The Warriors review (PSP)

I think everyone alive wonders how they'd withstand a beating if they haven't already found out. It's sadly human nature to venture into such thoughts, but without performing generic street thuggery, the common man will be left without an answer. Rockstar Games knows this. It knows your basic instincts, and although it falls short of physically challenging them, it certainly stimulates the nerve by creating games in which violence is tantamount to life itself. Kill and destroy to survive. A notion we all contemplate at some point. GTA and Manhunt. Need I say more?

The Warriors is no exception. Based on Walter Hill's 1979 cult classic film of the same name, this PS2 to PSP conversion lands you point-blank in front of a knuckle-dusted fist. Kill and destroy to survive.

Fight Night

As part of your gang – The Warriors – your overall goal in the game is little more than to increase your collective street-cred and rule as much of New York has you possibly can. A pleasant concept alone, I admit, but the methods taken to achieve such goals are where The Warriors comes to light. Fists, legs, bricks, bottles and clubs are your weapons of choice – strewn conveniently – and with these you must kick seven shades from all who oppose you.

The Warriors is essentially a beat 'em up, and this becomes brutally evident when you constantly find yourself at the throat of another gang, but Rockstar has tried to maintain an element of diversity by making sure your targets and goals within the game aren't always a face or a crotch. They are most of the time, though. Once you're in a fight, you've got a heavy and light attack, obviously set apart by the speed at which it can be delivered and how open you are for a return attack once it's executed. These can be mashed into combos for some stylish KOs, but these need excellent timing to ensure they're fully performed.

Exploding Fist

Grab attacks are also available to you to deal out a lot of pain in quick succession, but they become less useful in later parts of the game when you're taking on more than one enemy at a time. If you're sitting on a member of a different gang, giving him what-for, you're most likely to receive a smack from someone coming to his rescue. This can make or break a fight so you've gotta stay on your feet, moving around and jabbing whenever an opening occurs.

For when you're feeling crazy, you have a couple of running attacks, too, that make for some adrenaline-charged entries into a gang crowd – or, for that matter, cops.

It's not all arse-kickery, though. In a bid to eliminate repetition, a selection of mini-games have been included either as part of a rumble, or as a completely different goal. During fights with cops, if a team member is overpowered they are handcuffed and out of the fight. If you want any chance of retaining your freedom you must save your friends with a rapid button succession mini-game. Similar examples apply to lock-picking, muggings and, to a lesser extent, smash, grab 'n' run.

Way of the Tiger

The two most predominant variations in gameplay, though, are the stealth and spray paint missions. While both add a change of pace to the game, they seem a little tacked on. The stealth missions are slightly puzzle-orientated in that you must find the appropriate way of sneaking past/taking out the enemy in order to proceed, but the way they play is nothing short of infuriating. The lack of projectile weapons means you've got to either avoid an enemy or creep up behind them and knock them out, and for the most part, avoiding is out of the question, thus leaving you with the task of knocking everyone out without being seen. Lovely.

The spray paint missions are equally as feeble. As you trawl the city, your map will display the locations of rival gang tags. With spray cans you've previously bought, you must cover as many – if not all – of the enemy signs as possible. Unlike Jet Set Radio, the process is a little more complicated than hitting a button when prompted. In order to correctly complete a spray, you must trace an oddly shaped 'W' with the analogue stick. Falling off the line is ridiculously easy and consequently builds mass frustration when in a hurry.

Iron Fist

When Chris Pickering reviewed the PS2 release of this game back in 2005, he wasn't wrong in claiming the graphics were 'functional rather than attractive', and along the line of transference onto the PSP, this statement becomes further evident. It's obvious the PSP isn't capable of amazing things, but the graphics of this version leave a lot to be desired. Although the frame-rate is solid, even throughout intense fights, the character models, more so than the environments, are rather lacklustre. It doesn't detract from the experience, but the ugly models and textures convey little effort in the conversion on Rockstar's part.

The sound, however, is a shining star in comparison. On top of the top-quality voice-overs, the sound of bricking someone in the face has never sounded so hauntingly realistic. Each sound effect is perfectly suited and with each thud, footstep or abusive taunt, the experience grows.

The Warriors is by no means perfect. In fact, it's far from it. Sometimes infuriating and wholly feeble mini-games are a poor attempt at breaking up the usual violence. However, that said violence is what makes the game so enjoyable in the first place. It's a little disappointing just how much the game looks and feels like every other Rockstar has released recently, but the shining story and brutality of it all make it all a worthwhile endeavour.