I have
been waiting for this so long. Well, not for writing this article but this was a necessity
to do the other thing: play the sequel to Prince of Persia - Sands of Time (and that over a
month before it hits stores worldwide). While I was a fan of the earlier Prince of Persia
titles the Sands of Time was the first Prince title to totally suck me into the story that I
simply couldnt let my game pad go before I saw the credits roll. So I was expecting much
from the sequel, yes even from the beta. Was I let down? You bet I wasnt
The Old
Man said to the Prince, Your fate has been written. You will die.
The Prince
has returned home to Babylon after preventing the terrible events during The Sands of Time
from happening at all. But this came at a price: his alterations of the timelines have
awakened an immortal incarnation of Fate known as the Dahaka. This supernatural creature
that doesnt know the meanings of words such as mercy consumes everything in its path and is
bent on our princes destructionas fast as possible.
The prince soon realizes that
there is only one way to ensure his survival and end his life on the run (besides giving up
which of course isnt an option). He has to travel to the mystical birthplace of the Sands
of Time and prevent them from being created in the first place, which will hopefully close
the rift in time and calm the Dahaka.
His destination is a remote island, ruled by
the mysterious Empress of Time and the inhabitants of the island are neither man nor beast.
During his travels the princes ship is attacked by a war galley apparently sent by the
Empress herself to prevent the Prince from reaching the island. His crew is slaughtered and
the prince is thrown overboard during a fierce fight with the Empresss female champion. She
is a mysterious character that we will meet many times throughout the game but she doesnt
seem totally convinced that she really wants our prince dead
Farwell prolonged
innocence
´
Our prince has grown up since we last met him. Living a life in the
shadows, running from an invincible enemy made him restless. Scars give evidence of
countless battles, lost was what was left of his innocence after his adventures in the
sultans palace; yes I would even go as far as claiming that a little madness hides behind
his eyes. He recklessly throws himself into the battle as if he is hoping for an honorable
death in battle to escape the annihilation at the hands of an invincible, supernatural
being.
But on the other hand those countless battles also refined his already supreme
skills even more. Many new moves, devastating combos and the ability to wield different side
arm were added to his repertoire. Wielding two weapons unlocks even more combos and moves
including throwing the sidearm to heavily damage or even behead distant enemies. Laudable
are also the improved controls. The PC version of Sands of Time was a little harder to
control if you were using a keyboard and a mouse instead of a gamepad but the PC preview
version of Warrior Within doesnt have such problems.
Back to the future -
again
Many may wonder if you are still able to rewind time since you returned the
dagger of time to its rightful owners at the end of the prequel. Of course the developers
didnt remove this feature that made the Sands of Time so unique. How they explain this?
This preview version doesnt include the whole story line yet so your guess would be as good
as mine if I didnt have the chance to meet one of the developers at this years Games
Convention in Leipzig. He told me only this: Farah (the princess from Sands of Time if you
dont know) gave the prince a gift before he left (and no, it is not the dagger, think in a
LITTLE more creative way, please!)
Pain, Grief and Darkness
The
atmosphere and level design of Sands of Time was one thing. Our adventure in a beautiful but
abandoned palace that was invaded by a supernatural and evil power wasnt really as pleasant
as a walk in the park on a sunny day but its former beauty was still there.
And
Warrior Within? It is hard to describe but my mind somehow drew this parallel. What if
something as bad or even worse happened elsewhere and wasnt disturbed for decades or even
centuries? Every single room, every corner, every living creature, the flora and even the
skies themselves were spoiled and became wicked by this unnatural presence. Imagine a place
that hasnt seen joy or happiness in ages, almost everything lies in ruins and what creeps
and walks there is a mockery of life as we know it. Of course countless books, games and
movies tried to capture this mood before but trust me - the atmosphere will give you the
creeps if you really find yourself immerse in the
game.
Conclusion:
Preview Code is always a double-edged sword. On the
one hand it calms your hunger but at the same time it simply isnt done yet, and you are
left begging for more if it is a really good game. And if there is one good game to look
forward to this year it is defiantly Prince of Persia: Warrior Within.
Demo
Size:473.0 MB
