Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
Encyclopedia
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within is a video game and sequel to Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
. Warrior Within was developed and published by Ubisoft
, and released on December 2, 2004 for the Xbox
, PlayStation 2
, GameCube
, and Microsoft Windows
. It picks up where The Sands of Time left off, adding new features, specifically, options in combat. The Prince now has the ability to wield two weapons at a time as well as the ability to steal his enemies' weapons and throw them. The Prince's repertoire of combat moves has been expanded into varying strings that allow players to attack enemies with more complexity than was possible in the previous game. Warrior Within has a darker tone than its predecessor adding in the ability for the Prince to dispatch his enemies with various finishing moves. In addition to the rewind, slow-down, and speed-up powers from The Sands of Time, the Prince also has a new sand power: A circular "wave" of sand that knocks down all surrounding enemies, it is the first "Prince of Persia" game to be rated M by the ESRB.
Following Warrior Within, a second sequel and a prequel were made, expanding the Sands of Time story. Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
was released on November 30, 2005 and Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
was released on May 18, 2010. A port of Warrior Within was done by Pipeworks
, renamed as Prince of Persia: Revelations, and it was released on December 6, 2005 for Sony
's PlayStation Portable
. The port includes additional content including four new areas not available in the original release. On the 3rd of June 2010, a port of Warrior Within was released for the iOS. A remastered, High-Definition, version of Warrior Within was released on the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3
on December 14, 2010.
He later awakens and chases the woman in black through the Empress of Time's fortress into a portal that transports the two into the past. The Prince saves a woman named Kaileena from being killed by the woman in black, whose name is Shahdee. Unable to grant the Prince an audience with the Empress of Time, who is busy preparing to create the Sands, Kaileena instead tells him how to unlock the door to the throne room in which the Empress resides. The Prince makes his way through the fortress, utilizing the sand portals to travel back and forth between the past and present, and narrowly escapes several encounters with the Dahaka, who he discovers cannot pass through water. The Prince activates the mechanisms in the two towers of the fortress - the Garden Tower and the Mechanical Tower - that serve as locks to the door. He returns to the throne room only to discover that Kaileena is actually the Empress of Time herself, who has foreseen in the Timeline that the Prince will kill her and who has decided to attempt to defy her fate, just as the Prince is doing. A battle ensues and the Prince proves victorious; he kills Kaileena and returns to the present.
He believes that he has changed his fate, but another encounter with the Dahaka forces him to realize that in killing Kaileena, he was, in essence, the one to create the Sands of Time (as the Sands were created from her remains). The Prince falls into despair, but then finds a glimmer of hope upon learning of a magical artifact called the Mask of the Wraith, which is said to transport the wearer into the past, allowing the wearer to alter his own Timeline. The Prince wastes no time in seeking out and donning the mask, which transforms him into the Sand Wraith and sends him back to the time when he first arrived on the Island of Time. He formulates a plan to force Kaileena through a sand portal with him, transporting them both into the present, believing that if he kills her then, the Sands of Time will be created seven years after the events of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, meaning it will be impossible for the Prince to release them in Azad. While still in the past, the Prince (as the Sand Wraith) ensures that the Dahaka takes and destroys his other self, who has just finished unlocking the door to the throne room, leaving the Sand Wraith the only Prince in that Timeline. This act loosens the Mask of the Wraith from the Prince's face and allows him to remove it and return to his normal form. The Prince goes to the throne room and, despite his pleas to Kaileena, his battle with her begins as before. He forces her into the present with him, and it is at this point that the game has two alternate endings. Which ending is played depends on whether all life upgrades were collected (which lets the player obtain the Water Sword) or not. The second ending is used as the true ending, i.e. the story is continued in the next game according to that ending.
First Ending - Without the Water Sword: The Prince fights and kills Kaileena, and the Dahaka arrives to claim her body as well as Farah's amulet from the Prince, so that the Sands of Time and all relics pertaining to it are removed from the Timeline. The Prince sails home to Babylon, alone, only to discover that the city is being ravaged by war. The old wise man's voice is heard, once again stating: "Your journey will not end well. You cannot change your fate. No man can."
Second Ending - With the Water Sword: The Prince realizes that the Water Sword can damage the seemingly-invincible Dahaka. After fighting and defeating the beast, the Prince and Kaileena sail to the Prince's home of Babylon with each other. However, a dream has entered the mind of the Prince, appearing to be a burning Babylon, with a gold crown rolling to the feet of a mysterious, shadowy figure that ominously claims: "All that is yours, is rightfully mine...and mine it will be." As in the first ending, the old wise man's voice is heard stating: "Your journey will not end well. You cannot change your fate. No man can." This ending continues into Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
.
