Prince of Persia: Warrior Within

[ATB]

Finally playing this and I'm both pleased and not.

Much has been said about the Prince's darker edge.  I don't mind it as I can totally see myself getting all medieval if some creature of my nightmares was hunting me every day...

But, my biggest gripe is with the combat.  It is so complex and involved now, compared to the original.  I really enjoyed the combat in POP (though many did not) and think it has become a bit convoluted.  I speculate that they saw Ninja Gaiden's move list and tried to duplicate it.  However, I didn't have much trouble NG's moves.  The moves in POP:WW seem ineffective (especially in boss fights) as they're easily blockable.  I'm fighting that thong girl for the second time and i've died like 30 times (as I did the first time as well).

Anyhow, I think the level design and puzzles are great so far and still think this is one of the finest franchises out there.  Great fun.

Edit: The heavy metal sound track (even though I grew up a headbanger) doesn't match the game.  It stinks and thus I have it turned nearly all the way down.

[whiteboyskim]

I agree on the music as Godsmack in a fantastical medieval setting is about the dumbest idea I've ever heard of. Couple that with annoying voice work from your opponents and the vocals/music almost uniformly suck. I like the idea of the story, and the running from the Dahaka parts are way cool as is the general point of the story, but UbiSoft stripped away what made Sands of Time so great and gave us, as you said, Ninja Gaiden 2 but called it Prince of Persia. What I like is that the save points are so frequent so I can burn through a section, save, and call it a day. What I don't like is the call to play it is zero compared to Sands of Time, which stands at #3 on my All Time Greatest Games list.

After that, WW feels like a backhanded compliment - there is good to be found, but it stings like hell trying to find it.

[AgtFox]

My review sounds much like what you guys are talking about.  I think it was very "one step forward, two steps back".

The Dakhara running was pretty cool and I thought the whole towers section was better than any bit in Sands of Time, but the joy was brought down by the music that shouldn't have been there (even during quiet times I was getting bombarded by Godsmack intrumentals...I like hard rock, but it doesn't belong in this game) and the time women who kept saying double entendres over and over again.

From what I hear PoP3 is going to be the same sort of mood, but I hope they eliminate the hard music and try to bring more cohesion between WW and Sands of Time.

[aledromo]

Let's say a hypothetical man greatly enjoyed Ninja Gaiden and didn't like Sands of Time.  Would this hypothetical man, himself capable of employing the mute button, enjoy the Warrior Within?

I've...I mean, this hypothetical man has been looking for his NG fix since he failed to download the Hurricane pack.

[whiteboyskim]

I guess so, but I'm right about to finish the second tower (Mechanical) and I think the game pretty much sucks. At this point, I'm playing it just to finish it because I genuinely want to see the ending. The combat is fun if you're into heavy button hitting and combos, but there have been more than a few times where I'd get through a particularly rough trap section, only to get jumped by four or five enemies most of which are these fast moving chicks. The wenches that squeal about pain and such. I try my best to run at that point, and combine that with some deviously inspired jumping puzzles all at the same time, and it feels like two completely separate games, neither one very good.

Thus far: D+

P.S. I've actually employed the mute button far too often. Not only is the music completely out of place, but the more you hear it the worse it sucks.

[aledromo]

Out!

Thanks.

[-Lord Ebonstone-]

I paid $25 for this and I'd say that's about the most it's worth.  It's a decent game, too hard at the beginning but fun as long as you're not a prude with your sand abilities like slow time, etc.

[ATB]

Now that I'm in the groove I'm actually enjoying it quite a bit more.

Some of the save points are too far apart, but it's a worthy sequel.  It's no where near as good as SOT, but it's fun for me.

The level design is still awe inspiring.

[Beer Goggles]

I loved Sands of Time but all this forced 'edginess' in WW turned me off.

[The Rocketman]

I didn't like it at first, it grew on me, and I couldn't put it down at the end. The combat is a tiny bit more button mashing than NG (which is still supreme king), but it also needs to 'click', and you'll be having a whole lot of fun then!!

It has its faults, but it doesn't deserve the beating it gets...

ANd I actually got really pumped on the music, especially the menu music rocked! ... But then, that is quite subjective apparantly

PS Search for the older thread, it had some good insights.