Customer Reviews

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I was pleasantly suprised by Ubisoft's other Prince of Persia offering--the Sands of Time--when I picked it up on clearance several months ago. The game had an undeniable charm, and, while the level structure needed some work, it was a great game.

The Warrior Within, however, takes a drastically different approach, both graphically and story-wise. Gone are the magnificent towers and palaces that filled Sands of Time, replaced instead with dank, gritty dungeons and fortresses. The game is much more dark, reflected in the voice acting, the music, and the overall story. I, for one, don't mind this change as much, but I know that it's a sticking point with some other gamers.

Graphics--I was actually slightly disappointed by the character models when I first started the game--they seemed a little bit too stiff for my liking. Perhaps it's because the FMV sequences are truely excellent. However, I became used to the graphical style quickly. 4/5 stars.

Gameplay--the game really shines here, as it's possible to pull off insane combos. I was worried that I would be relegated to simply mashing buttons, but I picked up on the "free-form fighting" system relatively quickly, and before I knew it, I was swinging around posts, bounding over enemies, propelling myself off of walls, and chopping off heads with the best of them. 5/5.

Sound--this is where Warrior Within suffers. The soundtrack is bearable in most locations, although industrial music is a very weird partnering for a game set in ancient Persia. I happen to like industrial music, but I can see how this would irritate some. Voice acting is OK, but the Prince has a new voice actor this time around. Some of the lines--particularly where the Prince curses--seem forced. 3/5.

Story--the story is interesting, although Ubisoft seems to have gone off the deep end. Sands of Time offered a very satisfying story that wrapped up neatly. But with Warrior Within . . . BOOM, just like that the Prince is running for his life. The story isn't bad, it's just that it doesn't jive with the previous game like I think it should. 4/5.

Well worth the $50 I spent on it, I'm hoping that Ubisoft continues the Prince of Persia series.

"Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" was a phenomenal game, and delivering a follow-up in just under a year is always a tricky proposition. However, that is exactly what developer Ubisoft Montreal did with "The Warrior Within," a mostly worthy successor that unfortunately takes about as many steps forward as it takes backward.

In a strange turn, "Warrior Within" trades in the storybook style of its predecessor for a hard-edged vibe, denoted by the series' switch from a "Teen" rated game in "Sands of Time" to its current "Mature" verdict. The prince continues his adventure as a darksome pirate, less boyish and more sinister, haunted by his past and the beast his actions unleashed. This beast, known as the Dahaka, pursues him relentlessly, it seems, giving him not a moment's rest. It devours everything in its wake, and the only way it can be stopped, the prince decides, is to find the mysterious Empress of Time... and kill her. It's an interesting switch in tone from the first game, but not an entirely successful one. The mood of "Sands" was considerably more original than what's offered up here, and the absence of Farah as a pivotal character is a sad loss to the franchise. Still, it suffices even if it's easy to mourn the alteration.

Gameplay remains much the same, which is a great thing. The prince still has all the same nifty moves at his disposal (plus a few more), and is as nimble and easy to control as ever. In a curious plot hole, the character now lacks the dagger of time but can still rewind it provided he has enough sand in his possession - which is welcome, because this was the stand-out feature of the game's predecessor, and given the harder difficulty of this follow-up it's more useful than ever. Whether or not it makes logical sense from a story perspective is relatively moot. In any case, more time-shifting abilities crop up as the game proceeds, most of them aimed at helping the prince survive in battle.

Speaking of battle, this is an area of "Warrior Within" that has seen much improvement, as combat was the weakest link in the "Sands of Time" chain. The new blood and dismemberment options still seem remarkably out of character, but the action itself is integrated much more skillfully into the gameplay - which is good, since combat plays a noticeably larger role this time around. The moves at the prince's disposal are much more effective than they were previously, allowing for more interesting combos and environmental attacks that sometimes prove necessary in surviving some rather challenging fights.

Boss encounters are another new addition in "Warrior Within," as there are several interspersed throughout. These are interesting in that while they are, for the most part, a welcome feature, the majority of combos are discouraged thanks to each boss's uncanny ability to block these kinds of attacks. Instead, defeating these nefarious characters basically involves lots and lots of rolling and flipping while occasionally coming in for a simple stab or slash, then repeating the process until they eventually die. These could have provided a great opportunity to rely on the game's new, more complex maneuvers, but instead they dissolve into a stick-and-move routine that's only so exciting.

