Review: The Warriors (PSP)

Movie licensed games are commonplace these days, but the majority tend to be based on current releases and not movies from the 70's. Based on the cult classic, The Warriors fleshes out the story considerably by taking place before the actual movie begins with your crew trying to keep hold of their turf from rival gangs. This works a great deal better than it would if it was just limited to what was actually covered in the film.

What defines The Warriors is how closely it follows the style of the film. From the opening title screen featuring the it's most famous landmark - the Wonder Wheel - to the brilliant music and voice acting. The latter of course is supplied mostly by the talent from the movie adding a more authentic feel to the game. The authenticity of the game is also factored in the visuals. Much like the movie everything looks gritty, worn-down and decaying with houses boarded up and litter around the streets - the only problem that comes from this (combined with the night time setting) is the fact that it's stupidly difficult to see anything. It brought us back to the days of the Game Boy trying to position ourselves so we could see the screen. A minor quibble though because the rest of the game is ported perfectly from the PS2.

The Story mode is where the main action can be found, and does not focus on one Warrior character, as you'll find yourself constantly changing from one to the other as the missions progress. Each character is virtually the same, but with a different move set. The moves are incredibly easy to perform on the PSP, with the only complaint being the camera. You use the analogue nub to move, so you have to stop, hold L and then use the nub to swing around the character unable to move your character. It's not really effective in the heat of battle and when you're trying your way up to the top of a building.

During each mission you have a main objective (indicated on your map), but you also have secondary objectives that can be performed at will. These are simply tagging areas, wrecking people or general thievery. They can also be attempted once again from your hideout at the end of each mission. The best part about each mission and particularly the level design is while there is quite a linear path through to the end, there are a few things you can do along the way. As well as the previously mentioned secondary objectives, you can break into stores to steal loot, wreck cars (stealing their radios) and mug the general public. It all provides some much needed money so you can buy some spray cans or flash to increase your health.

The main hub is where you get to choose what to do within your hideout. As well as continue with the story; here you can chat to your fellow Warriors, replay a mission or try out the other game modes. You have rumble mode which can be played with a friend in multi-player and is just a simple beat up anything type of game. Then you have Armies of the Night, which is an homage to the side scrolling beat em ups of old. Both are fun games on the side, but won't take up your time as much as the main story.

A problem that Gamestyle encountered with the game was the team commands setup. Holding the select button you can give commands to your warriors, telling them to cause mayhem, regroup, beat up everyone and more. Problem is that when holding select you have to cycle through each of the actions; it's made even more annoying when you accidentally pass the command that you want to give and have to complete another cycle of the options. Plus, your team-mates at times can be somewhat incompetent, constantly getting busted by the cops and stuck fighting some random gang member. For the most part however they do get the job done; which still makes the AI more competent than the Xbox 360's GRAW 2.

It always impresses Gamestyle when a developer manages to successfully port a PS2 game onto the PSP - especially without resorting to five minute load times - and The Warriors does so especially well. So, enjoy the journey around Coney Island while you can because as soon as the Tony Scott remake arrives next year (*sigh*) your memories of this classic may be shattered.

Rating: 8 / 10

Words by Adam Gulliver