Prince of Persia: Warrior Within

"Good, but could've been a bit better..."

POINT OF GAME: Take control of an older and darker Prince in this sequel to "The Sands of Time," as you fight to rid yourself from the torment of an unstoppable beast that is hell-bent on killing you.

GRAPHICS: A bit better than they were in "The Sands of Time." The dark environments give this game a more mature and shadowy theme. Cut-scene graphics are pretty decent too.

SOUND: Kind of a mixed review on this one. First, the hard rock and heavy metal battle music. I love that kind of music as much as any other hardcore gamer, but in a game like Prince of Persia, it seems a bit over the top. On the less skeptical side, great non-battle background music. Dialogue is great, but there's one problem. In some cut-scenes, the voicing is either not in sync with the character's lips or even not present at all. Sound effects are still pretty good.

CONTROLLING AND PLAYABILITY: Controls are pretty much the same as "Sands of Time," not too difficult, yet not too easy. The Free-Form fighting system is a huge step-up from the fighting system used in "Sands." You'll see the Prince fight in many more new ways than in his previous adventure.

ENTERTAINMENT: With this adventure longer than the last, newer ways to kill enemies and watching in awe at the Prince's ridiculously painful-looking attacks, who can't be entertained by this game? Plus the numerous traps and new platforming scheme keep you on your toes and test your awareness of the game's surroundings. Dahaka chases will keep you on your toes as well.

REPLAY: 3.75 out of 5 (Good for quite a while, but glory won't last forever. Treasure it while it lasts.)

THE GOOD: The story has a nice dark theme to and is really good, although it could have been better (btw, the Prince is now more of an anti-hero now). Graphics are nice and the fighting system is just to die for.

THE BAD: There are a small number glitches and the voice-syncing problem I explained earlier. I like the hard rock and heavy metal battle music itself, but it just doesn't belong in a game like Prince of Persia.

THE BOTTOM-LINE: A must-have game if you've like the first installment of the trilogy. An excellent story with many new ways to kill enemies makes this game to die for. However, the small number of glitches and battle music may throw a few people off.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/25/08

Game Release: Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (US, 11/30/04)