I think people overlooked. The story itself is quite simple, but it still keeps you interested nontheless.

The game, however, shines in the gameplay aspect. It uses the havock physics engine, so that means enemy bodies have a nice ragdoll effect, which makes it oh so satisfying to kill them using your psi powers. Telekinesis killing, by grabbing an enemy and constantly smashing him against stuff is quite fun.

One person wrote on a review about enemy spawning? In a way, he is correct. For the most part, the enemies are in place (which means that it is a smart thing to use Remote viewing to plan your tactics), however, there are some instances where enemies will spawn our of thin air; this usually happens when you trigger a "special" event. The most glaring case of this is early on in the game, where there are rooms that if you flip a switch, the door closes and gas gets pump into it. You see, nothing happens as long as you don't go into the rooms- just use tk to get any items that are inside those rooms- if you do go inside, you'll find that an enemy suddenly appears and flips the switch (trapping you in with the gas going into the room). Of course, this doesn't really retract from the game.

The graphics are solid. Sure, some textures aren't the best, but for the most part, the game is pretty dark that you won't notice. The character models are pretty good, with enough detail in faces to provide convincing facial animations.

It's a good game, especially for it's price. I suggest you buy it.

Unless you've been living underground for the past couple of weeks, you're already very familiar with the recent release of Destroy All Humans! - and if you're anything like me, you've been waiting for it for some time. So... is it everything we'd hoped it would be? Is it worth your hard-earned cash? Read on for one man's opinion.

Destroy All Humans! is set in the 1950's, and the look and feel of the game is genuinely faithful to camp favorites such as Plan 9 From Outer Space. You play Crypto, the latest in a nearly endless series of clones representing the Furon empire, and your mission is simple - retrieve DNA from humans on the planet Earth as a means of preserving your race. I won't go into all the details of the storyline - suffice it so say that in the end, your activities on Earth aren't really all that dependent on DNA recovery. You receive orders, missions, and upgrades to weapons and abilities from Orthopox, a Furon alien superbrain who's interactions with Crypto are frequently amusing.

Orthopox requires DNA in exchange for the upgrades, but you'll probably have little difficulty amassing sufficient DNA in the first area to take care of your needs for the entire game. In fact, the DNA for upgrades exchange is one of the weakest areas of the game, as it becomes clear early on that collecting DNA is a rather worthless exercise. You can amass significant quantities of DNA just by completing side missions, which you can repeat - although the requirements get continually more difficult as you repeat them. That's not to say it's not fun - it is. I never tire of seeing the ol' brain pop out of a helpless human, but there really isn't any point beyond just the fun of it.

As for weapons, they're fun and imaginative. You've got the standard electrifying ray gun, a disintegrator, an Anal Probe (probably the most fun to use, although not very useful in an intense fight), and an Ion Grenade launcher, which packs some serious firepower. As you purchase upgrades, each gets an increase in damage area, ammo capacity, or both. Since you need ammo to use the Ion Launcher and Disintegrator, you'll need to keep an eye out for ammo powerups - some areas have very few of them, others more. As usual, the more ammo powerups you see in an area, the more dangerous the area is likely to be!

You've also got your considerable PK abilities at your disposal, and after some upgrading you can easily fight off large numbers of troops using nothing but your huge alien brain! Even in the beginning, it's a hoot to pick up a cow and hurl it at a gun-totin' farmer - or pick up the farmer and toss him to his doom! Later, you can lift tanks into the air and hurl them with ease - but watch out, they still shoot at you while you're lifting them! In addition to tossing stuff around at will, you have the ability to read people's minds and even take their form, making it possible for you to walk around in their midst undetected! Many reviewers have commented on the hilarious thoughts you'll encounter - I'm still looking, and I've heard an awful lot of really funny stuff. It's a lot of fun just to hang around on the street and listen to what these seemingly normal humans are thinking! The writers have really captured the spirit of the age - politics, social issues, and even Elvis really immerse you into the B-movie atmosphere.

Of course, Destroy All Humans would be incomplete without a flying saucer - and you've got one! It packs a terrific punch, too. You start off with a Death Ray, which delivers terrific damage to anything near the target reticle. You eventually pick up the Sonic Boom and the Quantum Deconstructor - wow! You will be more than satisfied with the destructive capability at your disposal. I've spent quite a while just revisiting areas for some all-out destruction - it's terrific fun to cruise slowly down the street destroying everything in your path! Of course, if things get too out of hand, you'll soon be dealing with no small amount of resistance in the form of the Army - and even the infamous Men in Black - but you have got some serious firepower at your command! This is one game where you've definitely got the upper hand!

The music is particularly appropriate, reminiscent of the work of Bernard Hermann, a composer famous for his work on The Day the Earth Stood Still, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and many other sci-fi/fantasy films of the 50's and 60's. Unlike many other games where the music can become so distracting that you eventually just go into Options to turn it off, the score to Destroy all Humans adds an important quality of realism and fun to the mayhem.

