The Warriors Review

Brawling At Its Best

The fighting itself presents a lot of different situations and gives you a lot of stuff to do, so it never really becomes repetitive or tiresome. You are always doing something new and cool, and the story is great so you have lots of incentive to keep playing. In addition to straight up fighting, you’ll also be able to steal car stereos, rob stores, and collect protection money from businesses in order to fund the every day goings on of the gang. There are also chase sequences, pursuit sequences where you’re running someone down, and even stealth sequences where you have to try and avoid rival gangs or the cops. All of these aspects combine to give the game a lot of variety that most beat-em-ups are sorely lacking. The environments are also highly destructible and at the end of the day, the variety in the gameplay and the added bonus of being able to leave stacks of broken bodies and bits of the environment lying all over is pretty darn satisfying.

Multiplayer And Bonus Features

There are also some nice multiplayer modes available in The Warriors. You can play co-op in any of the story missions, but it doesn’t really add any extra strategy or anything new to the game. There are also other games including quick rumbles, capture the flag, and king of the hill. The best of the unlockables is a old school style side-scrolling-beat-em-up called Armies of the Night that is just completely and absolutely awesome. Overall, the multiplayer modes and unlockable bonuses really round out the package and give The Warriors great replay value.

Graphics And Sound

The only real problem with The Warriors is the graphics. The characters and environments are good enough you’ll recognize them from the movie, but they are by no means good looking. The game uses bits of Manhunt and Grand Theft Auto and mashes them all together to form something that is considerably uglier than either of those two games were originally. To its credit, The Warriors does throw a lot of enemies onscreen at the same time and the framerate stays silky smooth, but it sure ain’t pretty.

The sound is one of the best parts of The Warriors. Many of the original actors from the movie reprised their roles for the game and they do a good job as do the rest of the voice actors. The sounds of fighting are absolutely incredible and every punch and kick packs some serious impact and really sells the fighting and the violence. The music from the movie, including several of the licensed songs from the original soundtrack, is included in The Warriors which really ties everything together.

Bottom Line

Overall, The Warriors is one of the best movie to videogame adapatations ever. It doesn’t simply rehash the story from a 25+ year old movie, it adds to it with a ton of new content and makes it something better than it was in its original form. Not only is the story and presentation absolutely wonderful, but the gameplay is also extremely well thought out and executed. This game is an absolute blast to play and is one of the best pure action games to come out in 2005. Whether you are a fan of the movie or haven’t even heard of it, The Warriors is a must play experience that is highly recommended for a purchase.