Poll: Sands of Time < Warrior Within?

[GLo Jones]

Sands of Time is one of my favourite games of all time (before Yahtzee's first reviews). I was horrified with where they took the sequel. Warrior Within felt to cluttered, and like they'd tried to put to many things in. I don't like my platformers to have a vast array of different combos, and the story felt much more tacked on IMO.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

Sands of Time is perhaps my favorite of all the Prince Of Persia games. Then again, I only play Prince of Persia and The Two Thrones and I wasen't interested enough to finish the Two Thrones.

Still, I can say that I enjoyed Sands of Times a lot.

 

[SnowCub]

You don't? Maybe you were too young, but trust me, it got highly panned by critics and players alike back then.

A quote that comes to mind is, "SoT was like being part of a wonderful storybook. WW was like being part of a 14 year old goth's diary."

Several game sites had massive write ups with how bothered they were about the change in tone, music, and voice acting. Penny Arcade's classic "I smolder with generic rage" comic was a pretty good barometer for the time. The fact is that SoT was so good because we enjoyed the freerunning and time mechanics, but even moreso because we liked the Prince, and Farrah, and the world that they were a part of. WW broke that, and a lot of folks backlashed at them for it.

I know this is the escapist and it's cool to say that the only reason things are the way they are is because of Yahtzee, but no, not in this case.

- J

I can understand the beauty in it's simplicity, and as a new IP (I know there were other PoP games, but this was the start of a new trilogy and probably the first time most of the mainstream had heard of it) it was a brilliant way to launch the trilogy and demonstrate some amazing new mechanics.

It is still by all means a good game, I just feel Warrior Within deserved better than it got.

I am now determined to get through it, and Two Thrones, because I know that Ubisoft has made a good trilogy here, and I'm going to see it through, dammit!

I admire your commitment, I hope you end up enjoying them.


Thanks for the feedback guys, I agree with almost all of you. I guess it was the change in tone that put people off... shame.

 

[The Madman]

Warrior Within undeniably had the best gameplay mechanics of the series, but as far as an 'experience' goes, as silly at that sounds, Sands of Time is easily the best game of the series. The story is simplistic and yet endearing in a fairy-tale sort of way, a vibe which the game embraced wholly with it's dream-like sequences and level design as well as the predictable and yet sympathetic characters.

So I guess you could say Sands of Time was the better story and experience, while Warrior Within was the better *game*. Which of the two you prefer depends entirely on which elements you consider the most important.

And Two Thrones? Pretty good as well, although not nearly as strong as the first story-wise nor as solid gameplay-wise as the second, making it the sort of 'in-between' in terms of love/hate for the trilogy.

 

[Twilight_guy]

I like Sand of time pretty well but the game is a bit shallow in that its just one linear path to follow without much to offer besides that. I tried to play Warrior within and within the first hour I saw such a stupid motif and design going on that I couldn't play it anymore. It was just so badly done that I couldn't bring myself to play it. Two thrones seemed okay but I inevitably stopped playing it because WW was a let down and I was no good at the combat. I like the new Prince of Persia the most *pause for booing*(That's right, I said it, I expressed an unpopular opinion, suck it!) because it was well-done it looked pretty and it was fun. It also introduced a new and much hated system that prevented death but is a positive step towards the de-isolation of gaming.

 

[McHampton]

I definitely enjoyed the game play mechanics on Warrior Within the most, but that final stretch on The Sands of Time where you don't have the dagger and work your way up the tower...

It has a special place in my heart, and that's enough to make me like it more.

 

[brunothepig]

I haven't finished any, only own WW. I haven't seen any overly emo themes. It's dark, maybe a little angsty sometimes. But the combat is great, I don't see how SoT could actually have better free running, it seems like WW did it well enough. Oh, and the music is awesome. It's metal, not emo. Probably one of my favourite game soundtracks. So, in short, I agree. WW is awesome, and I don't see why some people hate it whilst loving the other games. If they hate them all, at least then it makes sense.

 

[Julianking93]

Personally, Warrior Within because the combat was so bad in SoT, that it turned me completely off to it.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Both wonderful games, but I'll always prefer Warrior Within as it had that darker, far more challenging level design.

[small]I even enjoyed the industrial metal soundtrack[/small]

 

[Samurai Goomba]

I haven't beaten any of them other than Sands of Time, but recently I got the two other games and so far have found them both far, far superior to Sands of Time. I kinda hates SoT. The story was good, but everything else... Well, let's just say WW and TT improved on the first game in every conceivable way. I hated, hated the combat in Sands of Time. It was horrible.

 

[Signa]

Eh. I adored Sands of Time, but I was indifferent about Warrior Within.

My experience as well. SoT made me feel like I was playing through a movie, complete with real characters and a story. WW made me feel like I was playing a video game where my only motivation for moving on was to see more game. Not a bad thing, but it just didn't keep me going before I found another game that was shinier and played that instead.