Graphically, this is as good a presentation as I've seen on the Xbox. Explosions, lighting, weapon effects, atmosphere - all are terrific. You get a variety of rural and urban environments, both day and nighttime effects, and truly excellent rendering of 50's era clothing, cars, and buildings. You can even look inside many of the buildings and see some of the excellent attention to detail the graphic artists put into this baby. Sound is also outstanding - you get all the bone-shaking explosions you can stand, along with the unworldly hum of the Quantum Deconstructor - it's a treat for the senses.

As observed elsewhere, there are a few pop-up issues, but I didn't find them particularly distracting - the scenery is great, so it's hard to be too concerned about it. Endlessly spawning enemies can be a problem at times, but if you remember your abilities (the jet pack is particularly useful), you can generally get out of almost any situation. Bosses are fun and challenging, but not to the point of frustration - a welcome programming feature, since this is a game that's meant to be experienced as a movie, and you' don't want to get so frustrated that you get up and leave in the middle! The plot is interesting, appropriately campy, and filled with enough twists and turns to keep you pushing through to your inevitable triumph.

As other reviewers have noted, the gameplay of Destroy all Humans! may leave some experienced gamers feeling a bit unchallenged, but the game more than makes up for this lack of complexity with the sheer fun of playing an Earth-conquering alien with truly extraterrestrial powers and abilities. This is certainly not a first-person shooter on a par with Halo 2, nor is it a seemingly open-ended playfest like GTA San Andreas - but it's not supposed to be. This is a game in a genre all its own - the 1950's B-movie Role Playing category - and would easily win an award on its own merits. Buy this game, play it, and have a blast. You'll be glad you did!

Talk about a brilliant implementation of time technology, plus stellar graphics and motion animation. This is a showcase for the great achievements gaming has made.

Other time-involve games either jumped years forward or back in time, or used cheezy VCR symbols to handle your time changes. In Sands of Time, it's extremely easy to use and VERY handy. You fall off a ledge? Just slide back in time a bit and try again!

The graphics are just amazing. The character moves fluidly, and the combat sequences look like a well animated movie. The character can run along walls, do back flips, climb poles, leap chasms, and much more. When he runs along a wall and passes a banner, the banner ripples in the wind. The attention to detail - from shadows to textures to torches flickering and water rippling - is just amazing.

Part of the game is slaying your enemies in new and interesting ways. But part is negotiating the terrain and figuring out how to get to the next area. Some of the puzzles are straightforward - run along the wall, jump up the ledges. But others are far more devious and require a lot of thought to get through.

There are many great releases out right now that we are enjoying greatly, but Sands of Time is the one that always draws the most fascinated reactions from friends. They comment constantly on the graphics, animation and gameplay while we move from scene to scene. It's like poetry in motion. And it's fun.

Highly recommended for someone who is looking to really enjoy the game as a visual feast while reaching their goals.

I was pleasantly suprised by Ubisoft's other Prince of Persia offering--the Sands of Time--when I picked it up on clearance several months ago. The game had an undeniable charm, and, while the level structure needed some work, it was a great game.

The Warrior Within, however, takes a drastically different approach, both graphically and story-wise. Gone are the magnificent towers and palaces that filled Sands of Time, replaced instead with dank, gritty dungeons and fortresses. The game is much more dark, reflected in the voice acting, the music, and the overall story. I, for one, don't mind this change as much, but I know that it's a sticking point with some other gamers.

Graphics--I was actually slightly disappointed by the character models when I first started the game--they seemed a little bit too stiff for my liking. Perhaps it's because the FMV sequences are truely excellent. However, I became used to the graphical style quickly. 4/5 stars.

Gameplay--the game really shines here, as it's possible to pull off insane combos. I was worried that I would be relegated to simply mashing buttons, but I picked up on the "free-form fighting" system relatively quickly, and before I knew it, I was swinging around posts, bounding over enemies, propelling myself off of walls, and chopping off heads with the best of them. 5/5.

Sound--this is where Warrior Within suffers. The soundtrack is bearable in most locations, although industrial music is a very weird partnering for a game set in ancient Persia. I happen to like industrial music, but I can see how this would irritate some. Voice acting is OK, but the Prince has a new voice actor this time around. Some of the lines--particularly where the Prince curses--seem forced. 3/5.

Story--the story is interesting, although Ubisoft seems to have gone off the deep end. Sands of Time offered a very satisfying story that wrapped up neatly. But with Warrior Within . . . BOOM, just like that the Prince is running for his life. The story isn't bad, it's just that it doesn't jive with the previous game like I think it should. 4/5.

Well worth the $50 I spent on it, I'm hoping that Ubisoft continues the Prince of Persia series.