Prince of Persia: Warrior Within is pretty solid. While Sands of Time had a more fantastical, fairy-tale-like atmosphere, this one has a much darker and somber feel to it. In this Prince of Persia game, more emphasis is placed on combat, although there is still plenty of platforming and puzzle solving here. Personally, I feel that the combat here is not all that compelling. It's pretty interesting early in the game, but after a while it get's sort of old and repetitive. The combat fails to stay interesting throughout the game, which is a big issue because so much emphasis is placed on that in this PoP game. The platforming/puzzle solving aspects of this game remain as solid as they were in Sands of Time, however. One of the best parts of this game is the environment in which the game takes place; the prince is being pursued by a demon (the Dahaka) for meddling with the sands of time, and must travel to an island (which I forget the name of) in order to set things right. The island makes for a very interesting environment in that the player gets to traverse through it in both the past and present, and both time periods offer unique and interesting versions of the island. In the game, there are also moments where the Dahaka will appear, and chase down the prince. The Dahaka is an indestructible demon, and will not stop until it's purpose (which is to kill the prince) has been fulfilled, so when this beast does appear the prince has to flee from it. These moments in the game make for some very adrenaline packed chase scenes, and while they can be a bit frustrating they are still a lot of fun. All in all, this is a good game. While personally I feel that the first one is the best of the series, this one is probably my second favorite. If you enjoy platformers or action/adventure games and you liked the first Prince of Persia game, definitely check this one out.
If you're the type of person who likes good story, or art in the games that they play, this is definitely worth checking out. The story is good, albeit predictable at some points, but still very touching. Gameplay-wise, To The Moon is nothing special, but the story is (or at least for me it was) good enough to the point where the player can look past, and forgive the game for that. This game is story driven; as opposed to something like Torchlight or Call of Duty (or other games that somebody plays because they enjoy the gameplay) a person would play this game simply to see how the story unfolds. It's really meant to be played like an interactive movie, in my opinion. The music of the game is excellent, and really enhances the experience. As the game unfolds, the player (or viewer, depending on how you want to look at it) falls more and more for the game's charm (or at least that's what happened with me). The game is pretty witty and humorous at times as well. One thing about this game, however, is that it is fairly short (I think i completed it in about 4 hours, give or take) and there isn't very much replay value to it (although in my opinion the story is worth hearing again). There are a few choices to be made in this game, and upon writing this review I have only played through this game once so I cannot really comment on the effect that these choices impact the outcome of the game, but my guess is that they have little effect on how the game unfolds. The controls can also be a bit annoying at times, especially if you're using the mouse to control the characters (I did not realize until I was about halfway through the game that I could use the arrow keys to control the characters, but even then things weren't as smooth as I would like) but as the focus of the game is the story, this is forgivable. All in all, in you're a supporter of the whole "video games as art" movement, this is definitely something you will want to check out. Also, the mini game that this comes with (The Mirror Lied) is pretty trippy, sort of blew my mind after playing through it. If you purchase this game, definitely give that a play through (and it won't take much of your time either, I finished it in less than an hour).