, in the previous (and following) game he was voiced by Yuri Lowenthal
. Kaileena is voiced by Italian actress Monica Bellucci
and a sound-alike
actress. The Sands of Time featured a soundtrack by Stuart Chatwood
, consisting of a fusion of Arabic- and Indian-
influenced melodies with heavy metal
. Chatwood remained the composer for Warrior Within, though the music became more guitar-oriented; it featured Godsmack
's "I Stand Alone
" without vocals as the Dahaka's chase theme and "Straight Out of Line
" over the game's credits.
and GameRankings. It was commonly agreed amongst reviewers that the platforming and adventure elements of the game were equal to, or exceeded, those of its predecessor. The revamped combat system and better integration of combat sequences into the gameplay were also praised, although a review of the GameCube version by GameSpy
found it "still uninteresting". Warrior Within also contained more content than The Sands of Time, taking anywhere from 15–20 hours to complete.
Jordan Mechner
, who was the creator of the original Prince of Persia and worked on The Sands of Time but not Warrior Within, however, commented in Wired Magazine that "I'm not a fan of the artistic direction, or the violence that earned it an M rating. The story, character, dialog, voice acting, and visual style were not to my taste."
Eurogamer
complained that the game lost much of its charm by making the game's visuals grimier, the story less involving and mature compared to Sands of Time, and the addition of blood and scantily-clad female characters was in poor taste. Penny Arcade
parodied the Prince in comic form, claiming the once witty, likeable Prince character, turned into a more aggressive Gothic character, making him a "cookie cutter brooding tough guy with zero personality." GameSpot
also criticized the game for having uneven difficulty progression and numerous glitch
es and bugs
.
Although the prior comments seem to paint the game as visually crude and dull Tyler Minarik of Playstation Lifestyle has a differing opinion stating in his review "Despite Sands of Time having some of the best narrative and plot points in the series, the next entry, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within makes large improvements in just about every other facet of the game. Warrior Within introduces us to a desperate, angry Prince, who has spent the seven years after the conclusion of Sands of Time being chased by an unstoppable monster, known as the Dahaka." Video game enthusiast Devin Storey also states that " yes this Prince is darker, in contrast to the happy go lucky prince of the Sands of Time, but he has matured in darkness;and as a plant that is uncared for begins to show wear and tear so to does he."
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a third-person action-adventure computer and video game published by Ubisoft. It was released on November 21, 2003 and is a reboot of the landmark video game series Prince of Persia, created by Jordan Mechner in 1989.The Sands of Time, developed internally at...
. Warrior Within was developed and published by Ubisoft
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
, and released on December 2, 2004 for the Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
, and Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. It picks up where The Sands of Time left off, adding new features, specifically, options in combat. The Prince now has the ability to wield two weapons at a time as well as the ability to steal his enemies' weapons and throw them. The Prince's repertoire of combat moves has been expanded into varying strings that allow players to attack enemies with more complexity than was possible in the previous game. Warrior Within has a darker tone than its predecessor adding in the ability for the Prince to dispatch his enemies with various finishing moves. In addition to the rewind, slow-down, and speed-up powers from The Sands of Time, the Prince also has a new sand power: A circular "wave" of sand that knocks down all surrounding enemies, it is the first "Prince of Persia" game to be rated M by the ESRB.
Following Warrior Within, a second sequel and a prequel were made, expanding the Sands of Time story. Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones is an action-adventure computer and video game developed and published by Ubisoft Montreal. It was released in December, 2005 in North America for the Xbox, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and the Nintendo GameCube...
was released on November 30, 2005 and Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is a multi-platform video game produced by Ubisoft which was released on May 18, 2010, in North America and on May 20 in Europe. The games mark a return to the storyline started by Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is...
was released on May 18, 2010. A port of Warrior Within was done by Pipeworks
Pipeworks Software
-History:Part of Foundation 9 Entertainment, the largest independent game developer in North America, Pipeworks Software, Inc. began life as an independent studio with senior artists, designers, and programmers from such titles as Tribes, Pro Pilot, Populous, Aces, 3D Ultra, Front Page Sports, and...
, renamed as Prince of Persia: Revelations, and it was released on December 6, 2005 for Sony
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
's PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
. The port includes additional content including four new areas not available in the original release. On the 3rd of June 2010, a port of Warrior Within was released for the iOS. A remastered, High-Definition, version of Warrior Within was released on the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
on December 14, 2010.
