Mega Man's Electric Sheep
Member
There's a second opinion in the PS2 review by GAF's friend, Ivan Sulic.
"I disagree with Hilary's rating of Warrior Within, which is a little odd since I was so enamored by Sands of Time. I respect Hil and his points -- as I do those of any IGN editor who is not Craig -- and can see every positive he cites, but my view of POP 2 differs considerably. Before we get into why, know that Warrior Within on PS2 is pretty much the same as the other versions only it runs a bit more sluggishly, appears darker, and shimmers a lot, so the following opinion has nothing to do with platform specifics.
As for me, the first issue I take with Warrior Within is that it intentionally ditched the magic and personable character development of the original in favor of a typically convoluted, poorly delivered time paradox plotline, which creates an excess of more -- a common theme throughout the game.
Another "more" objective in WW is to introduce the player to more combat interactions with more characters, which supposedly remedies the lacking boss fights from the original. But more doesn't always equal better. Crow guy, the Empress of Time, and the Vinyl-boat-slut all exhibit the exact same patterns with little to no variation. There's also a griffon, but he's just as easy to beat as the brutes, who are identical to one another.
As for more time powers, the new slow time ability now lets the Prince move at normal speed, making most of the combat pointless, since the enemies still move slowly. This addition also does away with the first game's eye and hand reflex requirement. Just turn on slow time and go straight through any saw, you don't even have to try! Since it's usually stored in vases and nearly every enemy in the game drops it, a player needn't worry about using his sand conservatively.
The one part of Warrior Within that remains relatively faithful to Sands is the platforming. More elaborate trap rooms have replaced the original's already meticulously designed chambers. And just like before, it's the best part of the game. Unfortunately, the platforming landscape is often dotted with the distracting "throw me over the cliff" fights, and they get tedious.
I'm also not fond of the awful music and voice acting. The casting of a Wolverine knockoff as the Prince and the inclusion of Godsmack is totally inappropriate, but at least the developers opted to use some terrible original junk to make the licensed stuff look better. The first time you meet Crow Man or Leather Tramp, you'll understand. Turning off the music and all of the voice acting is an absolute must if you play this."
"I disagree with Hilary's rating of Warrior Within, which is a little odd since I was so enamored by Sands of Time. I respect Hil and his points -- as I do those of any IGN editor who is not Craig -- and can see every positive he cites, but my view of POP 2 differs considerably. Before we get into why, know that Warrior Within on PS2 is pretty much the same as the other versions only it runs a bit more sluggishly, appears darker, and shimmers a lot, so the following opinion has nothing to do with platform specifics.
As for me, the first issue I take with Warrior Within is that it intentionally ditched the magic and personable character development of the original in favor of a typically convoluted, poorly delivered time paradox plotline, which creates an excess of more -- a common theme throughout the game.
Another "more" objective in WW is to introduce the player to more combat interactions with more characters, which supposedly remedies the lacking boss fights from the original. But more doesn't always equal better. Crow guy, the Empress of Time, and the Vinyl-boat-slut all exhibit the exact same patterns with little to no variation. There's also a griffon, but he's just as easy to beat as the brutes, who are identical to one another.
As for more time powers, the new slow time ability now lets the Prince move at normal speed, making most of the combat pointless, since the enemies still move slowly. This addition also does away with the first game's eye and hand reflex requirement. Just turn on slow time and go straight through any saw, you don't even have to try! Since it's usually stored in vases and nearly every enemy in the game drops it, a player needn't worry about using his sand conservatively.
The one part of Warrior Within that remains relatively faithful to Sands is the platforming. More elaborate trap rooms have replaced the original's already meticulously designed chambers. And just like before, it's the best part of the game. Unfortunately, the platforming landscape is often dotted with the distracting "throw me over the cliff" fights, and they get tedious.
I'm also not fond of the awful music and voice acting. The casting of a Wolverine knockoff as the Prince and the inclusion of Godsmack is totally inappropriate, but at least the developers opted to use some terrible original junk to make the licensed stuff look better. The first time you meet Crow Man or Leather Tramp, you'll understand. Turning off the music and all of the voice acting is an absolute must if you play this."
Those both fitted contextually. But a game set in ancient persia? First person shooters? Fuck! I know not everyone has the same tastes, but all the same.. I can't help but feel games pubishers do a pretty bad job. They need to contract advertisers to do all the song selection... i hear great songs on advertisements all the time. Often well before they actually get released. Kudos Levi's and others...