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Do not support buggy games

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 15
Date: December 18, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I would not reccomend this game to anyone for the simple reason that it's buggy. I could live with the voices cutting in and out or the random hits but I can't live with a game that messes up and requires you to start over from the beginning to (hopefully) not get the bug the next time through.

The game itself was fairly fun. However, going through the same areas, even if they are present and past versions got really boring.

Also, the fighting system doesn't always work too well. The prince has some cool new moves but there's an auto aiming system that just doesn't leave a person in control of what they are doing and frequently resulted in him jumping off a ledge or striking towards a distant enemy rather than the one in the direction I was pushing.
Don't buy it.

this game is horrible

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 22
Date: December 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I'd spend my money on Ninja Gaiden anytime. Warrior Within is horrible. Don't waste your money. I am going to ebay this sucker as fast as I can.

Prince of Persia should be an excellent platformer at heart

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 7
Date: October 29, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I agree with the earlier review. They changed prince of persia from an excellent platformer to a ninja gaiden look alike with much more fighting.

Save your money

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 6
Date: October 20, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Just awful, the forced prespective and auto camera make this one virtually unplayable. I would have paid the used game store to take this one back.

Read this if you are considering buying Warrior Within

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: January 04, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This review is a little long winded, I apologize, but I feel the need to rant a little. Most reviews here are pretty positive, everyone can have their own opinion, of course, but consider this a warning if you are thinking about buying this game: not everyone will enjoy Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, and some people may even hate it.

I really, really wanted to like this game. I never played Sands of Time, but I like the old side-scroller Prince of Persia games and the idea of a good bloody hack-and-slash game is always appealing. Reviews on Gamespot and other websites were very positive. The only bad thing anyone mentioned seemed to be a new, darker tone that detracted from the game. Well, I never played Sands of Time, so the change in tone was meaningless to me. Reassured by all this good press, a couple weeks ago I went out and plunked down fifty bucks on the game and went home to fire it up. I figured I couldn't go wrong.

Well, I did. Given all the positive buzz, how could I suspect that this is one of the most tedious, frustrating, poorly designed games I've ever had the misfortune to play on Xbox? The "dark tone" is the least of Warrior Within's problems.

Let's see... where should I begin? First off, the free-form fighting system is hype. The combat sequences are flashy, but all you're really doing is stringing left- and right-hand attacks together by hitting the X and Y buttons repeatedly--little more than button-mashing. There's no real depth or technique involved, and it's often inadequate for the fights you face. Combat tends to be either boring or excessively difficult, depending on what type of enemy you're fighting and how many there are. The problem is exacerbated by the game's sluggish, poorly designed control scheme. The Prince has an excessively long recovery time and is generally slow in combat. You can't interrupt or abort your moves and attacks, which results in the Prince leaving himself open to long, unblockable attacks by his opponents, and he automatically "locks on" to any enemy in his field of view which makes it very difficult to pick up weapons and sand powers when you need them in combat. It also makes it difficult to simply avoid enemies, which you'll want to do after the millionth pointless swordfight.

Then there's the platform gaming. The jumping and acrobatics are sometimes fun, but generally frustrating. The camera angles seem to be chosen for cinematic effect rather than usefulness, and the camera is limited and difficult to control. I found myself dying or being forced to waste precious sand tanks frequently because I couldn't see where I was supposed to go, or it simply wasn't clear. This problem is worst during the "dahaka chase" sequences, in which you have to escape a monster that will kill you if you stop or slow down. In these sequences you often have to wait for the camera to get to the right angle so you can see where you're supposed to go, wasting precious seconds.

I found the level design generally dull and uninteresting. I know it's a matter of taste, but I don't think endless stone corridors that all look exactly the same are enough for a game in this day and age. There are some great outdoor areas, and the "garden tower" level is a pleasant departure showing what could have been if the developers had been more imaginative, but in general it's the same bland environments over and over. More to the point, it's often unclear where you need to go or what you need to do. This tends to be annoying, given that the game is almost completely linear. Perhaps the worst thing, however, is the checkpoint system. I am of the opinion that all games should have some sort of save anywhere feature, and this is a game that especially needs it. In this game the environments are dull and the player dies a lot, forcing him to replay the same dull environment over and over because he hasn't reached the next checkpoint/savepoint. Unfortunately, health and save points are few and far between in some parts of the game (this is especially true in the middle section of the game) while in others they are unneccessarily frequent.

All told, it's not a *terrible* game. The platform stuff can be fun, the graphics are decent, and the combat is aesthetically interesting. The game is very cool for the first few hours of play, until the novelty wears off. I have managed to play through to the last boss, and will probably finish the game soon if for no other reason than to get my money's worth. However, it could have been much, much better. It's surprising that in all the hype about it, I haven't seen much criticism along the lines I raised. It may be it's simply not my type of game--oh, did I mention it's glitchy, also?--but if you're considering buying it, I would strongly suggest renting it first. Whether or not some people enjoy it I think it has some major issues. You should not simply spend your hard-earned money and time on it without considering its deficits, which may ruin the game for you as they did for me.

Change is not always good

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 12
Date: October 29, 2004
Author: Amazon User

These opinions are strictly based on the demo.

Ubi's version of Prince of Persia came as a surprise last year, because this franchise had so many bad sequels that nobody really thought it still has a future. But, Ubi managed to create an excellent game, with a distinct look and excellent controls and level design. They also brought and implemented perfectly the concept of 'controlling time', thus avoiding the main complaints about the POP games (most of them dealt with frustrating jumping puzzles and instant death).