Plot
Seven years after the events of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, the Prince finds himself constantly hunted by a terrible beast known as the Dahaka. The Prince seeks counsel from an old wise man who explains that whoever releases the Sands of Time must die. Because the Prince escaped his fate, it is the Dahaka's mission as guardian of the Timeline to ensure that he dies as he was meant to. The old man also tells of the Island of Time, where the Empress of Time first created the Sands. The Prince sets sail for the Island in an attempt to prevent the Sands from ever being created, an act he believes will appease the Dahaka. After a battle at sea with an enemy force led by a mysterious woman in black capsizes the Prince's ship, the Prince washes ashore unconsciously onto the Island of Time.He later awakens and chases the woman in black through the Empress of Time's fortress into a portal that transports the two into the past. The Prince saves a woman named Kaileena from being killed by the woman in black, whose name is Shahdee. Unable to grant the Prince an audience with the Empress of Time, who is busy preparing to create the Sands, Kaileena instead tells him how to unlock the door to the throne room in which the Empress resides. The Prince makes his way through the fortress, utilizing the sand portals to travel back and forth between the past and present, and narrowly escapes several encounters with the Dahaka, who he discovers cannot pass through water. The Prince activates the mechanisms in the two towers of the fortress - the Garden Tower and the Mechanical Tower - that serve as locks to the door. He returns to the throne room only to discover that Kaileena is actually the Empress of Time herself, who has foreseen in the Timeline that the Prince will kill her and who has decided to attempt to defy her fate, just as the Prince is doing. A battle ensues and the Prince proves victorious; he kills Kaileena and returns to the present.
He believes that he has changed his fate, but another encounter with the Dahaka forces him to realize that in killing Kaileena, he was, in essence, the one to create the Sands of Time (as the Sands were created from her remains). The Prince falls into despair, but then finds a glimmer of hope upon learning of a magical artifact called the Mask of the Wraith, which is said to transport the wearer into the past, allowing the wearer to alter his own Timeline. The Prince wastes no time in seeking out and donning the mask, which transforms him into the Sand Wraith and sends him back to the time when he first arrived on the Island of Time. He formulates a plan to force Kaileena through a sand portal with him, transporting them both into the present, believing that if he kills her then, the Sands of Time will be created seven years after the events of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, meaning it will be impossible for the Prince to release them in Azad. While still in the past, the Prince (as the Sand Wraith) ensures that the Dahaka takes and destroys his other self, who has just finished unlocking the door to the throne room, leaving the Sand Wraith the only Prince in that Timeline. This act loosens the Mask of the Wraith from the Prince's face and allows him to remove it and return to his normal form. The Prince goes to the throne room and, despite his pleas to Kaileena, his battle with her begins as before. He forces her into the present with him, and it is at this point that the game has two alternate endings. Which ending is played depends on whether all life upgrades were collected (which lets the player obtain the Water Sword) or not. The second ending is used as the true ending, i.e. the story is continued in the next game according to that ending.
First Ending - Without the Water Sword: The Prince fights and kills Kaileena, and the Dahaka arrives to claim her body as well as Farah's amulet from the Prince, so that the Sands of Time and all relics pertaining to it are removed from the Timeline. The Prince sails home to Babylon, alone, only to discover that the city is being ravaged by war. The old wise man's voice is heard, once again stating: "Your journey will not end well. You cannot change your fate. No man can."
Second Ending - With the Water Sword: The Prince realizes that the Water Sword can damage the seemingly-invincible Dahaka. After fighting and defeating the beast, the Prince and Kaileena sail to the Prince's home of Babylon with each other. However, a dream has entered the mind of the Prince, appearing to be a burning Babylon, with a gold crown rolling to the feet of a mysterious, shadowy figure that ominously claims: "All that is yours, is rightfully mine...and mine it will be." As in the first ending, the old wise man's voice is heard stating: "Your journey will not end well. You cannot change your fate. No man can." This ending continues into Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones is an action-adventure computer and video game developed and published by Ubisoft Montreal. It was released in December, 2005 in North America for the Xbox, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and the Nintendo GameCube...
.
Development
As opposed to the shorter hair and exquisite robes from the first game, the Prince's hair is long and he wears armor and bandages. The game had a change of voice actors; the Prince is voiced by Robin Atkin DownesRobin Atkin Downes
Born in London, England, Robin Atkin Downes is an English actor who is one of the most prolific voice-over actors in Los Angeles. He is well known for his work in film, television and voice acting...
