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Plot Synopsis

No plot synopsis or other information available for Prince of Persia

Story & Playability

The story of Warrior Within takes place five years after the Sands of Time still focused on the nameless protagonist only known as the Prince (Not the artist formerly known as, mind you, although that would be hilarious to see him as the star). The events of Sands of Time are long past, Farrah is nowhere to be seen, and let’s just say, everything hasn’t ended happily ever after for the Prince. When the Prince first opened the Sands of Time, his fate was set and he was to die during the events of the previous iteration, but the Prince managed to defy fate and survive. The Empress of Time, defendor of the make of time, sends a seemingly endless horde of minions after the Prince, including the mysterious and unstoppable Dahaka, to ensure his fated death. The Prince is pretty boned.

After years of being chased, the Prince is a changed man. He’s no longer the arrogant young man searching for “honor and glory.” He’s desperate and willing to do anything and everything to stay alive. In the five years that have past, the Prince is coming near the end, he simply cannot continue running. Not all is lost as hope is resurrected in the Prince when he consults with his only ally, a wise blind man in the desert, whom reveals to the Prince the Sands of Time’s place of origin. If the Prince can stop the creation of the Sands of Time, he’d be in the clearing, or at least so he thinks. With the old man’s comforting parting words of, “You will die,” the Prince starts off on his long, hard journey of self-salvation.

It gives a reason to play, but eh, I liked the playful banter and the "Nights of Arabian"-esque story of the last version.

Rating

7 (above average)

Graphics

Graphically-speaking, Warrior Within is a mixed bag. The fully CG-animated cutscenes are beautifully done. There are a decent amount of them and relatively all fit into the game nicely.

The in-game graphics are a different story. With only around a year between SoT and WW there was obviously little changes made to the game’s technicals. The game still looks good with nicely created character models, detailed backgrounds, and nice particle effects, but it is starting to look a bit dated compared to games being released today.

Rating

8 (good)

Sound

I enjoy the music of Godsmack, but the same continuous guitar riffs of music consistently playing pretty much everywhere in the game loses its’ edge over time and becomes incredibly monotonous. More variety would have helped

There is far less dialogue in Warrior Within and the Prince’s new voice actor, Robin Atkin Downes, fits well for the deeper atmosphere, but sometimes feels forced in his delivery. For the more action-oriented gameplay, less dialogue works better then trying to fit in a complicated and more wordy dialogue that can be easily slated in a few one-liners. Argurably the banter between the Prince and Farrah was amusing and a plus for SoT, but would have found no welcome in this game.

Rating

8 (good)

Fun

The members of UBISoft first wanted to remove the stiffness of combat and not restrict the player, so they created a free-form system, which allows the player greater freedom in choosing their style of combat. No longer are you stuck with the same few combos to dispatch enemies, but have a larger array of moves and abilities to get the job done. For example, whereas in the Sands of Time you’d use a simple combat move to dispatch one enemy and then move onto the next, Warrior Within gives you several options. You could use the first enemy to toss him into another, giving you breathing space and then combat both enemies at the same time or you could quickly knockdown one enemy, finish him off, and steal his weapon for the dual-wielding experience. You're also given more options when using the environment whereas you can leap off walls into enemies or swing around columns with your blade extended. It’s a big improvement and more expansive allowing you a much more gratifying combat experience then that of the Sands of Time.

UBIsoft added a few new elements to the platforming and time-altering, but largely it remains untouched, which is a good thing since it still holds up incredibly well.

Although the combat system is vastly improved, I would have liked to seen more platforming then combat. In SoT, the action was focused on platforming and supplemented by combat, where as in WW its’ split about 50/50 for combat and platforming. Realistically, it does separate the game from the prior title, but I would have liked to see more emphasis on platforming than combat, since the platforming elements are still better than the combat elements.

If you’re looking for Sands of Time in Warrior Within you’ll find it, but you may not like what surrounds it. The presentation changeover’s impact is almost as daunting as what video game creator American Magee did with the children’s story of Alice in Wonderland; completely changing a light-hearted story into a perversely different, yet still similar tale. Warrior Within manages to capture its’ own identity, and is qualified to be called a sequel, but one can wonder if UBISoft could of made the changes to the core gameplay and kept a lighter game then aiming for the finances and utilizing a darker style. Conker’s changeover was ultimately right, the Prince’s was not.

If it were a standalone game, Warrior Within may have been able to pull off a darker look, but alas, being a sequel to a magnificent piece of work, the violent and more mature style only drags the game down.

Rating

8 (good)

Final Verdict

7.67 (good)

Reviewed by Mtank325, 2y 47wk ago