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video games
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
The Prince of Persia has returned. No longer is he on a quest for redemption. Now, he is in a fight for his very life. And this time, he can't afford to be softhearted. Prince of Persia: Warrior Within has a darker and more mature tone.
The story for Warrior Within takes place a few years after the end of the events from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. The past years have been hard on the Prince. He has become a skilled warrior on the battlefield. When he returns to Babylon, Dahaka, a being whose sole purpose is to kill the Prince, chases him. Since he has been chased by Dahaka, the Prince has not eaten or slept. It will not stop until he is dead. The Prince soon discovers that the Dahaka was created when the Prince distorted the timeline with the Dagger of Time. The Prince must now travel to when and where the Sands of Time were created and stop the Dahaka's creation.
The new look for the Prince has a darker tone than The Sands of Time. His personality has become harsher and more serious. It fits well with the more mature take on the story.
In this game, you must still solve puzzles and run upon walls, which is now integrated with a new fighting aspect. In the previous game, the player would run along walls and then come to an area filled with bad guys. Now both areas have become one. It seems to have more of an emphasis on fighting than on solving puzzles.
Other new aspects of the game are the Free Form Fighting System and optional
dual wielding. With free-form combat, the player can do numerous things to dispatch an enemy. For example, once he grabs an enemy, he can strangle the enemy, slice him in half at the torso or take his weapon and decapitate him. This gives players the option of creating a fighting style that is customizable. It is now possible to steal the weapons from
opponents, and pick up any you find in the area. When the Prince had two weapons, more combat actions can be performed and work well when surrounded by several opponents.
The environment around the Prince has become even more interactive. Traps in the first game could always spell doom for the Prince, but now he can use them to his advantage. Players can now activate traps with switches and kill enemies without even having to touch them. Also, more combat options have been added such as being able to swing on poles and using a sword in a devastating swing attack to fight enemies.
The Prince must still do high-risk acrobatics, but the ones in Warrior Within are more difficult to spot than in the previous game. The environment looks more blended, and it gets difficult to notice immediately where the Prince should go next.
One main mood that the game has in it is fear. When the Dahaka shows up, the player has no choice but to get away from it as quickly as possible. This doesn't give the player the luxury to look at the area to see where they should go next. They must rely on instincts and hope they have chosen the right path.
The player can still utilize time powers in Warrior Within. He can slow down time, rewind mistakes he has made and hasten the progression of a battle. New powers have also been added to the Prince's arsenal, as such time travel. Time travel is key when trying to solve puzzles.
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within is a great sequel. The story has evolved and the new aspects to the combat are a great addition. The only thing I think could have been better is the music, which is a bit of a step down from the previous game.
Grade: A+
Chris Moore
Jak 3
PS2
Jak 3 is the final installment of developer Naughty Dog's very successful Jak and Daxter series. Jak 3 contains many of the elements that made the series successful in the first place while only marginally improving the formula. By saying this I don't mean to say that Jak 3 is a bad game; its not.
After the end of Jak 2, Jak and Daxter, along with Pecker, their monkey/bird friend, are thrown out of Haven City into the harsh desert known as "The Wasteland." They get picked up by a group of people who have started a whole colony of outcasts from Haven City. From there, Jak must prove his worth by fighting enemies in the arena and completing dangerous missions outside the colony with the aid of a slew of off-road monstrosities.
This time around Jak is granted special "light Jak powers" by the Precursors (Precursors are the ancient race who had great technical prowess). With his light powers, Jak can slow time for all those around him to a crawl while he is able to move freely. Light-Jak flight is one of the coolest-looking things of the entire game. Jak's body glows and he sprouts tendril-like wings.
This part is where I had the most fun. You start out with one vehicle (the Power Wheels-esque Tough Puppy). Eventually you can work your way up to six different vehicles with different attributes. One of my favorites, the Dune Hopper, lets you charge up the shocks for incredible jumping power. Missions with these vehicles range from racing a group of Metal Heads, finding uncovered artifacts and corraling a group of desert lizards.
There are many secrets to be unlocked including weapon upgrades, vehicle
upgrades, invincibility, unlimited light/dark Jak powers and the untold story of the mysterious Precursors. If you're a fan of the series or enjoy action/platformers, play this game.
Grade:B+
— Nick Finnegan
18
Japlay 1.20.05