Nut Load. Mini reviews of games old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. Occasional shock face.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (2004)

Genre: Platformer, Action | Players: 1 | Developer: Ubisoft

The 2nd game in the Sands of Time trilogy eschews the lighthearted aesthetic of the first game in favor of grimy, dark subject matter. It reeks of some marketing douche forcing in titties and blood because he thinks it will sell better. Really blatant too given the 2 bitches skintastic outfits which is confusing since it is made to appeal to preteen boys while upping the rating to Mature .

Along with the new art direction is improved combat, but improved does not mean good. There are more attack options, but only about 3 are needed as the same moves always work against certain enemies while others never work. The targeting is also made worse from the 1st game as it must be forced to attack the enemy you want. Left to its own devices, it is not uncommon for it to pick the furthest enemy from you instead of the one on his back in front of you awaiting the finishing blow. Mercifully not all battles must be fought and you need only do so when you need more sand or it is needed for progression. There is weapon degradation too where one long combo can destroy your secondary weapon, but as every enemy has a new one it is just a minor annoyance. A bigger annoyance is the ninja bitches that hop around endlessly while repeating the same overtly sado-masochistic one-liners at the Prince. Fuck those cunts. Also the Ravages of Time ability wasn't nearly as stylish as the Mega Freeze from the 1st game.

The platforming sections are as great as they should be, thank Cthulu, with a few new additions that don't break the flow and some nice environments in which to perform the Prince parkour. The wall runs, jumps, swings and now riding tapestries are as fun as ever hampered only slightly by some minor bugs. More than once I found myself stuck in a falling animation while on the ground, music that started up late and stretches where audio cut out entirely which wasn't too bad as the music sucks anyway. Add in some backtracking that can be confusing and a worthless map and it's a wonder the game is as playable as it is.

Buyer's Guide:
Can be found on the cheap for numerous platforms including an HD remastered version on PSN and a PSP port with new content.

2 The platforming saved it from a one out of 5

3 comments:

Dr Faustus said...

A low 1 emo bullshit with irritating jumpy bitches and bad music and I gave up at the bridge because I valued my sanity more than the game out of 5

Impudent Urinal said...

Which bridge? There are several I can think of.
The idea that the change in tone is because the Prince is desperate and frustrated feels like an after-the-fact excuse for the marketing bullshit. They could have done that without the unnecessary T&A, blood and shitty soundtrack. Why would they bleed if they are made of sand anyway?

Dr Faustus said...

This one. Clock tower. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=J2IayInxtQ8#t=377s
It took me ages to find that. *grumble. I went directly from Sands of Time to this because I had the trilogy so the change in tone and quality was even more apparent. I gave up on this one and went to the third one. :smrt: