Prince of Persia: Warrior Within

Travelling back in time to prevent ourselves from making life altering mistakes is a compelling concept. Who of us wouldn’t want to turn the clocks back and correct some regrettable episode from our past?

Appropriately enough, Gameloft has adopted something like the time-rewinding powers of the titular blue-blood in Prince of Persia: Warrior Within.

Having released a heavily bugged version of the game a few weeks ago, the publisher swiftly realised its mistake and pulled the game from the App Store.

Now, Gameloft has made a second attempt at jumping the treacherous App Store spike pit. We're glad to say that this effort is in better shape, although it’s still in for a bit of a rough landing.

Those who know their gaming history will recognise Warrior Within as a port of a six year old PS2 game.

On the run from a vengeful creature due to his contact with the powerful Sands of Time, our mediaeval Marty McFly sets off for the Island of Time in an attempt to prevent the time-shifting substance from ever being created.

As tough a task as this is for the prince, it can't be any harder than getting an epic console adventure to run on iPhone. But run it does, and better than you might expect.

The game looks fantastic, and it has to take its place as one of the best looking third-person action games on the platform. The lighting and textures are generally of a very high standard.

However, this technical opulence takes its toll elsewhere. While it's perfectly playable, the framerate on an iPod touch 2G is still not what you'd call buttery smooth – particularly when the screen gets busy with multiple enemies in some of the more detailed environments.

The game seems to be splitting at the seams at times, with transitions between cutscenes and gameplay implemented awkwardly. Even worse is the way the game stops and loads in the middle of the action – sometimes at the least opportune moment, such as in the middle of slipping between two moving spiked poles.

Then there's the age old problem of touchscreen controls. As well as Gameloft has implemented them, the fact is that the game was designed for physical controls, and it shows every time you have to initiate a wall-run or string two or three acrobatic moves together in quick succession.

Warrior Within's console roots are also betrayed by an unsympathetic save system, which only lets you record your progress at certain points. This isn't a game you'll want to play on a brief bus journey, which kind of calls into question the point of such a mobile port.

Still, if you can tolerate such technical and control imperfections, the game at the core of Warrior Within is the same top-notch action platformer it's ever been. Some of the level design is inspired as you clamber and leap through dank caves and ornate halls.

The combat, too, is satisfying, with a neat dual-weapon system and sufficient variation in the multi-tap combos to keep you interested. Unlike the aforementioned platforming elements, it works very well indeed on the iPhone's touchscreen.

As second chances go, then, Gameloft has certainly grasped onto its own - if not with both hands, then certainly with a firm one-handed grip.

By correcting some of the critical mistakes made the first time around, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within's inherent quality has been allowed to shine through – albeit slightly dimmer than we would have hoped.