Perhaps the coolest addition to the game, however, is the Dahaka itself, which periodically pops up and forces the prince to flee for his life, usually over lots and lots of obstacles that get in his way. This provides a nice change of pace, adding loads of tension when it works at its best. Unfortunately, sometimes the camera's positioning during these sequences works against you, cropping out the dangers you're fleeing towards. Mostly, though, it's a rush of intense gameplay that shakes up the experience in a positive way.

But despite the new and improved combat and the occasional Dahaka-haunted obstacle course, "Warrior Within" is a mere shadow of its predecessor's former glory, thanks in part to the shift in tone, but more importantly to its overall less impressive design. The hub system in the game artificially lengthens the experience, and not in a good way. Lots and lots of backtracking is required, and prepare to see the same environments over and over again during the course of the journey. What's more, sometimes it is extremely unclear what you are supposed to be doing, and where it needs to be done at, and given the massive environment, which you can roam almost freely, it can become rather mind-boggling and out and out aggravating. The first game just felt tighter, like a well-oiled machine. Not so with regards to the sequel.

All in all, "Warrior Within" is certainly a very good game, but a disappointment as well. Hopefully a third installment will find a happy medium in terms of its tone, but more importantly add the much improved combat to a game that is less confounding and sharper in its design. In the end, though, "Sands of Time" is a tough act to follow, but, for the most part, its successor does its job admirably.

If you enjoyed playing Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time, then you will be spellbound by its sequel "Warrior Within". This game no doubt, ups the ante of the previous rendition by a huge scale. Since I am not in a position to review it yet, let me state my first impressions of the game in the context of the videos and files I've gone through.

Firstly, the protagonist. The Prince in the first game was an up-and-coming warrior of immense skill and heart. Though naive, he had the courage to set things right . But he had no clear idea of what to do except restore the order of time.
In Warrior Within though, the Prince is 10 yrs older. And more mysterious. He is the ultimate warrior, having experienced countless battles since restoring the Sands of Time. He is dark, broody, independent and utterly dangerous to the point of being manic. And he knows exactly what to do now.

Sands of Time has a very brightly-lit atmosphere to it. All the surroundings are visually breathtaking and there is a soft aura of appearance to it, probably showcasing the transient beauty of the Arabian landscape.
POP-Warrior Within is the exact opposite in appearance. It has vivid and awe-inspiring landscapes, no doubt, but it is creepy, foreboding and unforgiving. It rather showcases the effect of the Sands of Time's disastrous effect on the world. It also has a completely re-worked graphics engine which looks terrific. The terrain and the characters looks extremely realistic and fluid in movement.
I wish to state that if there is any reason POP:WW might have a fallout with you, it could only be the environment itself. Take it for granted that the game will have a very dark, menacing look to it, all through. It will be gorgeous to look at, no doubt, but somehwere down the line, we might start asking "Why is it SO dark in concept?". This could turn us off quite a bit coz' we would want to relate this game to the fantastic feel of Sands of Time. Let's face it. Sands of Time had the most uplifting level design to date. I surely hope Ubisoft has not taken the word 'bleakness' to the extreme.
I also noticed that the Prince is not the same naive, likeable guy we know off. Hopefully he doesn't have a total makeover in his personality.

Neverthless, POP:WW has a lot more to offer.....

Sands of Time had the bubbly Farah as your companion. In Warrior Within, you seek no one's aid in combat. But a few new mysterious characters do help you at times, in achieving your objective. Variety is one thing you can expect.

In Sands of Time, the Prince has only a few but effective combat moves to his repertoire. In one hand he held the Dagger of Time and in the other, he had a Scimitar to deal primary damage and he could piece together a few combos to deal some effective damage.
In Warrior Within, the combat is truly groundbreaking. Just like Ryu Hayabusa in Ninja Gaiden, the Prince has some amazing combos to showcase his skill. Not only can he dual-wield weapons this time around, but he can also grab his assailant's weapon and counter target his enemy. He can also contextually use his environment to good effect, for instance, latch onto a pole and revolve-slash multiple enemies. The effect, I tell you, is something to be seen. Warrior Within is the first game to introduce 'free-form' combat, meaning, you can create your own combos and latch them together to deal some truly unique and incredible attack manoeuvres. Imagine. Think of all the weapons that he gets his hands on and the combos you can attach them to. The though itself is whetting my appetite.

Sands of Time had a sense of grandness that not many games could even think off, particularly the level design. Even Halo cannot compare itself to it. But Warrior Within is very similar to its predecessor. Though darker story-wise, it has the same sweeping sense of scale the first rendition enjoyed and provides a lot more than that. Ubisoft has been clever not to expose everything just yet but it is safe to say that Warrior Within is much bigger than Sands of Time.

