Same great platforming, overrated combat
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time was universally praised for its incredibly tight atmosphere, with most criticisms centring on its simplistic combat system that could often lead to long, drawn out encounters toward the game's conclusion.
The core platforming here remains the same, though the game adds a slight metroid flavour this time around, with lots of backtracking as the prince gains new abilities and opens up new areas.
Where the game falls apart is the combat system. Frequently praised as an improvement over SoT's combat, the reality is that WW's combat is far, far worse: Warrior Within gives us essentially the same combat system as before, but rather than giving us two or three simple combos, we get page after page of combo, most of which players will never perform due to how awfully clunky and unresponsive button inputs are. If you've ever played a game with a competent combat system (Ninja Gaiden, Bayonetta, God of War), WW's combat will only frustrate you: there's no flow, no feeling of impact.
And in a game that features such a huge amount of combat, it's a major flaw.
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