The game I remember the most last year has to be the brilliant Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time. Before its release websites and magazines were stressing how utterly great the ' rewind' system was and how clever things were. I ended up getting it listening to the favourable reviews alone. It was easily the most pleasing game I' d played in a bit even if it didn' t have an utterly huge story.

Warrior Within is out now I think and I' m waiting for payday so I can run out and get it. As far as I can see the only problem most places have with the game is it' s new ' dark' tone... something that initially put me off being excited for WW. The fighting system is supposed to be better which is a huge bonus. Battles towards the end of the SOT did verge on being annoying!

Anybody picked up the game yet or have any plans to?

I haven' t yet, but PoP was my GoY for 2003, and I' m greatly anticipating WW as well. From the reviews that I' ve seen, the biggest problem is with the sound (entire sound bits are missing from cut-scenes in the Xbox version) and with the fact that it' s very similar to PoP: SoT.

Me, I don' t think that' s a bad thing. I' ll get it as soon as I can.

thanks the info helps i want to get that game

I thought POP:Sands of Time was awesome. I' m definitley considering buying Warrior Within. I love the whole concept and the change in the character' s demeanor.

I wonder if the Prince has the same voice actor?

I' ve just played Warrior Within and can say that it doesn' t fall short of greatness.
The fighting is fast and fluid and will almost never present a time when your bored. This game rocks, its awesome, buy it.

I haven' t heard great things so far....my roomate is playing and he said its ok....but nothing spectacular. I' ll have to give it a shot myself i guess. im still way too addicted to eq2 at the moment tho....all in good time i suppose.

I thought it' s a different prince now, or at least that' s what I picked up from Penny Arcade' s little review of the game. They were not too pleased with the new direction. Apparently the combat was a little annoying because they enjoyed the puzzles a lot more.

Anyways, I still haven' t had the chance to play the original. I' m going to ask for it for Christmas this year so hopefully I' ll be able to get around to the sequel before the next semester of school.

Practically every review I' ve read now says the puzzles are much better than the combat but that it' s worth getting through the battles just to enjoy the rest of the game. I suppose I' ll see for myself soon... I get my first wage next Friday and this game will possibly be the first thing I pick up.

I have an oportunity to get the original for real cheap here, 19 bucks cdn, and I know everybody says it' s so great, is there anything you could compare it too? To be honest the thing I' d most like to hear is that it' s a short game. Seems odd, but I don' t have tonnes of time to finish a really long game, so If it' s something I could beat in 10-12 hours, I' d be very happy.

I thought it' s a different prince now

I' m pretty sure it' s the same guy and people/something is out to get him for messing with time in the first game

I can' t wait to play it because I thought the SoT was amazing.

mxpx182: It' s like the classic platform games of old turned into the best 3D version it could. A little like Tomb Raider without guns but 100% better with more flaire, acrobatics and sheer greatness.

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Warrior Within is a good game, but compared to Sands of Time tis a lot less ambitious in many ways. In trying to cater more for a mainstream (hate that word :D) audience, Ubisoft have lost a lot of what made the last game so appealing.

The combat is a lot better this time around though, and its still a good game and well worth playing. If you like WW go back and play SoT if you haven' t.

Here' s what I thought of the game: http://games.kikizo.com/reviews/ps2/prince_of_persia_warrior_within.asp
Its mainstream caterings aren' t such a bad thing, the game still contains many of the gameplay elements of last year' s game, but I do agree that it' s not quite as well done as the first. I would have given the first a 9.5 personally.

I' ve really enjoyed what I' ve played so far. I like the darker style.

I started playing Warrior Within last week, right after completing Halo 2. In many ways, this is an improvement over it' s predecessor. Combat is much better, owing more to the Ninja Gaiden school of thinking. There' s tons of combos, more variety in enemies and some really cool bosses to boot. Platforming is as good as ever, with some new (minor) elements thrown in, such as the ability to slow your descent by ripping through hanging banners. Level design is as devious as ever, with more expansive rooms which feature more animated elements this time.

It all seems a bit less " brainy" , however. I' ve been playing for a good number of hours and I' ve yet to encounter a logical puzzle like the mirror puzzle in the first game. Getting through traps and platforms requires a bit more forethought and imagination than previously, but that' s about it so far.

The new darker tone makes for some very satisfying slayings and edgier action, but the look of the game as a whole has suffered a bit in my opinion. It' s still very atmospheric, but it looks a bit too " gothic" for my taste. Furthermore, I feel that the dialogue is less mature this time, despite a bit of profanity and more " cutting" remarks by the Prince. It all feels a bit forced this time around. I do miss the clever repartee between the Prince and Farah.

Despite those aesthetic and design misfires, the actual gameplay is improved, so it' s definitely worth buying if you enjoyed the first one. Oh, there are quite a few glitches in there (xbox version), such as some misplaced sound and erratically respawning enemies at some restart points, but nothing major or game-breaking.

its a great game and thanks for talking about it

pop:ww is brillant, everything in the old sands of time but with more. Maybe i like it so much cos it appels to my metal tastes but if you liked sot, you will like this for sure.

Sands of Time was great. This is even better. Its very very fun and cool.