Well, I play the series namely because of the story & the puzzles, everything else falls second. However, all in
all, the latest in the series is good. Why?
<rant mode>
New dark/moody look: The new look fits the storyline. The designers made the storyline first, then they decide how the
prince would look like. So, I really don't understand why people keep complaining that they prefer the old wise-cracking
prince. The official website stated that Warrior Within (WW) is set 6-7 years after the events of Sands of Time (SoT).
That means the prince had spent 6-7 years staying one step ahead of the Dahaka. Surely you can't expect a person to keep
making smart-aleck remarks when he is marked for death & has been hunted for 6-7 years all over the planet?
The new combat system: Is definitely a marked improvement from SoT. More combos, more moves. Some people complain that
the combo is tedious, enemy spawns, etc. *sigh* There is a reason why the prince is now able to vault over the enemy
& throw them off ledges. That is to speed up combat. Then comes the complaint - why so many combat sequences? *sigh*
One obvious reason would be to enable the player to replenish his sand tanks. WW sand tanks are limited to 6 & no
where near the max amount in SoT.
Music: Not bad at all. I think the music still have the basic Arabian tunes but given heavy metal treatment. Ok, maybe
they could've added a few tracks with classic Arabian instruments but the lack of it do not IMHO do that much flaw to
the game.
Graphics/controls: Up one notch from SoT. Better looking CGIs too. As for controls, it's almost the same except the
layout is expanded to take into account the free-form fighting system. Good.
Story: Good. It provides continuity to the events of SoT and we get to understand the choices the prince makes through
the game, the motivations of the plot characters and the consequences of the prince's decisions (which effectively
provides the premise for the future PP3).
Puzzles: This is the best part of the game. Some of the puzzles/sequences can be quite fiendish. Heheheh...Better not
spoil anything here. You guys can find out for yourselves. :D
If there is a real valid complaint from people out there is that the controls are difficult on PC. I played mine on my
PS2 and I can say that the game was definitely designed to be played with a gamepad. Camera placement sometimes sucks
but bearable.
<end rant mode>