A Prince that's better than before
User Rating: 8.5 | Prince of Persia: Warrior Within PC
The game starts with an intense ship scene where you learn the controls via the onscreen prompts and fight off monsters all around. This would then lead to a full-fletched boss battle with a flunkey of the Empress. To say that this is a very unique introduction to the game would be an understatement. The fight is actually quite intense and unless you are already accustomed to the controls, you will find yourself struggling to keep up with the pace of the game. The Prince is back alright. Like with Sands of Time, after reaching a certain point in the game, you will be allowed to go back in time for a few seconds to prevent mistakes or to avoid attacks. Being an adventure game, Warrior Within has its share of puzzles to solve. Most of these involve figuring out how to get the Prince to a certain area where he will flip a switch to open a door. Unlike Sands of Time however, there are less puzzles this time around as most of the action revolves around combat. There are attacks that can be used against multiple enemies. Also, the improved combat system means that the Prince can now wield two weapons at one time and use them in powerful combos. However, because different weapons have different attack speeds and last a specific number of hits, your attacks will vary accordingly. There are also impressive visual effects to go with the combat moves. Every now and then, the game will switch to a slo-mo close-up mode ala the Matrix so that you can witness beheadings and slicing of enemies in their full glory. Combine this with the gorgeous depictions of Middle Eastern architecture, the game resembles more a dreamy cinematic feast then a video game. Also deserving of a mention is the way you can choose to fast-forward cut scenes in the event that you lose and have to restart from the beginning of the level. This is a better alternative to skipping the sequence altogether because you still get to see a brief recap of what went on and you wouldn’t be thrust into a battle immediately after the restart before you can prepare yourself. Back to the Future... While the voice acting isn’t too bad, some of the characters’ lines are too few and this leads to quite a lot of repetition. The producers might want to go easy on the taunts because after having to play through some of the boss fights for a few times (due to above issue with jumping and dying), the last thing you want is to be mocked incessantly by some creature you have already dispatched more than once. In an attempt to compliment the dark tones of the story, the soundtrack comprises mainly of rock and metal-sounding tunes. This is indeed a significant change from the lighter settings of the previous games. After all, from the cover art picture of the gruff, bitter-looking hero, you wouldn’t be expecting a cheery game would you? When compared with Sands of Time, Prince of Persia Warrior Within definitely pales in comparison. Character development is still as well fleshed-out and the story is still as absorbing but the game play mechanics are a total let-down. Despite that though, the game is still quite an enjoyable experience and if you are not one who is easily frustrated, be sure not to give this one a miss.
