A very fun game that could have been great if some common-sense features had been implemented.
However, Knights of the Temple drew me in, while Warrior Within did not.
The combat in Knights of the Temple actually makes sense. There is a feeling of control, with clear-cut combos and special attacks. Executing these is not easy, though, and good timing, quickness, and parrying are necessary to survive under combat and pull off some powerful moves. You cannot just thoughtlessly button-mash and hope to accomplish anything. The combat mechanics are pretty darned good, rather complex, and quite challenging to master.
Furthermore, the combat animations are smooth and look very cool.
The game also has atmosphere galore. The graphics look quite sharp for an "older" game, the music is very fitting, and the levels, while linear, are still varied enough to be interesting. The story is creepy enough, and the overall "flavor" sort of reminded me of Painkiller.
Knights of the Temple is linear, though, and there's no two ways about it. Also, it is pretty one-dimensional, and the play-through is a bit short. However, it does what it does well -- that is, it offers satisfying hack-and-slash play with a variety of special moves and combos, hack-and-slash that requires concentration and timing. And so, short as it may be, it has replay value.
Now as far as the camera goes, it's basically a "surveillance camera" POV that follows from room to room. It is very, VERY hard to accept it at first, but after playing for a few minutes my annoyance lessened, then pretty much went away. This eventual acceptance was largely because the combat in KotT, while often quite difficult, is nevertheless fluid and able to be comprehended, even when you're going at it from crazy, unexpected angles. It manages to work, all-in-all. It is fair to say that by the second level I had mostly forgiven the game for not having a trailing-view camera. While I maintain that a trailing-view camera should be mandatory for ALL third-person action games, Knights of the Temple still manages to work with the crazy room-to-room views.
Now we come to the save game system. It is not too annoying, as long as you don't try to play on anything harder than the "squire" difficulty level. This difficulty is plenty challenging, and still allows you to save in mid-level at selected locations where there are "save statues." (Playing "Knight" difficulty or harder, you cannot save in mid-level, and it's nearly impossible unless you have experience with the game and have developed insane reflexes and coordination towards it.)
Lastly, I will say, DON'T EVEN TRY THIS GAME WITHOUT A GAMEPAD-TYPE CONTROLLER. Sure, you can go through it using a keyboard and mouse, but all the mouse is good for is clicking, and using a keypad to move around is a really, really bad way to go. With a gamepad it's smooth and becomes rather intuitive once you acclimate yourself to the camera.
After playing this game, I might actually give Warrior Within another go. And that says a lot for Knights of the Temple, because I originally tossed Warrior Within aside with extreme annoyance.