The enemies in Sands of Time were few and all of them were zombies. With some understanding, they could be easily disposed off. Not so in Warrior Within. I believe there are all-together 9 types who range from the fast Executioners who attack in co-ordinate pairs to the massive Brute who can crush you with one swipe. There is another creature called the Griffin that could put even some Ninja Gaiden bosses to shame. All sounds exciting.

Phew !. If I go on, this preview would probably never end. Since this is just a general description of what you can expect in Warrior Within, I'd be hard pressed to discuss its finer details. It is astonishing how Ubisoft has managed to change the game completely in just over a year after the first game. I would be very surprised if you aren't impressed with its technical aspects. They are truly Next-Gen and among the three consoles supporting it, the XBOX version undoubtedly looks and feels better. But it is safe to say that Prince of Persia : Warrior Within will be a must-buy for any console.

PS: Thanx for going through the preview. If you are interested in my review, you can check it out in the Playstation version of the game.
Have a nice day.

so....i was really looking forward to this game.....man....what a let down.

graphics: not nearly as majestic and awe inspiring as the last

story: eh....decent concept, fun idea....however, over the top.

character: this is the biggest issue for me, although i am one of the few who loved the prince's voice work in SoT, they totally switched it now...so the american from persia? really? who swears? ok? no not really a good idea...whoever made this decision to not use the same voice artist was a moron.

and we lost ALL of the charm from the first one....the jokes, the prince talking to himself....everything...done..gone...ruined.

Fighting....well...i enjoy some of the new moves, the two weapon fighting...but there is too much fighting....

the great thing about SoT was that it was a platform game...a big puzzle with story and purpose....this one seems to have lost sight of all of that.
although the platforming in this game is challenging....it's not nearly as much fun as SoT...

saves....a decent idea to have the fountains be saves, but a few more fountains placed throughout would have been nice....yeah i'm a pansy when it comes to my game play, i like to be able to heal without having to start over the whole level from the last save....

sound...GET YOUR OLD COMPOSER BACK....AND HAVE HIM KICK THE LIVING CRAP OUT OF WHOEVER DID THE MUSIC FOR THIS ONE....AND IF IT'S THE SAME GUY.....end his career....now.

other than crap dialogue and REALLY crap voice work.....sound effects were great.

SoT is one of my favorite games EVER. and it hurts to not like it's sequel....if i had the ability..i would go back in time and tell the people at Ubisoft to scrap the idea and start over.....

ahhh if only i could rewind.

Let's first be clear: I own the first Prince of Persia game and love it. I could not put the controller down with that one. Warrior Within is another story altogether. It is easily the most irritating game I've ever played. The graphics and sound are fantastic, some of the best that I've seen and heard. But that's where the good things end. The control is obnoxious as it seems not to matter which direction you are aiming towards, the prince will attack wherever he chooses. I found it next to impossible to accurately position and move the prince during even the most simple moves, let alone during intense combat. Save points are few and far between, carefully placed at the end of very difficult stretches of game play. I often found myself doing and redoing the same 15-20 minute stretch of game ad nauseam. I can only assume that this was done to lengthed the total time of gameplay, but it serves only to add frustration, not enjoyment. Finally, enemies require far more swipes with the sword than the Prince himself does, and considering they outnumber him about 1000 to 1, you better be prepared to invest heavily in some depressant of your choice to ease the irritation.

To ubisoft: Thank you for the not too subtle reminder of why you should always TRY before you BUY, regardless of how good the prequel was.

To anyone considering the purchase of this game: I would suggest you do the same.

HTH

I just got this game yesterday, November 29, 2004, when it should have came out on December 2, and stayed up all night with it. Let's start with the basics:

1. Opening movie/graphics: My mouth literraly dropped open, i on't know how it happened, it literally dropped, it was like watching a fast-paced action sequal

2. Controls - There are many, many, MANY, combos, that are extremely easy to do, so you'll hardly ever pull the same one twice, whil creating your OWN fighting style, (Triangle, Triange, Triange, Square - see easy). Then the sensetivity is so right on the dot, it feel like i'm the prince, moving, sliding, spinnng, jumping...

3. Story- fair, but i'm just saying that couse i heard it so much, but i do suspect there's more to it then that

4. Gameplay: OMFG - damn that good gameplay, i already explained the FFF (Free for fighting) which is totally revolutioary) where you can creat your own fighting style, you can't even begin to imagine how good it seriously is

5. Gamestyle - the stylwe is pretty brutal, but now how the Toys'r'us people make it sound like, you can do thing like pull your enemies over traps, strangulation, and cut'em'up decapitation technichs, but it is a little Residend Evil style creepy, huge dark rooms, alone hereaning your eart beat...

