Prince of Persia: Warrior Within

"A Prince to the Past."

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was released around Christmas last year. I thought it was a good game, but unfortunately the gaming public didn't agree. Instead, garbage games like Enter the Matrix sold better eventhough they are basically trash. Ubisoft has decided to bring us the sequel anyway. Prince of Persia Warrior Within is a game that will bring back fond memories of the last game, although some of the magic is gone. Considering how long the Prince has been around, I guess that the series does have some high expectations for him.

Control is the most important aspect of a Prince of Persia game. As you already know, this series is all about crazy jumps and running along walls. The controls are top notch, but there are flaws. First it is sometimes very difficult to pull off your jumps without falling. Luckily the Prince can still rewind time, and believe me you'll need it. The other flaw is that the game is very difficult. I beat it, but I did it on easy mode. Let me say that even easy mode was brutal. I'm still miffed at how a game could be so difficult, and no I don't even want to try normal or hard mode. I also think that the PS2 controller is clearly not the best way to play this game. The placement of the analog stick is not in the right place. It makes your hands hurt after a while. I believe the Gamecube controller is better suited for this game. I got that opinion since I played the Sands of Time on the Gamecube. Still, the PS2 controller is a much better choice than the bulky Xbox controller.

The story is well done, but gets crazy at the end. The Prince's actions in the Sands of Time, have created a tear in the timeline. The Prince should have died in the Sands of Time. Now a powerful creature called the Dahaka has been created to finish the Prince off. To escape his fate again, the Prince travels back to the Island of Time where the Sands of Time were created. If the Prince can stop the sands from being created, then Dahaka should disappear. Still the story gets very confusing at the end, and really doesn't make sense. To accomplish his goal, the Prince will have to travel back and forth in time, somewhat like in A Link to the Past in the Legend of Zelda series.

The graphics are much better than the Sands of Time. I don't think that the environments are any better, but the character models are a clear upgrade. The Prince himself is stunning, although he could use a shave. The music is very different than the first game. Instead of Persian music, we have heavy metal. I like it, plus the music is a good way to tell if a big fight is coming up.

Replay value is much better than the first game. The game itself is much longer than the first. There are now two endings instead of one, so there is incentive to play threw a second time. It is possible to see both on the first time threw, but it requires you to save before you enter the final boss room. I made the mistake of saving afterwards, so I couldn't see the true ending, just the bad one.

In conclusion, I think that this game is a solid game that everyone should play. I must warn everyone again that its very tough, which is why I didn't give it a 10. Also, I think that there is a bit too much backtracking. Also, except for the garden levels, I think that some of the environments are kind of boring. Still, this game deserves a purchase, or a least a rental.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/12/05, Updated 09/18/06