, in the previous (and following) game he was voiced by Yuri Lowenthal
Yuri Lowenthal
Yuri Lowenthal is a voice actor that has voiced several anime and video game characters. He also voiced Kamal for the alternate reality game I Love Bees....
. Kaileena is voiced by Italian actress Monica Bellucci
Monica Bellucci
Monica Anna Maria Bellucci is an Italian actress and fashion model.-Early life:Bellucci was born in Città di Castello, Umbria, Italy as the only child of Luigi Bellucci, who was born in the British protectorate of Zanzibar, East Pakistan...
and a sound-alike
Sound-alike
A sound-alike is a recording intended to imitate the sound of a popular record, the style of a popular recording artist, or a current musical trend; the term also refers to the artists who perform on such recordings. In the voice-over world, it may also refer to those who recreate the voice and...
actress. The Sands of Time featured a soundtrack by Stuart Chatwood
Stuart Chatwood
Stuart Chatwood, is a Canadian musician, best known as the bass guitar and keyboard player for the rock band The Tea Party. The Tea Party are known for fusing together musical styles of both the Eastern and Western worlds, in what they call "Moroccan roll"...
, consisting of a fusion of Arabic- and Indian-
Music of India
The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. It remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as...
influenced melodies with heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
. Chatwood remained the composer for Warrior Within, though the music became more guitar-oriented; it featured Godsmack
Godsmack
Godsmack is an American heavy metal band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of founder, frontman and songwriter Sully Erna, guitarist Tony Rombola, bassist Robbie Merrill, and drummer Shannon Larkin...
's "I Stand Alone
I Stand Alone (song)
"I Stand Alone" is a song by American heavy metal band Godsmack. It served as a single from the Scorpion King soundtrack on March 5, 2002. It would reappear on Godsmack's third studio album, Faceless, the following year....
" without vocals as the Dahaka's chase theme and "Straight Out of Line
Straight Out of Line
"Straight Out of Line" is the lead single from Godsmack's third studio album, Faceless. After its release, the song immediately ascended to number one on the Mainstream Rock chart, and hit the top 10 on the Modern Rock chart...
" over the game's credits.
Reception
Critical reviews of Warrior Within were generally positive according to MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
and GameRankings. It was commonly agreed amongst reviewers that the platforming and adventure elements of the game were equal to, or exceeded, those of its predecessor. The revamped combat system and better integration of combat sequences into the gameplay were also praised, although a review of the GameCube version by GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
found it "still uninteresting". Warrior Within also contained more content than The Sands of Time, taking anywhere from 15–20 hours to complete.
Jordan Mechner
Jordan Mechner
Jordan Mechner is an American video game designer, screenwriter, author, and filmmaker, best known for creating the Prince of Persia video game franchise.- Life and career :Mechner was born in New York City...
, who was the creator of the original Prince of Persia and worked on The Sands of Time but not Warrior Within, however, commented in Wired Magazine that "I'm not a fan of the artistic direction, or the violence that earned it an M rating. The story, character, dialog, voice acting, and visual style were not to my taste."
Eurogamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
complained that the game lost much of its charm by making the game's visuals grimier, the story less involving and mature compared to Sands of Time, and the addition of blood and scantily-clad female characters was in poor taste. Penny Arcade
Penny Arcade (webcomic)
Penny Arcade is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website loonygames.com. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have established their own site, which is typically updated with a new comic...
parodied the Prince in comic form, claiming the once witty, likeable Prince character, turned into a more aggressive Gothic character, making him a "cookie cutter brooding tough guy with zero personality." GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
also criticized the game for having uneven difficulty progression and numerous glitch
Glitch
A glitch is a short-lived fault in a system. It is often used to describe a transient fault that corrects itself, and is therefore difficult to troubleshoot...
es and bugs
Software bug
A software bug is the common term used to describe an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program or system that produces an incorrect or unexpected result, or causes it to behave in unintended ways. Most bugs arise from mistakes and errors made by people in either a program's...
.
Although the prior comments seem to paint the game as visually crude and dull Tyler Minarik of Playstation Lifestyle has a differing opinion stating in his review "Despite Sands of Time having some of the best narrative and plot points in the series, the next entry, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within makes large improvements in just about every other facet of the game. Warrior Within introduces us to a desperate, angry Prince, who has spent the seven years after the conclusion of Sands of Time being chased by an unstoppable monster, known as the Dahaka." Video game enthusiast Devin Storey also states that " yes this Prince is darker, in contrast to the happy go lucky prince of the Sands of Time, but he has matured in darkness;and as a plant that is uncared for begins to show wear and tear so to does he."