Prince of Persia: Warrior Within

"Don't listen to all the complainers; Warrior Within is an incredibly intense gaming experience"

First off, I want to say that I hear a lot of criticism about this game because of how it is a disappointment in comparison to the other games in the series. Warrior Within is the first and (to this date) only Prince of Persia game that I have played, so this review is based on this game alone, as it should be; it is not relative to the rest of the series.

And, by the way, this game alone is one hell of a game. Never have I had such adrenaline rushes while playing a video game. This is an action-packed thriller from start to finish. When I first played this game on a demo disc, I knew that I had to have it. I knew it would be an amazing game and that I'd have tons of fun playing it. Well, I got the game, and I am happy to report that it greatly exceeded the already-high expectations that I had for it.

You start the game as The Prince, and you soon learn of your fate: because you opened the Sands of Time and created a rift in the Timeline, you must die (if you did not play Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, don't worry; although this game is a sequel, the plot is given well enough that it is not necessary to have played the first). Now that's one hell of a way to start off the game: to be told that your fate is to die, and no man can change his fate. But The Prince is not going to lie down and just accept his fate, or else we would not have a game to be played, would we? But during the course of the entire game, in the back of your mind you keep wondering whether or not The Prince will make it out alive or not, and that adds to the suspense.

To ensure that your fate is met, the Dahaka, a dark, ghastly beast of a creature that seems like he was spat out from the darkest depths of hell is chasing after you. This creature is so terrifying that you have no choice but to turn and run from it while the ground crumbles behind you. With the only purpose of it's existence being to see to your death, and the fact that any attempts to try to fight the beast will lead to your helpless death, you wonder how it will be possible to escape the Dahaka's wrath and your fate. These two pieces of the plot are enough to keep you on the edge of your seat throughout your play.

But that's not all. As you come across new characters, you uncover several great plot twists. The depth of the story is truly great. The plot alone could make for an award-winning action movie.

However, this isn't a movie; it's much more. Because you are controlling The Prince in his attempt to defy his fate, and that is where the real fun comes in.

The big draw of this game is the fighting system. With at least sixty different attacks that The Prince can use, along with about sixty different weapons that he can perform those attacks with, the fighting system delivers. Among those attacks are exciting acrobatic moves as well as bloody strikes that can decapitate your opponents and even split them right in half. If you are able to keep your attacks varied, you can make this game exciting with a different experience each time you find an opponent.

In addition to being an intense action/fighting game, Warrior Within also succeeds in being a puzzle game as well. Once again you will find The Prince using his acrobatic skills as he jumps and flips his way around the area to new places. You must figure out a way to get through the complex Castle of Time to find your way to the Empress and avoid your fate.

While you're busy focusing on the intense game play, you can also marvel at the amazing graphics. The game begins with an intense and very realistic-looking opening sequence. The Prince is very well detailed and his many movements are fluid. The other characters in the game also look very nice.

The environments are large and also extremely good graphically. One interesting part of the game is that you go back and forth between present time, where everything is in ruins, and the past, where everything looks new again. This transition was done well, and it is neat to see the changes as you visit the same places in a different time. The contrast is wonderful with the bright and beautiful environments of the past compared to the dark and damaged environments of the present.

There are some minor issues with the sound, however. The eerie music while you are walking around is fitting, as is the harder music while you are fighting enemies. One problem some people seem to find is that when the Dahaka finds and chases you, the heavy rock intro of a Godsmack song is blasted. I guess it just depends on your tastes, though; personally, I think it works very well to get your adrenaline pumping for the big chase. A problem that I can agree with is that the dialogue used by enemies is too few and frequent. After playing for some time, you will have memorized all the lines used by your enemies, and that's really not a good thing.

One other problem I have is with the fighting. As mentioned before, if you can vary the moves you use while fighting, you will have many different experiences. However, if you do not, the fighting can become somewhat repetitious. This holds especially true during the boss battles. I always find myself blocking most of the time and throwing in the same basic attacks over and over again until I can finally defeat my opponent. With challenging boss battles, if you continue dying, the repetition can really get on your nerves.

This game includes many interesting little features as well, although I cannot go into all of them. For example, when The Prince is low on health, he hunches over and holds his abdomen showing pain, adding to the realism. Also, as you go through the game, it provides tutorials to show you some fighting techniques as well as how to move through the levels, so you do not have to study the instructions manual to be able to play.

In conclusion, while this game may get some criticism when compared to the previous games in the series, by itself it is an incredibly intense game, and I recommend that anyone who enjoys action games to give Prince of Persia: Warrior Within a try. If you are a fan of the previous games in this series, I still recommend this game, but do not try to compare it to the previous games; this game is amazing in its own right.

The fighting is awesome, the game play is intriguing, the graphics are beautiful, the music greatly adds to the mood, and the plot is full of suspense. This all adds up for an amazingly intense game that is sure to get your adrenaline pumping.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/02/05