Summary
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (PoP:WW) Stunning, all-around triumph
The Good
I'm not sure to what extent the original game's design team had a hand in this game, but it is a solid entry. As much as I enjoyed playing "Sands of Time," there seemed to be something painfully repetitive about the combat, excellent graphics and sound notwithstanding. "Warrior Within" overcomes those problems by making combat into a decision tree -- the sequence of buttons pressed, up to six-in-a-row, determines the finesse (or lack thereof) in the prince's fighting style. The excellent sound and graphics from Sands of Time are back, along with the riveting cut scenes, so if you like a game that truly feels like an interactive movie, this is it.
The Bad
Decision tree-based combat is better, but combat is still largely about button mashing. The only question that remains now is, "Which buttons should I push?" The cut scenes may be astonishing, but there can be long puzzle-solving interludes between them.
The Bottom Line
If you didn't like "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time", this one may be worth a look. If you did like PoP:SoT, then "Warrior Within" is a notch above in almost every respect.
