I can't think of a console game I had more fun playing in 2003 than Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. I was so psyched for Warrior Within that I played through The Sands of Time to reacquaint myself with the setting and characters. Of course I'd read how the dreamy, Arabian atmosphere of The Sands of Time had been ditched in favor of a rustier, tetanus-y,leather-pantsed, my-parents-don't-understand-me one, but I was still willing to give the Prince the benefit of the doubt. That was a mistake. The darker tone of Warrior Within really doesn't bother me that much, although I obviously greatly prefer the more lighthearted nature of The Sands of Time. Everything else about the game seems to have taken a step backwards, making Warrior Within feel like a completely different developer's half-hearted rip-off of The Sands of Time. Many of Warrior Within's problems seem like telltale symptoms of a rushed development cycle. The biggest contributor to Warrior Within's demise is the level design. Warrior Within isn't lacking the ingenious environmental puzzles that made The Sands of Time great. They now share about equal time with lame, button-mashy, non-fun combat (as opposed to nicely punctuating the exploration elements like in The Sands of Time). Warrior Within's "non-linearity" is what really spoils the fun. Unlike The Sands of Time's straightforward area-to-area approach, Warrior Within strives for a more Metroid-y, Zelda-ish vibe by slowly opening up more of the island the Prince is exploring. What that really means is a god-awful amount of backtracking. I honestly don't think I've ever done more backtracking in any game ever. I mean, did the developers only just discover that they could use the same areas multiple times? Any new area you go to requires you to go back to a hub area, dodging the same sorts of traps from the prequel and fighting incessant waves of enemies on your way every time. Don't be surprised when you find yourself visiting the same areas three and four times if you want to get all of the very well hidden life upgrades (find a good faq, the game is next to impossible without those life upgrades). All of that backtracking coupled with muddled, glaucoma-simulating textures, lots of similar-looking areas, a worthless map, and a handful of progress-stifling glitches will probably leave you feeling very lost and very bored. There are other problems, too! Lucky! There are sound bugs abound in Warrior Within, at least in the Xbox version. Sound effects tend to cut out randomly, speech may or may not play during cutscenes, some things just seem to lack sound (like the Dahaka's tentacles), 'fighting' music may start up for no discernable reason, and there are probably others that I'm forgetting. The models in the game don't look that good, either, mostly because of clipping problems. The controls seem a lot worse in Warrior Within compared to The Sands of Time's, as well. There were lots of times when I sent the Prince flying off ledges or hurtling into enemies I was attempting to avoid due to the touchy, overly-loose controls. Maybe I'm just noticing that more because Warrior Within is much less forgiving when it comes to doling out time-controlling sand that would otherwise let you correct little game-ending mistakes like that. Regardless, it's frustrating. There are also a handful of drawn-out boss battles, something the first game wisely avoided. There's nothing to be said for the plot or the dialogue, either, except that The Sands of Time is also superior in that area. So what good things can be said about Warrior Within? Well, the ICO-ish environmental puzzles are still nice, as I mentioned earlier, but soiled by frequent lousy fighting sequences. The CG cutscenes look nice, too, and are probably the only thing that Warrior Within does better than The Sands of Time. The Dahaka chases are neat, too. Well, they would be if the controls weren't so problematic. I liked the rockin' metal score, too, but I'd have liked it better if it wasn't always playing at the wrong time or cutting out abruptly. All of Warrior Within's problems seem like they could have been nixed if the developers had spent a year longer polishing it. One can only wonder why, if the Sands of Time supposedly didn't sell that well, Ubisoft would rush out an incredibly inferior sequel so quickly. Whatever the reason, I doubt I'll be checking out the next Prince of Persia game.
Other Helpful Reviews for Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
The Prince of Persia games are the best games to ever come out! exciting and innovative these games can be played over and over. The combat is always exciting. I still get excited when the camera goes into slow-motion t... Read Full Review
Prince of Persia Warrior Within is the second game in the Prince of Persia series. And it is probably the best of the three. It does have some sound issues on the XBOX but that's the only problem that is noticeable. The ... Read Full Review