Pro's

The whole game

Con's

Little diferences would hae givin it a perfect ten, but somthing like that doesn't exist.

like many who loved the sands of time, i was anxious when i learned of warrior within's release. i picked it up without any second guessing, and i've already beaten it.

so here's the good, the bad, and the ugly.

i think that warrior within is a HUGE improvement from the sands of time. the story is good (although i think they went a little overboard with this whole "time" storyline), you play the same prince although for some reason ubisoft decided to make him evil, however i found that overall this doesn't effect the games play.

the fighting is DRASTICALLY improved, there are so many more enemies of different varities, from your typical guards, to dogs that travel in packs and attack you vicioiusly when you are down. you dont have to stab anyone with the stupid dagger to kill them, you simply beat them into submission and they fade away into sand automatically. the dagger is replaced with a secondary weapon, which you can either throw or attack with. the acrobatics are also improved, with a bunch of killer combos and tricks.

the puzzles don't seem to be as challenging as SOT, but the traps are a lot tougher, with some new traps (such as stone crushers), you really have to stop and think about how you are going to get around them, bringing more strategy to the game. the new dahaka chases are really intense becuase they really test your skills.

of course, this game isn't without its flaws. its very frustrating when you have to use 3 sand tanks because the terrible camera angles have you missing a pillar you're supposed to jump to, and considering you can only get a max of 6 sand tanks, its even more annoying when you have to start over an area constantly.

the game also isn't very long, i beat it in about 6 or 7 hours. this game has little to no replay value (unless you feel like beating it on every difficulty) the boss battles aren't really anything special, and sometimes feel like your fighting a boss straight out of a zelda game.

my last complaint is that the game can be glitchy, for instance, every once in awhile when you die, when you go to restart, the game will freeze, the prince will occasionally miss a ledge or pillar when he clearly should've grabbed onto it.

other than thse few complaints, this is a great game and a must for anyone who loved sands of time or are looking for an original, fun, and challenging game to add to their collection.

This review is a little long winded, I apologize, but I feel the need to rant a little. Most reviews here are pretty positive, everyone can have their own opinion, of course, but consider this a warning if you are thinking about buying this game: not everyone will enjoy Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, and some people may even hate it.

I really, really wanted to like this game. I never played Sands of Time, but I like the old side-scroller Prince of Persia games and the idea of a good bloody hack-and-slash game is always appealing. Reviews on Gamespot and other websites were very positive. The only bad thing anyone mentioned seemed to be a new, darker tone that detracted from the game. Well, I never played Sands of Time, so the change in tone was meaningless to me. Reassured by all this good press, a couple weeks ago I went out and plunked down fifty bucks on the game and went home to fire it up. I figured I couldn't go wrong.

Well, I did. Given all the positive buzz, how could I suspect that this is one of the most tedious, frustrating, poorly designed games I've ever had the misfortune to play on Xbox? The "dark tone" is the least of Warrior Within's problems.

Let's see... where should I begin? First off, the free-form fighting system is hype. The combat sequences are flashy, but all you're really doing is stringing left- and right-hand attacks together by hitting the X and Y buttons repeatedly--little more than button-mashing. There's no real depth or technique involved, and it's often inadequate for the fights you face. Combat tends to be either boring or excessively difficult, depending on what type of enemy you're fighting and how many there are. The problem is exacerbated by the game's sluggish, poorly designed control scheme. The Prince has an excessively long recovery time and is generally slow in combat. You can't interrupt or abort your moves and attacks, which results in the Prince leaving himself open to long, unblockable attacks by his opponents, and he automatically "locks on" to any enemy in his field of view which makes it very difficult to pick up weapons and sand powers when you need them in combat. It also makes it difficult to simply avoid enemies, which you'll want to do after the millionth pointless swordfight.

Then there's the platform gaming. The jumping and acrobatics are sometimes fun, but generally frustrating. The camera angles seem to be chosen for cinematic effect rather than usefulness, and the camera is limited and difficult to control. I found myself dying or being forced to waste precious sand tanks frequently because I couldn't see where I was supposed to go, or it simply wasn't clear. This problem is worst during the "dahaka chase" sequences, in which you have to escape a monster that will kill you if you stop or slow down. In these sequences you often have to wait for the camera to get to the right angle so you can see where you're supposed to go, wasting precious seconds.

