Mobile Phone Version

It is rare that a game impresses me as much as this one did.  I was afraid that the fine people at Gameloft would not be able to compact such a highly addictive and comprehensive game into a mobile console.  I stand corrected.  Prince of Persia 2 – Warrior Within maintains its high standard of gaming entertainment despite having to sacrifice the detailed landscapes and impressive game play we've come to expect from the Prince of Persia series.

The Story Line:
Remaining faithful to the storyline of its high-resolution counterparts, the Prince is on a journey to eliminate the Empress of Time, restore order to the time line and prevent the sands of time from ever being created.  All in all, its regular Tuesday afternoon for the young prince.

The Game:
At first glance, the game may seem like the standard two dimensional quest to save the princess but after a few minutes into your first task, it becomes evident this game is anything but average.  The first level is developed in such a way that familiarizes the gamer with the controls before launching into the more difficult levels.  As the game progresses, your character learns new moves such as leaps, crouches, hangs, attacks and the coveted wall run which has become synonymous with the POP series.  After completing each level successfully, the prince is rewarded with a new attack combo to cinematically annihilate your enemies.  The combos are an appreciated added feature that greatly increases the gamers' sense of variety in the game play.  Finally, Gameloft confronted the challenge of time manipulation and incorporating it on a mobile game format.  By pressing the ‘#' key the prince can stop time for a limited period, allowing him to evade dangerous obstacles.

The Gaming Experience:
I sampled this game on the Nokia 6620 handheld video phone.  With a large display and speakerphone, the medium to play the game was almost as enjoyable as the game itself.  The sound is exceptionally good from this device reinforcing the detailed graphics and extensive game play.  Aside from the adventure mode, the game also features an arena mode for those gamers more entertained by combat.  In this mode, the prince is faced with 15 sequential levels of fighting with only his trusty blades as allies.  After completing this sequence, the prince is rewarded with a new combo attack.  My absolute favorite feature in this game is the checkpoint.  The worse part of any game is when you die.  This game avoids the monotonous repetition of trailing through the entire level before reaching the point at which you last died.  With the well positioned checkpoints, the prince continues his journey never too far from where he left off.  It demonstrates great foresight on the part of the developers.

The Ups:
Prince of Persia Warrior Within (mobile version) is the first in a new standard of mobile gaming we should grow to expect from developers.  This unprecedented game is the new bar in which all other mobile games shall be measured against.  It receives my highest recommendation and definitely worth the download.

The Downs:
There isn't a cell phone battery with enough juice to last as long as you'd like with this game.