls scheme seems to work for the most part in Rival Swords, and is a fun game to play on the Wii, never mind it’s the only one with this type of content on the system.

A thoroughly enjoyable game and had we not experienced the same campaign eighteen months ago Rival Swords would have been very easy to recommend. Even now the single player campaign holds up well, but the addition of Wii specific controls aren't enough to make this game an essential purchase.

It's still a great game in its own right, and while the developers missed a lot of potential uses for the controls - it might have been cool to snap the controllers like reins during chariot sequences, for example - they're still a fun way to play. Not quite fun enough to justify the price difference with the near-identical GameCube version, but fun nonetheless.

With save points laid at logical points throughout, there’s little chance you’ll be frustrated with some of the more difficult puzzles or encounters in Rival Swords, making it a great entry point for newcomers to the series – even if the story will likely seem convoluted.

Even with annoying problems in larger supply than the sand itself, the game is often thrilling.

The Wii controls do add a significant amount to the experience, but not enough to justify a 200% increase for the going rate for the game.

However, the game ultimately stands or falls on its ability to remain fun and dynamic. For a two year old game, that to all intents and purposes feels like a poor man’s God Of war in places, it does still hold-up pretty well.

It is a short game, clocking up around 10 hours, but that does not detract from the enjoyment, which at times is sad to say, repetitive.

A bit of a lazy port but it's still a fine game. [July 2007, p.75]

A great game and if you can convince yourself to spend the $50 instead of just buying the Cube version for far less, then you'll have a lot of fun. However, the controls vary from new and fresh to frustrating.

It makes the right moves but doesn't quite scale the heights. And you can be the GameCube version - without Ubisoft's half-hearted Wii controls - for around 20 pounds. [June 2007, p.38]

It's nice to have a different feel applied to the Prince of Persia gameplay, but after the novelty wears off we side with the simpler GameCube controls.

There are lots of save points but they can sometimes blend into the background making them hard to notice. The jumping around can get tedious and I found myself sometimes at a loss as to which parts of the background were interactive and which weren’t.

Technically, 'Rival Swords' looks like you wrapped your television in thick gauze a lot of the time and the faded colours don't help matters much.

While the Wii version is a good game and takes to its new control scheme well enough to justify the port, it's just not sufficiently different to recommend a purchase, especially if you can source it elsewhere.

For a series that puts so much stock in its grace and composure, the lack of an intuitive control scheme is hard to overcome. [June 2007, p.86]