I found the level design generally dull and uninteresting. I know it's a matter of taste, but I don't think endless stone corridors that all look exactly the same are enough for a game in this day and age. There are some great outdoor areas, and the "garden tower" level is a pleasant departure showing what could have been if the developers had been more imaginative, but in general it's the same bland environments over and over. More to the point, it's often unclear where you need to go or what you need to do. This tends to be annoying, given that the game is almost completely linear. Perhaps the worst thing, however, is the checkpoint system. I am of the opinion that all games should have some sort of save anywhere feature, and this is a game that especially needs it. In this game the environments are dull and the player dies a lot, forcing him to replay the same dull environment over and over because he hasn't reached the next checkpoint/savepoint. Unfortunately, health and save points are few and far between in some parts of the game (this is especially true in the middle section of the game) while in others they are unneccessarily frequent.

All told, it's not a *terrible* game. The platform stuff can be fun, the graphics are decent, and the combat is aesthetically interesting. The game is very cool for the first few hours of play, until the novelty wears off. I have managed to play through to the last boss, and will probably finish the game soon if for no other reason than to get my money's worth. However, it could have been much, much better. It's surprising that in all the hype about it, I haven't seen much criticism along the lines I raised. It may be it's simply not my type of game--oh, did I mention it's glitchy, also?--but if you're considering buying it, I would strongly suggest renting it first. Whether or not some people enjoy it I think it has some major issues. You should not simply spend your hard-earned money and time on it without considering its deficits, which may ruin the game for you as they did for me.

I would like to start out by complimenting Ubisoft this is a game that is in every way just like SoT while at the same time adding a better look to the series. I have never before played a game with such an awesome fighting style including using the environment against enemies chopping off heads and cutting bodies in half! For fans of SoT you will get all of the princes moves back (icluding time reversing and wall running) and instead of having the same boring puzzles over and over again they give the game much cooler environments.Every inch of this game is as cool as the front cover looks! I look forward to the next Prince of Persia game!

Lest you think that I have a negative view of this game, I will state up front that this game (in my opinion) could easily be in contention for game of the year. However, it seems that Ubisoft decided not to upgrade the graphics for the Xbox. While they are good, they come no where near to the capabilities of the Xbox. Also, there are times that the game can freeze up which is rather frustrating. (I had this occur three times during the game.)

For those gamers that were expecting a continuation of the gameplay presented in PoP: Sands of Time; this game may let you down. Also, the music track will be a positive or negative depending on the style of music you like. Godsmack does a couple of the lyrics based songs and the entire game has a definite rock flavor to it. Whether or not the instrumental tracks are all done by Godsmack, I do not know; but the soundtrack is definitely in that vein. I, personally loved the music; but I am sure that there are a lot of people that may not.

The game is definitely harder than the first and if you just can't stand seeing: "Game Over" then you should probably try something else. I think the fighting is vastly improved over the first game. While it doesn't quite become the free form fighting that Ubisoft claims; it does come close. Every once in a while after I thought I had performed all the moves that I could, I pressed an extra button or two and the results were spectacular. Different enemies will require different combinations which adds to the variety and enjoyment of the game. There is a menu of the combinations and acrobatic moves as well as some time based effects that you will need to know. This can be somewhat confusing at first because you will not be able to use all the moves that are listed, but they will become available at some point as the game continues.

I think the story is compelling enough to keep you playing, but it is not a deep and twisted plot. The ending I played to, left room for a continuing story in PoP III (I sure hope they make one!). I completed all the life upgrades. I can't say that they were easy to find, but there are enough clues to find them all without a strategy guide. There are also times when the camera will not quite cooperate, but these times are generally few and far between.

In short: If you like a challenging action and puzzle game: This title is hard to beat. I don't like the limitations that are inherent in a 1-5 star system so to be a bit more precise, I would give this game about a 9.2/10 even though I definitely have to give it a 5 instead of 4.

The harder edge to this game will limit the popularity of the game, but this is a game you should defintely play. As far as the "M" rating...I have seen more television shows in prime time that were much more graphic as far as blood and gore goes. The language is fairly tame for the most part. It's not even close to what you hear in "Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay". For that matter the Playstation 2 game: "Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne" has many more "cuss words" than does PoP: WW.

This is one of the better games on any platform that has been released in 2004. You may want to rent it before buying; but I like the changes from the first game. It will appeal to a far less diverse group of people than did PoP: Sands of Time. Despite the bugs and other minor flaws in the game, if you fall into the group of people that are described above: Buy it!! If not, at least: Try it! I recommend it highly.