I gave a mini-review quite a few months ago about the first Prince of Persia game (at least the first on the current generation of consoles). I loved that game, so naturally, I got Prince of Persia: Warrior Within for Christmas. How could Ubisoft follow up on one of the greatest games of last year (the last few years), with a sequel, and make it even half as good. Well, they succeeded, and they went beyond the call of duty. This game is absolutely incredible. The number of moves the Prince has at his disposal is mind boggling for an action-adventure game. And the acrobatics have been improved ever so slightly. The way the Prince moves makes each one of his acrobatic moves seem believable, like they could be achieved in real life (although you probably shouldn't try them at home, kids.) And the powers he has are pretty cool, too, although they haven't changed much from the last game, but there are a few notable additions, such ass the Bullet-time like power where everything else slows down, but the Prince moves at the same speed, giving him a distinct advantage in combat and in the puzzles. Speaking of the puzzles...wow. The rooms are entire puzzles in themselves. When you enter a certain room or environment, the camera pans away and gives a cinematic view of where you are, and where you need to get. And most of the time, you have to get to some lever that's at least 300 feet above you. You have to climb, wall run, swing on ropes, but the control sceme is so perfect, it rarely ever becomes a chore.
The story is much darker this time around as well. The previous game was rated Teen, this time around its rated Mature, and with good reason. There's blood in this game, decapitations and the like, but that's only half the reason for the M rating. Basically, events triggered in the last game has unleashed a monster called the Dahaka, whose sole purpose is to kill the Prince. The Dahaka is a dark, shadowy, and gi-normous beast who is invincible, and chases you around every now and then. These segments are some of the game's best. The sense of urgency is real. You have to escape this thing by any means necessary, because he can't be killed, and he'll kill you in one hit.
There are a few minor annoyances that bear mentioning, if I'm to remain an objective reviewer. The camera sometimes changes angles at the most inopportune times, causing you to fall to your death (although you can rewind if you have Sand in your medallion). And sometimes the camera gets stuck when you're in a confined space, so you can't quite get the view you want. But those camera annoyances aside, this is a brilliant game. Not quite as revolutionary as it's predecessor was when it came out, but definitely worth your attention.

10/10