Prince of Persia: Warrior Within.

CRISPIN: Looks like someone's got a case of the Mondays. Warrior Within's scruffy, scowling titular hero just isn't the same happy-go-wall-hopping guy you remember from EGM's 2003 Game of the Year, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. And his gloomy mood is just one of several new directions for this solid sequel, which ramps up the combat, opens up the world, and introduces a mammoth single-minded pursuer who busts through walls like Resident Evil's Nemesis meets the Kool-Aid Man, with a dash of Lord of the Rings' Balrog.

Called the Dahaka, this unstoppable force of fate is the best--and most terrifying--thing the sequel has going for it (see sidebar). But fans of the last game will be glad to know that the levels, traps, and puzzles are once again masterpieces of design. As before, the real thrill here comes from scoping out the environments, then reckoning how to get from A to B using the spry Prince's greatest-of-ease acrobatics. And the environments themselves are absolutely lush and atmospheric. …