Front page or bust!
Considering the months of planning involved in launching a title, it’s hard to believe that Prince of Persia: Warrior Within has hit the store shelves! There’s been a countdown up in our office for the past few months, so we’re just as excited about the game’s launch as you are.
My name is Kim and I work in public relations. To be more specific, my coworker Carol Quito and I are responsible for managing the media relations for Prince of Persia. Media coverage helps us generate “buzz,” or awareness for the game. We’re currently No. 17 on the Yahoo! Buzz Index as a “Mover” which means that there has been spike in the number of users searching for our game in the past day. We love that. We want the No.1 slot in the "Leader" column.
We work with both specialist and consumer media that cover video games. A not so little known fact – half of all Americans age six and older play videogames, so there are LOTS of different media outlets, from IGN to E! Online that we’ve worked with leading up to the launch of Warrior Within.
When you read a first look, preview, review, a Q&A, check out new screens or the latest trailer, either Carol or myself has distributed the assets and worked with outlets to secure coverage. Front page or bust. :-)
Now that the game is out, we’re seeing a lot of the game’s product reviews break. It’s done really well so far. PSM Magazine gave this year’s game an awesome score—a 10 out of 10! Official Xbox Magazine gave it a review score of 9.6 out of 10, Gamespot gave the game an 8.8 , and Yahoo! Games Domain
and 1up.com have both scored Prince 9 out of 10. If you haven’t seen them already, check them out.
In the meantime, we hope that you’re digging your new copy of Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. We’re looking forward to hearing what you think!
Kim & Carol
My name is Kim and I work in public relations. To be more specific, my coworker Carol Quito and I are responsible for managing the media relations for Prince of Persia. Media coverage helps us generate “buzz,” or awareness for the game. We’re currently No. 17 on the Yahoo! Buzz Index as a “Mover” which means that there has been spike in the number of users searching for our game in the past day. We love that. We want the No.1 slot in the "Leader" column.
We work with both specialist and consumer media that cover video games. A not so little known fact – half of all Americans age six and older play videogames, so there are LOTS of different media outlets, from IGN to E! Online that we’ve worked with leading up to the launch of Warrior Within.
When you read a first look, preview, review, a Q&A, check out new screens or the latest trailer, either Carol or myself has distributed the assets and worked with outlets to secure coverage. Front page or bust. :-)
Now that the game is out, we’re seeing a lot of the game’s product reviews break. It’s done really well so far. PSM Magazine gave this year’s game an awesome score—a 10 out of 10! Official Xbox Magazine gave it a review score of 9.6 out of 10, Gamespot gave the game an 8.8 , and Yahoo! Games Domain
and 1up.com have both scored Prince 9 out of 10. If you haven’t seen them already, check them out.
In the meantime, we hope that you’re digging your new copy of Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. We’re looking forward to hearing what you think!
Kim & Carol
posted by Prince of Persia Team @ 9:36 AM
8 Comments:
At December 3, 2004 11:21 PM,
Rowen said…
Well, I'll start with the bad and then get to the good. But first, I just want to say I adored Sands of Time. It quickly became my favorite game. It had beautiful lighting, environment design, and the setting looked as though someone had really done their research into Iranian architecture. It was also the first game I played through without muting it once. I loved the voice acting and music that much. It was also refreshing to see a character who didn't have to be the ultra-cool “hardcore” hero. He had flaws, was easy to relate to, and developed during the game.
And that’s one of my main gripes about this game: the characters. What happened to the Prince? I understand that years of running will turn someone paranoid and withdrawn, but now it’s as though he’s been plucked out of the generic hero bin. He’s lost his Lawrence of Arabia accent for an unremarkable American one. There is no inner dialogue, in fact, most of the dialogue is uninspired, out of character, and poorly delivered. Even with the change, I expected some of his former self to shine through, or at least some change to his personality during the course of the game, though it never seemed to happen.
As a female gamer, I shuddered when I saw the two women fighting in barely anything (and wearing high heels.) Farah could handle herself, she seemed like an actual person, and she didn’t fight in high heels. These two women were just the typical femme-fatales with little personality. While SOT was neither a masculine nor a feminine game, WW seems to cater much more to young boys.
I don’t even want to start on the music. Repetitive, inappropriate to the time period, and nothing as complex as Stuart Chatwood’s work.
I feel bad saying this, as I understand how much hard work went into the game, and I really, really wanted to love this game as much as I did the first one. But it’s as though by trying to appeal to a broader audience, the POP title lost what made it truly unique and unusual.
What I feel has been done right are the textures, which are complex and beautiful, and I don’t notice any repetitive patterns at all. The cinematics are gorgeous. (Please, please bring back Raphael Lacoste as art director! He is simply amazing, I could write over ten pages singing praises for him.) And I still love the platforming and acrobatics, even if there aren’t any puzzles and it isn’t as challenging as before.
Sorry this was such a long and negative reply, I just thought it would be good for the company to get a lot of feedback from regular players, and this seems the best place to do it. Just two questions I would like answered, if possible: Will there be a third Prince of Persia? And will it go back to its roots of SOT, or is it more likely to continue along the grungy, dark line of WW?
At December 3, 2004 11:31 PM,
Rowen said…
One more question I forgot: Are we ever going to get back the Prince we know and love, or will gamers just have to get used to the new angsty Prince?
At December 4, 2004 9:48 AM,
alimokrane said…
I have one word for you guys OH MY GOD .... I received the game on the 3rd Dec and I started playing and I just can't stop ..... The Platforming IS FREAKING AWESOME ... it's harder, innovative and unbelievably good tyo play. The fighting system IS FREAKING INCREDIBLE inclduing the MUCH MUCH MUCH IMPROVED Artificial intelligence ...... THE MUSIC IS TOP NOTCH and it's not hard rock AT ALL .....
