Control:  
Control and animation are what made the original Prince of Persia game so popular, and the latest in the series continues this superb execution (I said "execution" because this review is more mature than previous reviews). Bringing a game into 3D from 2D will always have some control problems, but like the Sands of Time, Warrior Within gives the player a courtesy rewind button to undo mistakes. Thus I must say that the control is perfect, since any mistakes on your part can be rewound and tried again.

Gameplay:  
Anyone who's played Sands of Time can attest to the greatness of the puzzles, and rest assured, the puzzles in Warrior Within are just as important and fun to solve. They have not been down-played in favor of combat. The combat has just been enhanced to be less monotonous (it's also less monogamous, because this game is more mature). Fighting does get a little boring at times, but it's broken up more and blended with the puzzles. You also learn a few new moves along the way to keep things interesting.

On top of that, you get different moves if you're fighting with one sword or two. It might sound like two is always better, but with one sword you get the all important throw-them-over-a-cliff move which speeds up combat if you don't feel like doing it.

I had some initial reservations about the "more mature" take on the game. The banter with Farrah in Sands of Time was witty and realistic. That's all gone. Sands of Time was also told like a story-book, with the Prince as the narrator. That's gone too. And Prince's reaction at the very beginning of Warrior Within when he gets cut by a dominatrix ("You BITCH!") is wince-inducing. They should have called it Warrior Wincin' at that point.

As the game moves on though, the Prince feels less like a generic action hero and more like the three-dimensional character Ubi-Soft intended. The Prince becomes less of a badass, and more of a tragic character who is forced to spend his life constantly on the edge. A lesser man would have been killed by the Dahaka immediately, but because the Prince has natural acrobatic and combat skills, he can live on, if only to remain hunted.

By the end of the game, being hunted for so long takes a toll on the Prince's mind. You can see from his convoluted plots and thoughts that he's going mad and is only going to get worse.

SPOILERS!!


At the end of the game the Prince comes up with a wacky plot of killing his younger self. It sounds like a way of sparing himself from his torture, but he intends to live on past then even with his younger self dead. Somehow it works. Thanks for that, Ubi Soft!

Also, in the end movie (the better of two) we see a hint of the next game in the series, and if the foreshadowing is correct, the Prince just becomes pure evil. I'm guessing the Prince in his current shape will fight and kill the evil shadowy guy in the movie, then you play the game, and by the end of it you realize you ARE the evil guy, finally meeting your end by your own hands. That means that this Prince has killed his younger self AND his older self. Way to go, middle Prince!

END SPOILERS!!

Sound:
Oh boy, hope you like Godsmack! While puzzle music and running around music are still ambient Middle East chords, the minute an enemy drops in you get modern punk/grunge, or whatever Godsmack is. Since the battles are mixed in with the puzzles now, you hear it pretty often. It's not a disaster. The lyrics are taken out so you don't have a song stopping mid-way when the battle ends. I got used to the music, and in fact I can't remember what music played in Sands of Time battles. This is the kind of thing that will really depend on your personal tastes.

The game has some glitches in the sound department. During cut-scenes some of the dialog will cut out every now and then and you'll have to read the subtitles. Maybe they did it on purpose to show us that the Prince is now mature enough to read. There are a few more glitches in the game. I think if Ubi Soft had delayed it to next year they could have ironed them out, but none of them are bad enough to hurt the game.

Multiplayer:
No multiplayer, but lots of extras in this game, like making-of videos and trailers. Throughout the game you can find hidden treasure chests that unlock artwork in the gallery. More games should include extras like these.

OVERALL:
I was only disappointed by Warrior Within at the beginning when it seemed to embrace over-the-top violence and language. It either calms down or I got used-to it. I don't remember hearing any other exclamations like "you BITCH!" come out of Prince later in the game, so I think the initial area is just for shock value to Sands of Time fans.

Warrior Within has a great story by the way, with interesting plot developments and surprises along the way. You feel like the Prince is heading for a goal, and you're not just playing just to play.

This game is also about twice as long as Sands of Time, without being too-long like an RPG. The end felt like a good place to stop. Get this game to encourage Ubi Soft to make another, please!

 

The Lowdown on  Prince of Persia: Warrior Within Aesthetics: Awesome Control: Awesome Gameplay: Awesome Multiplayer: Sound: Average Innovation: 5/6 Lasting Appeal: 6/6 Rating Explanation Overall: Very Good! "A Must-Buy"