Platform: Playstation 2

Publisher: Ubisoft

Rating: Mature (M)

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within is the action-packed sequel to Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Due to his heroic actions by saving the Sultan’s castle from destruction, the Prince has opened up a rift in time and unleashed the Dahaka, a horrible, mystical beast who intends to kill him. The Prince decides that the only way to fix things is to go to the island where the Sands of Time started, and travel back in time to prevent them from ever being created.

Difficulty Level/Modes of Play

This is a single player, action/adventure game filled with slick moves, traversing through multiple obstacles and puzzle solving. There are three levels of difficulty: Easy, Normal and Hard.

In Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, combat is one of your biggest challenges. Offering a wide selection of combat combos, it a bit tricky when first learning to play. The game does display combos on screen, but sometimes it’s difficult to catch when you are busy being attacked. You may spend some time repeating certain levels simply because you are not sure which buttons to push. Fortunately ,in the game menu, there is an option to see all the combos available. This is good since sometimes you will not have access to an instruction manual.

If the controls are giving you trouble, they can also be changed in the options menu.

Fun Factor

Playing Prince of Persia: Warrior Within is a challenge even at the Easy level of difficulty. I spent quite a bit of time just trying to get past one of the earlier levels that were filled with multiple obstacles. The best thing to do is to learn some of the main combos and moves, then add others as you go along.

One of the cool features of the game is that you can reverse time. Sometimes we make mistakes, and this is a way you can go back and correct it (L1). You do need to have enough “sand” to accomplish this. The sand can be accumulated by defeating enemies and picking up the residue they leave behind.

The game can sometimes be frustrating when it comes to camera views. Obstacles to climb can be confusing, since all the detail is not always shown. I have plenty of “practice” now moving through these rough patches by repetition.

Once you get comfortable with the way the Prince moves, the game is really enjoyable. He can walk on walls, leap through wide obstacles, and looks slick when doing combos.

Graphics

The graphics in Warrior Within look great, with fine details in the locations and characters. In video dialogs, the character faces look a little flat, but that seems to be common in a lot of these types of games. To view more screenshots of the game, go to the Ubisoft website.

Game loading time is not too bad, and if you die in the game and have to start a level over, you can fast-forward past any dialog or video you have already seen by pressing the X button.

Audio

The background music in this game is hard rock. It works well and sounds great. It's not as atmospheric as in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, though. Dialog in the game can be graphic at times with the Prince cursing every now and then, but the voices fit the characters.

Summary

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within is an action-packed game sequel to Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. Join the Prince and stop the evil Dahaka, whom you unwittingly released by a rift in time you created. Go to the island where the Sands of Time where the first began, and travel back in time to stop them from ever coming into existence. Learn multiple combat combos; walk on walls and reverse time to achieve your goals. Travel through difficult obstacles and solve puzzles. Succeed in your quest and save the Prince from an untimely demise. If you enjoyed Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, definitely check this game out.