Pros: More deadly moves, blood, and Godsmack
Cons: I really can't think of any
The bottom line: Get ready to rock out and kick sand-zombie butt
Awww, yeah! The Prince is back and he’s gonna fight sand-zombies!

“How is it possible that they can make this game?” I thought. “The sand-zombies don’t exist anymore.”

Or do they?

Plot: It’s been a few years since the Prince foiled the Vizier’s plot to destroy the Maharajah and steal the Sands of Time to conquer the world. He had to make a few sacrifices, however – in reversing time, the Prince had made it so that he and his father had never invaded, never found the Sands of Time...and never met Farah. Although the Prince remembers every horrific detail about what really happened, nobody else does. He has grown older and stronger, but his past still haunts him.

A dark and hideous beast, called the Dahaka, is now after the Prince and will stop at nothing until he is dead. The Prince has altered the timeline by opening the Sands of Time and has disturbed the natural order. It appears that the Prince’s fate, which had been altered after reversing time, was originally written in the timeline as destined to die. The Dahaka – the grim reaper of Persia, basically – is now on a mission to restore that order and bring death to the Prince, no matter what.

The Prince does not accept his fate, however. After all that he went through to restore the Sands of Time, he refuses to give in to the Dahaka and vows to travel to the origin of the Sands to prevent them from ever being made. The Sands were originally created by the Empress of Time on a mysterious island, so the Prince embarks on a dangerous journey to find the Empress and try to rid the world of the Sands once and for all so he can finally live in peace and avoid the Dahaka’s dark hand.

Gameplay: I have to admit, the first time I played this game, I thought, “Man, this is depressing.” It is a big change from the Sands of Time, and rightly so. The prince has grown rough around the edges and his no-nonsense manner matches the title of the game. It is a very dark game in every aspect – the music is dark, the visuals and atmosphere is dark, and the Prince himself has grown angry and unforgiving. As the first game showed that the Prince is really a kind character that hates warmongering, it is clear that now, as he is forced to kill again and again, he finds the Warrior Within; fighting his way to the Empress in order to keep the Dahaka at bay. When a man is faced with his own death, he’ll do anything to survive.

The traditional acrobatics and sword moves in the first game are kept in the second, and even more moves have been added, as well as the ability to carry a second weapon. The combo list grows longer for swordfighting, but my favorite move is the ability to break necks. *tee-hee* No weapon? No problem! The Prince can still flip over your sandy butt and twist your head off. Extra props are also added, such as ropes, crushing blocks, zombie dogs that explode (...I hate those), and banners that dangle on the walls. The Prince can use pirate-like moves with his sword, tearing through the banner as he slides down the wall, or he can use a rope to sprint across a wall longer. More booby traps are set all across the Empress’s stronghold, and it’s even harder to find fountains that increase your health. I guess someone called Ubisoft and told them the Sands of Time was too easy. This time, you have the option to choose the game’s difficulty – Easy, Medium, or Hard – and it took a bit of practice for me to beat the thing on Medium.

Because the Dagger of Time is no longer needed, the Prince instead keeps Farah’s old medallion to stay human on the Island of Time. Because the Island of Time is the mysterious homeland of the Empress of Time, the Prince regains his ability to manipulate time, including the famous move of reversing a bad decision. His enemies are not quite human, but they’re not quite zombies – as they’re hacked apart, it’s a mixture of blood and golden sand, adding in a little extra violence we didn’t see in the first game. Even the walls and some floors in the torture chambers have been decorated with blood splatter. The violence is intensified as heavy metal guitar music blares in the background while you fight, which is a dramatic change from the sitar and soft chorus from the first game, giving this game a “hard core” feel.

Not only do you have to fight off droves of the Empress’s lackeys, you’ve got to make sure to keep the Dahaka off your back. This is the best – and freakiest – part of the game. Once in awhile, the Dahaka will just pop up out of nowhere, and it’s suddenly a race for your life as you sprint across walls, leap over pits, and avoid random traps as the Dahaka is close at your heels. Your skill at Prince of Persia is tested, because you have to apply all the abilities you’ve learned as fast as you can to stay alive. Once the Dahaka appears, the song erupts into “I Stand Alone” by Godsmack and the controller vibrates as the monster’s footsteps are right behind you.

This is where you squeal like a girl and panic.

Make one false move, and the Dahaka’s got you. Of course, you can reverse time, but there are only so many attempts you can make. As you turn corners and avoid things blocking your path, the Dahaka stomps behind you, growling incoherent curses and randomly sticking his tentacles out towards you. Talk about a severe moment of “ohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrap!”

The puzzles are still here, and the game takes a new spin on how you progress through to your goal. Because the Empress technically lives in the past and not the present, the Prince has to maneuver through ancient ruins and cliffsides of the old fortress in order to find special portals and transport through time. You see the past and the present throughout the game and both sides presents a series of challenges and paths the Prince has to take.

As an extra treat, there are treasure chests the Prince can break open to unlock artwork or even cutscenes. The artwork is really neat to look at and is accessible in the “Options” section of the game, where you can examine how the developers came up with the different concepts and applied them accordingly. Needless to say, the graphics are great and the renditions are smooth as the Prince journeys throughout the fortress. You're taken through a machinery tower, forestry, a water tower, a torture chamber, etc. etc. and since you have to pay attention to your surroundings to climb up a possible way out, it's easy to notice the beautiful work.

Overall: This game is lots of fun and it’s very challenging. I was used to the Sands of Time where I could just flip over bad guys and knock them down with my sword, but since the Dagger of Time isn’t in the Warrior Within, it’s fun to learn the alternative fighting moves. The violence surprised me, but it was a pleasant surprise (‘cause hey, I’m no prude...and I so wish for some blood in Final Fantasy) and the enemies are harder to fight. There are even a few boss fights and should I even hint that there are two endings to the game? Nevertheless, it’s a great journey as the second out of three Prince of Persia series.