Unfortunately though, even if it was a critic darling, Sands of Time (SoT) did not sell as expected - mostly the effect of having so many bad sequels. So, for the second installment on XBox, Ubi was forced to listen to the 'complaints' and change the game. This though is the main problem with this sequel. While changes tend to be good in general, these ones do not apply.

The main change is the fighting system. Warrior Within (WW) made the transition from a Tomb Raider type of gameplay to a Ninja Gaiden one. For some, this may be a blessing and especially early magazine reviewers seem to enjoy it. To me though, this pretty much ruined the game. From an intelligent and interesting game, this became nothing else than random button pressing, trying to get the 'perfect' combo. I would have preffered to have more exploration, not a Mortal Kombat fighting. In fact, PoP always seemed to be more about avoiding traps and solving puzzles, than about doing combos. And while the fighting system in SoT was indeed flawed, at least it was not a big part of the game. Now - like it or not - you will have to either learn these combos or avoid the game entirely.

The second change is with the graphics. What made SoT so special was its distinct look and gorgeous graphics. WW should have improved on this, but instead this is a step back. The 'blur' effect and vivid colors are gone, replaced by two colors: black and brown. The game looks common and uninteresting and the lack of 'blur' makes the textures look very poor. Why would Ubi change - again - something that was working, still a mystery to me. Especially now, when the 'blur' effect is copied in all games (Fable being the latest).

In the end, it looks like a group of players and reviewers changed the direction this game was following and WW is the end product. While some may enjoy this changes, for the fans of exploration and solving puzzles, this is a major step back. To me, this game was dumbed down to appeal to the masses and in the process, it lost its identity.

I will not buy this game, but I hope the sequel - if there will be any - will return to its roots, as captured in SoT.

what did they do?

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: January 10, 2005
Author: Amazon User

so....i was really looking forward to this game.....man....what a let down.

graphics: not nearly as majestic and awe inspiring as the last

story: eh....decent concept, fun idea....however, over the top.

character: this is the biggest issue for me, although i am one of the few who loved the prince's voice work in SoT, they totally switched it now...so the american from persia? really? who swears? ok? no not really a good idea...whoever made this decision to not use the same voice artist was a moron.

and we lost ALL of the charm from the first one....the jokes, the prince talking to himself....everything...done..gone...ruined.

Fighting....well...i enjoy some of the new moves, the two weapon fighting...but there is too much fighting....

the great thing about SoT was that it was a platform game...a big puzzle with story and purpose....this one seems to have lost sight of all of that.
although the platforming in this game is challenging....it's not nearly as much fun as SoT...

saves....a decent idea to have the fountains be saves, but a few more fountains placed throughout would have been nice....yeah i'm a pansy when it comes to my game play, i like to be able to heal without having to start over the whole level from the last save....

sound...GET YOUR OLD COMPOSER BACK....AND HAVE HIM KICK THE LIVING CRAP OUT OF WHOEVER DID THE MUSIC FOR THIS ONE....AND IF IT'S THE SAME GUY.....end his career....now.

other than crap dialogue and REALLY crap voice work.....sound effects were great.

SoT is one of my favorite games EVER. and it hurts to not like it's sequel....if i had the ability..i would go back in time and tell the people at Ubisoft to scrap the idea and start over.....

ahhh if only i could rewind.

Wrong Direction

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 22
Date: November 02, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I just got finished playing the demo of this game and I have to say that it feels like the developers are pandering to the 13 year old grundge beat 'em up gamers out there. What was once a charming and enthralling experience is now a Mountain Dew commercial. Worst of all- there's far more fighting- and rediculously hard bosses- so you can just forget about completing this one until the cheats come out. Why do developers do things like this?

Aggravating like no other

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: January 12, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Let's first be clear: I own the first Prince of Persia game and love it. I could not put the controller down with that one. Warrior Within is another story altogether. It is easily the most irritating game I've ever played. The graphics and sound are fantastic, some of the best that I've seen and heard. But that's where the good things end. The control is obnoxious as it seems not to matter which direction you are aiming towards, the prince will attack wherever he chooses. I found it next to impossible to accurately position and move the prince during even the most simple moves, let alone during intense combat. Save points are few and far between, carefully placed at the end of very difficult stretches of game play. I often found myself doing and redoing the same 15-20 minute stretch of game ad nauseam. I can only assume that this was done to lengthed the total time of gameplay, but it serves only to add frustration, not enjoyment. Finally, enemies require far more swipes with the sword than the Prince himself does, and considering they outnumber him about 1000 to 1, you better be prepared to invest heavily in some depressant of your choice to ease the irritation.

To ubisoft: Thank you for the not too subtle reminder of why you should always TRY before you BUY, regardless of how good the prequel was.

To anyone considering the purchase of this game: I would suggest you do the same.

HTH

A poor followup

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 5
Date: November 28, 2005
Author: Amazon User

at first this game was actually pretty cool, but then it turned into a kiss a**,gay game,thats the exact truth!but i got to you tell the game its self has a really cool storyline,i mean whats not to like about tring to face of agianst an ancient beast(the dahaka),and while trying to recall yourself through time to try and destroy the sands of time(title of the 2nd game,just so you know this the 3rd).the game starts out to try and let you slice through some kind wierdo,poorly designed idiots.yeah the game lets you use a sub weapon(they are all the same!)+ the game only has like 5 main weapons that really sucks,oh lets see the games are graphics are (suprisingly)pretty good,those character models?i dont know what to call them.the game actually has some really cool fatalitys,moves and evasive manuvers.so i suppose this game is ok for a while.but i hope you have 90 day warranty.

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