Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
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| Prince of Persia: Warrior Within | |
|---|---|
 German PC cover art |
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| Developer(s) | Ubisoft Montreal, Pipeworks Software |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft |
| Designer(s) | Kevin Guillemette |
| Engine | Jade |
| Platform(s) | Xbox, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Portable, Mobile phone |
| Release date(s) | Consoles & Windows NA November 30, 2004 PAL December 3, 2004 Mobile NA December 21, 2004 Revelations PlayStation Portable NA December 6, 2005 PAL December 16, 2005 |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: M OFLC: MA15+ PEGI: 16+ |
| Media | CD, DVD, GameCube Game Disc, UMD |
| Input methods | Keyboard and mouse, Gamepad |
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within is a video game and sequel to Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, a critically acclaimed game released in 2003. Warrior Within was developed and published by Ubisoft, and released on December 2, 2004 for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Microsoft Windows.
The game picks up where The Sands of Time left off, adding new features, specifically, options in combat. The Prince now has the ability to wield two weapons at a time as well as the ability to steal his enemies' weapons and throw them. The Prince's repertoire of combat moves has been expanded into varying strings that allow players to attack enemies with more complexity than was possible in the previous game. Warrior Within has a much darker tone than its predecessor adding in the ability for the Prince to dispatch his enemies with violent finishing moves. In addition to the rewind, slow-down, and speed-up powers from The Sands of Time, the prince also has a new sand power: A circular "wave" of sand that knocks down all surrounding enemies.
With the continued success of Prince of Persia, a second sequel was made, concluding the story arc of The Sands of Time and Warrior Within. Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones was released on November 30, 2005. A port of Warrior Within was done by Pipeworks, renamed as Prince of Persia: Revelations, and it was released on December 6, 2005 for Sony's PlayStation Portable. The port includes additional content including three new areas not available in the original release.
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[edit] Plot synopsis
Seven years after the events of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, the Prince finds himself hunted by the Dahaka, the guardian of the timeline. The Prince, having opened the Sands of Time and came into contact with it, was meant to die as others before him had; the Dahaka is sent to ensure that the Prince does not escape his fate. Seeking counsel from an old wise man, the Prince learns of the existence of the Island of Time, where the Sands of Time were created, which is ruled by the Empress of Time. The Prince sets sail for the Island of Time to attempt to prevent the Sands of Time from being created, by traveling backwards through time. Exploring the island, the Prince saves a woman named Kaileena, from a woman named Shahdee, in the process traveling back through time using a portal. Unable to grant the Prince an audience with the Empress of Time, Kaileena reveals that activating two towers will unlock the throne room where the Empress hides. The Prince ultimately activates both towers, and returns to the throne room, only to learn that Kaileena is actually the Empress of Time. The Prince kills Kaileena, and returns to the present, believing that he had cheated fate, but soon discovers that when he killed Kaileena, the Sands of Time were created from her remains, so in essence, he created them. The Prince begins to lose hope, but soon discovers the Mask of the Wraith, which is said to have the power to make its wearer coexist in the same timeline with his former self. The Prince finds and dons the mask, transforming into the Sand Wraith. The Prince makes his way back to the throne room, encountering his other self, who is killed by the Dahaka, allowing him to remove the Mask of the Wraith. The Prince decides that killing Kaileena in the present, rather than the past, will cause the Sands to be created, but they will not be found by the Maharajah, and thus, he will never have released them in Azad. The Prince forces Kaileena into the present, but plans change when the Dahaka appears. It soon becomes apparent that the Prince's plan worked: he is no longer the Dahaka's target. The Dahaka attacks Kaileena instead, as she is now the one defying her fate. The Prince and Kaileena eventually defeat the Dahaka. They both then set sail for Babylon together, and begin to engage in sex. While this is happening, Babylon is seen burning, with an unknown foe grabbing the king's crown.
Another ending shows Kaileena actually dying by the Dahaka, and the Prince believes he is free. He then goes back to Babylon, seeing it ravaged by war. This is the real first ending of the game.
[edit] Development
Jordan Mechner, creator of the Prince of Persia character, had worked on The Sands of Time, though not on Warrior Within. He made a statement about the game appearing in Wired Magazine, December 2005: "I'm not a fan of the artistic direction, or the violence that earned it an M rating. The story, character, dialog, voice acting, and visual style were not to my taste."
Notable stylistic changes include:
- The change of voice actors for the Prince. In this game he is voiced by Robin Atkin Downes, in the previous game he was voiced by Yuri Lowenthal. Kaileena is voiced by Italian actress Monica Bellucci and a sound-alike actress.
- The Sands of Time featured a soundtrack by Stuart Chatwood, consisting of a fusion of Arabic- and Indian-influenced melodies with hard rock. While Chatwood remained the composer for Warrior Within, the soundtrack lost most of the Arabic and Indian influences and became almost purely guitar-oriented, featuring Godsmack's "I Stand Alone" (as the Dahaka's "theme") and "Straight Out of Line" (over the closing credits).[1][2]
- Despite being one of the top selling Xbox games, Microsoft has made no attempt to make Prince of Persia: Warrior Within backwards compatible, so that it would be playable on the Xbox 360
[edit] Reception
Critical reviews of Warrior Within were generally positive, though not as positive as Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time[3][4][5]:
It was commonly agreed amongst popular reviewers that the platforming and adventure elements of the game were equal to, or exceeded, those of its predecessor. The revamped combat system and better integration of combat sequences into the gameplay were also praised, although some reviewers found them boring.[5] Warrior Within also contained more raw content than The Sands of Time, taking anywhere from 15-20 hours to complete.[3]
The biggest gripe, however, was Warrior Within's new artistic direction, a radical departure from The Sands of Time. reviewers complained that the game lost much of its charm by making the game's visuals grimier [6] turning the witty, likeable Prince character into a more aggressive, Gothic character, a change which was decried as making him a "cookie cutter brooding tough guy with zero personality". [7] The story was also criticised as being less involving and mature [8] compared to Sands of Time, and the addition of blood and scantily-clad female characters was regarded as being in poor taste [9]. These changes were parodied by Penny Arcade in a comic where the Prince was depicted as "smoldering with generic rage" and Shahdee (nicknamed "the Time Bitch") bemoaned the shortcomings of her outfit. [10]
The game also received criticism on the technical side for uneven difficulty progression and numerous glitches and bugs.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ [1]
- ^ Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (2004) (VG) - Full cast and crew
- ^ a b c Colyaco, Bob (2004-12-02). "Prince of Persia: Warrior Within for PC Review". Gamespot. pp. 1-2. http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/princeofpersiaii/review.html. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
- ^ Rausch, Allen (2004-12-03). "GameSpy: Prince of Persia: Warrior Within Review". GameSpy. pp. 1-3. http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/prince-of-persia-2-2005/570797p1.html. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
- ^ a b Turner, Benjamin (2004-12-03). "GameSpy: Prince of Persia: Warrior Within Review". GameSpy. pp. 1-2. http://cube.gamespy.com/gamecube/prince-of-persia-2/570794p1.html. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ [[4]]
- ^ [5]
- ^ [[6]]
[edit] External links
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