Ah, Prince of Persia how we’ve loved thee — from Mechner’s groundbreaking original to Ubisoft’s fine resurrection of the series last year in Sands of Time, one of the best of 2003. What, then, can we make of Ubisoft’s Warrior Within, sequel to the remarkable Sands? Sure, the prince is darker and perhaps more one-dimensional. That’s a shame but at least the urge to do a straight rehash has been quelled. The fighting system, one of the few shortcomings of the first game, has been reworked and now features a number of new chainable contextual moves, adding depth and playability. But that same fighting system also features seemingly unnecessary “decapitation moves.”
So, the question becomes: Are these changes pushing the envelope or just pandering to the lowest common denominator? For instance, just about the only demo one could get at the Warrior Within booth at E3 showed off the decapitation move repeatedly. In fact, anyone who went within earshot of the Ubisoft booth could hear a staffer repeatedly yelling “DECAPITATION!” at the top of his embarrassed lungs.
More sad, though, is that the female characters appear to have lost their richness. Those in Sands of Time were dealt with impressively. Heck, Farah showed more wit and self-confidence than the prince himself and fought alongside him as an equal. (Folks who complained about the ineptitude of characters like Ico’s Yorda really had someone to root for in Ico-inspired Sands.) Compare that to the ladies of Warrior Within where it’s all aboard for T&A city!
Considering the sales scare Ubisoft had with Sands of Time, it figures they would be extra careful with this second game in their fledgling franchise. Let’s hope that most of what we’re seeing is marketing and doesn’t speak to the heart of the game. Replacing the dreamy landscapes of Sands with dreary heavy metal dungeons and Farah with some random goth chick just doesn’t seem right but, hey, I’m willing to suffer a few gratuitously severed heads if the soul of this new beast is the same.
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