The Warriors

"Can you dig it!?"

Being a fan of the brawler, or beat 'em up genre, you've got to have at least heard of this game. It takes the gritty setting, and story from the cult classic movie of the same name, and claims it will "reinvent" the brawler. Well though for a while before the games release I was excited to say the least, but I was still skeptical. Well rest assured, it keeps it's word, and does a lot more than most thought possible to this tired genre. Keep reading to find out exactly how it does so.

Gameplay: Here ya go, here's where it's all at. Firstly we'll focus on the raw fundamentals of combat, since this is a brawler after all. What you have laid out here seems pretty straight forward and simple initially. But as you'll find soon, that is not the case. You have hard and regular attack buttons, a button for sprinting, a block button and that's really about it. But you can chain light and heavy moves together to make combos. You can also perform a few different dashing attacks. And after dishing out enough damage, as well as receiving it, you're rage meter will fill. This enables you to go into rage move where you will become more powerful and be able to use your character's unique rage combo. This is also all complimented by a pretty solid control scheme.

There are also a good fair share of weapons to be found around the environment, ranging from glass bottles to sledge hammers. These can be used to devastating effect, but they will break after so many uses. You can also do team attacks with your fellow gang members, as you'll always be with at least one. The combat system goes a lot further than this, but you get the basic picture.

One of the coolest features of the game to most is the co-op story mode. This is handled very well, enabling a player to hop in and out of a game pretty much simply by pressing start. This makes things interesting and pretty fun as you and a friend work together to kick the junk out of people or just strategically tear a level apart.

With everything mentioned above, consider that you'll be using all of this in a HUGE environments that are about 80% destructible. And the mission variety in the game never really gets stale to boot, always having you do something fresh. Now something else to keep in mind here is that the events of the film actually only take place on the last five levels of the game. The rest of the game is a lead into the events of the film. So almost all of the content is pretty fresh, even to serious fans of the film. Everything works well, and combat is fun, as well as very brutal. Just don't expect a tame romp through the streets. The fighting is furious and you'll find yourself doing many illegal acts between your rumbling. To top things off there are also a pretty solid amount of multiplayer games to be played and unlocked via the rumble mode. Just icing on the cake.

The only real complaint I can pick out here, and really the only real complaint about the overall package for me here is; The camera. Sometimes the camera can become obstructed and get a little wonky, but it's nothing serious, or truly hindering.

Graphics/Sound: Graphically this game doesn't genuinely shine, but it gets the job done well. Don't expect hyper realistic graphics. Though it contains more detail than your average GTA game, it's still not GREAT, but decent. But sound is a horse of another color. The sound here is exceptional. From the sound of fists smashing into faces, to bottles breaking over buildings, it all sounds pretty accurate. And the voice acting here, especially from The Warriors is superb. Even including some of the cast from the film returning to claim their roles. It's all pretty solid as far as sound goes, and you can't really complaint too much about it.

Story: The story is of course focused mostly on the events of the film. That being that a set up is made on the Warriors, and they are forced to flee, trying desperately to make it back home from across NYC to Coney in one piece. But the majority of the game actually takes place before the events of the film. Not only does this shed some light on exactly how the Warriors got to be known as such a heavy set. Which in turn ended up getting them invited to Cyrus's meeting, where the film starts. And I might add, this is all done very well, and never feels forced. Making for a great addition to the movies story. When the events of the movie do come into play they are handled very well as well. Following the film to a T most of the time, and still maintaining an entertaining playing experience all the while. If you love the movie, chances are you'll really like the tale Rockstar has told of how the Warriors became what they got to be known for.

Play Time/Replayability: Here's what really sticks out for this game, especially considering its genre. The story mode will last you somewhere between 15-25 hours. For a brawler, that's rather impressive in itself. But what's more is that there are seriously over 450 unlockables. The most important, and easily the coolest of these being the flashback missions. These are bonus missions that show you how the various members of the Warriors became a part of the gang, and add a lot to the character development, especially to a fan of the movie and it's characters.

There are also multiplayer modes to be unlocked and a slew of characters to unlock to play within those. And with the ability to create and name your own gang in rumble mode, that's pretty sweet. You'll also unlock a very cool and "oldschool" mini game after completing the story that fans of brawlers from the early days will really eat up. But on top of all that, considering how fun the game is anyway, most people will want to give it another play through. Even if only to play through with a buddy.

Final Recommendation: Let me put this simply, if you're a fan of the movie, and you can appreciate video games, get up and go buy this game. I really can't recommend this game enough to a brawler fan, it has everything you could ask for and a whole lot more. The game truly delivers on it's claim to "reinvent" the genre. It's a masterpiece, and to a fan of the film, it's even more. After playing the game, I feel most will want to see the film if they haven't already. An excellent game that could have been easily overlooked, but luckily hasn't been. This is the Brawler that other brawlers will now have to meet in standards. This is it, this is where it's at.
I seriously struggle to find much to complain about with this game. Don't rent it, buy it.

The Warriors throws it down for a well deserved 10/10.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/03/05