OH MAI GAWD I LOVE THIS GAME.
I hated the combat in the first two games.
You memorize the move that each enemy is weak to, and spam your way through each battle.
The stealth kills were AWESOME, both in looks, and in the way they were implemented. They really cut down on monotony, and forced you to plan ahead as you worked through enemy-filled areas.
Plus, in this game, the Prince had the Dark Prince in him, so not only did the witty, sarcastic monologue-ing from the first game come back, but it was expanded into actual conversations.
The chariot things were extraordinarily shitty, but there were only like 2, so whatever. This game was great. 10/10.