
	Platform Sony PSP Genre Action Beat-Em-Up Publisher Rockstar Games Developer Rockstar Toronto, Rockstar Leeds ESRB Mature Released February 12, 2007

- Great story that complements the movie perfectly - Gameplay is varied, core game mechanic well executed - Audio is top notch throughout

- Camera issues - Graphics don’t match up to the quality of the rest of the game - Bugs during the game can be frustrating

Review: The Warriors (PSP)
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The Warriors

Score: 8.5 / 10

The Warriors is a game that I hadn’t had the chance to try on the PS2 or Xbox, nor had I seen the movie. It was nice to have a fresh perspective on a game, especially a portable one that was ported from its console brethren.

So having no preconceived notions about what I was about to embark on, I popped this UMD into my PSP and started to follow what is quite a lengthy story. You’re part of a gang and the first part of the game has you leading up to a meeting of gangs, something the movie doesn’t fully explain. This is where The Warriors game comes into play by fleshing out the back story and the characters within.

Rockstar have become most well known for the Grand Theft Auto series, and this game shares some similarities in concept. You have many missions (in this case, 20 plus), you steal things, and beat people up. The content and characters introduce a fair amount of swearing and there is some good music to back it all up. This is about where the similarities end.

The Warriors main gameplay element is brawling and fortunately, the game does this well. The environments are destructible and the nice thing is that how things play out are not always predictable, especially when you are being attacked by multiple enemies. The camera occasionally does things that get in your way, and without that extra stick on the PSP it can be frustrating. Fortunately, these situations don’t arise that often.

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Beating people up isn’t all you do, though. To keep your interest the game throws other objectives at you like spray painting rival gangs turf. I found the PSP nubbin a little frustrating to accomplish this, but since I’m no Picasso in real life the results were probably pretty accurate. You’ll also be chased down and a few other surprises I’ll let you discover on your own.

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The graphics are decent, but considering the caliber of the rest of the game they come up a little short. The textures are a bit muddy and although I understand wanting to represent New York in the 70’s as drab and dull, the character models could have definitely used some work. Overall, it’s still impressive that all this content fit on a single UMD.

The audio shines in this game. The background comments from people range from ridiculous to humorous, and the music is a treat. The quality of the voice acting is excellent.

One of the great optional features of this game is the included mini-game called ‘Army of the Nights’ which is a side scrolling brawler reminiscent of Double Dragon (in fact, the opening sequence matches Double Dragon’s exactly). The action is fun and you’ll probably find yourself returning to this one a few times, just be careful of the bugs. At times in the subway I could advance the game but not the bad guys, so I was caught without bad guys to fight and had to just let the timer run out (or kill myself under the subway, which I ended up doing a couple of times).

The Warriors delivers on almost every level providing a fun overall experience. A few things about it keep it from a higher score, but the transition to the PSP has been a good one. They’ve even managed to keep the load times to a respectable level.

If you missed this game on the consoles, or just want to experience it on the go, it’s a no brainer. The game is available at a budget price, but don’t let that scare you. This is a full budget game crammed into the PSP and will keep you busy for at least 10 to 12 hours. That’s not counting the co-op play where you and a friend can beat up swarms of bad dudes together. Now that’s bonding.

Syd Bolton

March 20, 2007