You guys did A WONDERFUL JOB, Sands of Time was my best game but now it should just step aside THE WARRIOR WITHIN HAS ARRIVED .
I got one Advice for you : MAKE A MILLION SEQUEL, I would always buy it and you know why ? because from now on I TRUST YOU !
May peace by with you !
At December 9, 2004 6:06 AM,
Vivek said…
Nice game got it on the 3rd and was really good.
At December 15, 2004 8:31 AM,
ob said…
Hi
I got the WW for the PC, and finished it.It IS a very good polished game. I would say it's one of the best - if I haven't played SOT. therefore, I want to give my opinion about this excellent game:
Story:
The story line is very satisfiable. I don't Agree with Rowen. The linearity in the main character, the prince, is what makes the story special. By sticking to his wish, to change his fate, he managed to survive, although the empress is definitely to linear, dispite she tricks the prince in the beginning.
What's really missing is an explanation to the connection between SOT to WW. The two games are connected deeply because of the main artifact that makes those two games so Special and stylish - The Sands Of Time. I think if there were a monologue of the prince, explaining how did he come to this point, were is he going to, who is that beast that chasing him, and so on, it whould be much easier for the player to understand and relate to. and I think we all prefer a formal story then a one that gossip his way in some informal sites.
Rasiel:
The mask transformation is a very nice gimmick. It was very nice playing by different rules, and it did create a certain anxiousness about the prince state; is he going to stay like this? But if any of you played any of The Legacy Of Kain games you would now that Rasiel is to similar the the transform prince. Yes, I do think you copied that idea.
Graphics:
Great! Gorgeous!
But one thing I didn't like is the lack of similarity between the prince in SOT and WW. The Prince's face in SOT is very sharp and long, while very rounded in WW. This makes an annoying feeling like we're not looking to the same guy.
Sound:
You did a Great work with the sound with the slow motion. I finally can see a game that can compete the sound's realism that lays is Max Payne 2. This is a point that I can definitely say you managed to overcome SOT.
There's another thing that I disagree with Rowen: The music is very appropriate, and it is essential for the dark aroma that the game is trying to create. I guess not everyone can relate to that darkness, just like not everybody can relate to the atmosphere in SOT, But I do agree that there are not enough tracks and you get irritate from the periodicity of it.
Gameplay:
The fighting system is great. I have no complaints for that. Absolutely great.
The puzzles are definitely on the delicate balance of geting a serious frustration to over fast solving, causing the game to end too fast. Although it's slightly turning the frustrating side.
But there is annother factor that was making everything harder, the repeated use of the islands space caused me a serious prowling. You can go lost quite quickly if you don't pay attention to the little words spreading throughout the story. For Exemple: you need to pass through time to get to specific place without any hint.
The camera is the biggest enemy of your game success. Absolutely unprofessional. Every time the prince stands in a hallway smaller then 12 feet it's almost impossible to change the camera side, because of the walls of course.
In addition, the prince is very slightly move according the camera movement. Usually it goes the other way (you change the camera view by the the prince movement and position). This could be good for the XBox OR the PS2 but definitely bad for the PC. This is the main reason why I prefer SOT over WW.
Next:
If you are into makeing a sequel I suggest:
1. Adding more weapons like in POP3D. a staff and a bow for ex.
2. Taking the music from the previous games and editing them for gaining the perfect atmosphere and the right classic hunch.
3. Link the next game to the current one (WW) by the story line.
you can also make another games based on the Prince of Persia like a strategy game of the persian empire and combine it to the POP story. You can call it King Of Persia. You could change history by using The Sands Of Time and change the end of the war versus Alexunder the Great.
That's it. That's all I have to say. I hope the Right people will read it.
Remember - Invent, Preserve and Balance.
DO'NT DISAPPOINT US! (don't worry - whatever you'll create I'll play it)
At February 15, 2005 4:38 PM,
princeluver said…
I LOVE this game!!!Easy Mode is actualy easy,Med.Mode is Med.,and Hard Mode is Hard!!!And the the cinematics are STUNNING!!The Prince looks better he actualy looks like a hero that can kick ass (i think he's hott)And the Dahaka sared the holly hell out of me and the at the point when he's coming after you i actualy feel like AHHH!!!RUN FOR YUOR LIFE!!! which is better than feeling like I NEED TO GET PAST THIS THING SO I CAN ADVANCE TO THE NEXT LEVEL.And the music awsome i really liked the battle music for the gardens that's my favorite.
I like the new Past and Present feature.The new time powers...WOW!!
As a female gamer i liked it better than some men i know.
I want to see a POP 10!!!I hope that happens.So i give it:
Music:10
Gameplay:10
Graphics:10
Sound:10
Prince's sexyness:100-10
At February 19, 2005 5:47 PM,
joe said…
the game was good. until you get up to the end. you run into soooooo
many glitches. i was going to beat within minutes and i decided to save and go to eat and finish it when i got back. i had run into a minor glitch before but it didnt stop me so i figured it was fine. well little did i no that that little glitch wouldnt let me save. i am soooo pissed off and if i try to over right another save point it deletes it so now i am done. i am not going to do everything all over again. i wouldnt buy it if i knew about all of these glitches.
At March 24, 2007 4:59 PM,
Jeff Lerch said…
I loved the first game, but warrior within was probably one of the most baseless, aggravating, uninspired games ever to grace my coffee table as a coaster. What happened? Did you decide that your last creative/development team was doing too good of a job? I've experienced better game play in almost any game I've ever played, and I've experienced better plot in almost ever episode of Baywatch.
I want my money back!!! (I bought it used for $5)
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