I have BAAAD gamer's A.D.D., and even when I'm playing a game I like a lot, something else may just suit my mood better until I forget I was playing the other game. I take it as a mark of a seriously good game if I can play through a game without getting distracted, and the sign of an even better game if I turn around and play it again after I finish it. SoT kept me through it all the way, and I still goofed around for a while after beating it too. I can't remember but I may have completed a second playthrough in trying to get all the sand clouds and health boosts.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

I think they should both by enjoyed for their strengths, I couldn't say which is better for me. I prefer playing Warrior Within though. Actually, I think I might do that now.

Warrior Within is my favorite in the series, always was and always will be. Perfect combat married to perfect platforming and epic vistas. Pure gaming bliss.

Prince of Persia 2008 can go fuck itself in the ear.

 

[Idlemessiah]

I adore Sands of Time. Gotta be one of my favorite games for PS2. I've played most of Warrior Within too but the game glitched out on a ledge and I couldn't move any further and I have yet to re-start the game from scratch. Kind of a bummer cause I'm a very story motivated gamer and refuse to play the rest without finishing WW (and I know in my soul that I am missing out on plenty of awesome in Two Trones ).

I have played the next gen PoP but I thought it was terrible and couldn't bear the forced dialogue and repetative platforming so I quit after the second boss.

 

[Hiphophippo]

Warrior Within's soundtrack nearly made me throw up in my own mouth. It was both out of place and awful. Godsmack can kindly die in a fire.

To note: I can't vote in this poll because my favorite Prince of Persia games are not represented in it.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

The Two Thrones. Though it should be said that I've only played Warrior Within about halfway,
Yahtzee is far from the only source to comment on it's massive character shift (semi-justified given what the Prince has been through over seven years; perhaps this new 'interquel' I've heard about will elaborate on those years), as well as the replacement of the playful arabian tunes with what is considered 'generic emo rock'. My brother's favorite ;[

Like its title implies Two Thrones holds the best of both worlds, and I would even consider it to have better dialogue/narration than Sands of Time. Some folks slagged on the Dark Prince segments, but given the game's return to a completely linear path the next bunch of victims for you to feed*cough*restore your health with is never far away and illustrates a shift in priorities central to their whole banter with each other over the course of the game. Same for the Chariot Racing sequences, but aside from riding the Guardian (if that counts) none of them are very difficult and it's always amusing to Rewind after a spectacular smash-up involving two chariots. One of the few games I'd wished was longer than it was.

 

[Rack]

There's a lot of revisionism going on here, but aside from the shift in mood WW got panned for being an awful game. In SoT the platforming was navigating a series of believable locations intersperced with traps, which were subtly telegraphed by the excellent prophecy sequences woven into the plot. WW just had you jump from one platform objective counter to the next, the whole puzzle element of the game was utterly ruined. In some respects of course this is just a mark of a game that should never have had a sequel, since knowing the princes abilities is a total spoiler for Sands of Time and something that could never be woven into a cash grab sequel.

Then there's the combat. SoT combat was bad, but there wasn't a lot of it and it was simple enough not to get in the way. WW padded the crap out of itself with pointless combat. And while the combat was better than SoT it was still appalling, lacking an easy way to get through it quickly the combat in WW did more to detract from the game than SoTs did.

Then there's the bugs. You couldn't even play WW without a walkthrough because there was a very high chance you'd run into a save trap without even realising it. You could end up wandering around lost for hours up until you finally consulted a walkthrough which would tell you that your only option was to start over. Not good.

 

[SsilverR]

i preferred 2 thrones because it kept me on my toes more than any other PoP game

 

[Jandau]

Of the new trilogy, Two Thrones.

I was well aware that most people will vote Sands of Time, but after playing all three games I find that SoT is the least enjoyable of the bunch, simply because of the terrible and annoying combat, coupled with most of the game being a big escort mission. Warrior Within was a better game, but they messed up the setting and the characters. Two Thrones was the golden middle, offering both the superior gameplay of WW and the charming setting of SoT.

The latest PoP game is far too easy and they decided to remove all combat from it (a glorified rythm game doesn't count), as well as give one of the worst endings ever.

However, the very best PoP game is the first one, at least to me

 

[Carnagath]

I think SoT is a very mediocre game, the combat is slow and sticky, the camera is often atrocious, the difficulty curve is weird, the controls not so accurate and the story, while ok, failed to really grab me. WW certainly had better gameplay, and rock music doesn't cause me an allergic shock like some people here, so I can say I enjoyed it more. As for Two Thrones, I never played it.

My favorite has got to be the new PoP game though. The combat is braindead and could use some improvement certainly, but the game is vibrant, colourful, open ended, the massive wastelands give it an epic feeling, the platforming is the best and most fluid yet and it feels really satisfying, and I loved both its humour and its dark ending. There is real potential for greatness if they fix the combat and continue the story from where it left off.