Grudge Warriors

"I'll take the trash out when I'm done! Wait, this game stinks, I'll do it now!"

Tiny Tank, no?
Grudge Warriors is one of the games in Take 2 Interactive's ''bargain'' series. Seems like ''bargain'' in this case means that ''we couldn't make a game worth playing, so we'll sell it to you at a cheaper price, just so you don't feel too ripped off''. Now, the game is not too bad. It is miles ahead of Spec Ops (another ''bargain'' game) but just can't compete with what's available for the PS now. It reminds me of Tiny Tank. A game in which you played as a tiny tank. You drove around and shot down buildings and enemies. Grudge Warriors is the same. Drive and shoot. There's not much to it.

2 Levels...2 Boring Levels...2 Hard Levels

Grudge Warriors revolves around several gangs. You pick a gang to play as (basically, what your vehicle is since the different gangs have no effect on gameplay) and then go into ''battle'' with this gang. You go to their turf and then have to defeat the gang and several generators that are scattered throughout the level. You must get all the generators before proceeding so that the gang has no electricity. Cheesy, and lame, the premise is neither interesting nor exciting. Playing the game consists of guiding your ATV through the terrain and destroying the generators, which is harder than it seems. In some levels, there are force-fields guarding the generators that you must figure out how to destroy. This is more difficult than it should be (the second level is a doozy) and the game comes across being too hard. I gave up at the second level. I played for literally hours trying everything to get the last two generators. Now unless I missed something completely obvious, there is no way in my mind that I could get those generators (if you know how to do this please let me know as I might be able to pass the level and re-review the game, giving it the score it deserves). For now, I will say that for two levels, $10 is way too pricey. The game is too hard and the gameplay is boring for me to recommend it.

Look at me! I'm driving!!!

The controls in the game are fine. You have an assortment of weapons to fire and your ATV drives just like you think it would. There's really nothing to complain about in the control, however, the rest of the game has it's fair share of problems. The sound in the game is the same way. It's not bad and you'll hardly complain about it, seeing that you will be frustrated with the gameplay.

Well, at least you can tell what's happening...

The graphics are terrible. The textures are plain, explosions lame. There's texture warping galore and the framerate becomes excessively choppy at times. This can be forgiven as the game isn't selling for a regular $40. You can tell what's happening and they at least tried to add some lighting effects with the generators and some of the weapons.
The game could've passed for good looking in '96, but not in 2000.

Why am I still on this level?

Grudge Warriors isn't completely bad. It has good sound and controls, and I also found the multiplayer mode to be fun. It is a deathmatch between two players and I was enjoying myself while planning out tactics to annihilate my opponent. This mode is hardly worth buying the game for though and it can get old. The gameplay is what killed this title. 2 levels is hardly enough for $10. Pick yourself up Ball Breakers for $10 instead. It is much more fun and you actually can pass the second level. As for Grudge Warriors, if I somehow find how to pass the second level, I will re-review the game to give it a more complete rating.

Overall 4/10

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 07/24/01, Updated 11/20/01