Over the holidays me and a buddy of mine played through one of the best beat-em-ups to ever grace a console. That game is called The Warriors. It was our third play through since the game came out in 2005. Rockstar’s The Warriors is not one of the most overrated games of our time, nor is it one of the most underrated games of our time. What The Warriors is ,is one of the most criminally overlooked games of our time.

I am writing this blog because I feel like the gaming community does not talk about this game enough. I loved the Streets of Rages, and the Final Fights. I also loved the Ninja Turtle series, but there is no reason any of these games should be mentioned thirty times for every one time The Warriors is mentioned. Did I just say that? Yes. I did. The Warriors is that fucking good. Does it reinvent the genre into some foreign entity? No, what it does is evolve the beat-em-up series in the direction that beat-em-ups would have taken, had this game been more successful.

If you enjoy this game, awesome. Read this so that you may agree with the points represented here. If you love the genre and have not played this game, read this so that you may go out and by this game asap, so that you may know what these "Bad Mother Dudes" are all about.



The Warriors video game is based upon the 1979 cult classic film of the same name. Yes this is a movie game. Thanks to the fact that the source material is from a 1979 cult film though, the development process was treated with more respect and time than a normal present day film to game adaptation.

Simply put, this game is the best movie game in existence. Period.

Rockstar showed a ridiculous amount of respect to the source material. Most people who have played this game and also seen the movie will tell you that the game goes beyond the film. Rockstar went as far as to gather the majority of the original cast from 25 years ago. The result was better acting than the film, thanks to 25 years of maturing under these actors belts. Most of them weren't even actors anymore.

The game captures the atmosphere of the film and then enhances it tenfold. Where the movie’s setting is basically a two hour chase sequence, the game sets up a complete prequel to the film. With the flashback missions, it even sets up a prequel to the prequel, but we will get into that later. The film chronicles the aftermath of a gang meeting in New York City where, Cyrus, leader of the Riffs, is assassinated. In the chaos that ensues after Cyrus’ death, the Warriors (the gang themselves) are wrongfully pinned as the culprits. The Riffs then send the word to capture or kill the Warriors. The movie follows the ups and downs of this hunt.



Enter the game. Rockstar crafted a complete sequal to the original film. With this new story, we get to see characters that were otherwise minor in the film, come to life as fully fleshed out characters in the story. Complete with personality and official voice actor. Some characters in the film didn’t get but a few lines of dialog. Now with this new delivering of the story, every character has gained equal ground of importance within the story. This allows every player to choose a favorite Warrior. Trust me though. The Warriors are a single fucking badass entity, and you will have respect for each character (even if they are a gang involved in illegal activity, that’s besides the point though, this is fiction).

Included with the prequel are the equally fleshed out flashback levels. These levels chronicle the formation of the gang itself, and how each of the nine core members of the Warriors came to be involved. These levels are just as big and exciting as the normal levels, yet they are completely optional.

With all of this extra room to expand on The Warriors universe, it has allowed for the game to expand on a lot of the gangs that you see in the movie yet, like the characters themselves, are not fleshed out as important story elements. In this game, every gang gets a part in the overall story arch. This gives the game itself a richly detailed world for just being a simple beat-em-up.



Gameplay and story are seamlessly integrated into one being. I suppose this is easy by the fact that gangs are all about territory and fighting each other. Two things that translate well into video games. I have never played through this game as a one player experience. I do know that a lot of the moves have quick cinematic camera angles on single player though. I prefer the normal camera in co-op mode though.

This game should be played with a friend anyways. It’s one of the greatest co-op games I have ever played. This game has so much character that you and you’re buddy will embody the personalities of the characters you are playing. You will find yourself repeating some of the lines that the Warriors will say out loud while playing, and you won’t feel embarassed. This may sound odd. Perhaps me and my friend are demented or something but, you will bond over this game while brutally murdering opposing gangs.

Gameplay is amazing fun. Each character has a unique fighting style. Combos are executed in the normal fashion like any other beat-em-up, but equally implemented is a grappling system, and let me tell you:

These are some of the most brutal and most satisfying grab moves you will ever pull off.



All nine characters have their own unique Power Moves. When grappling an opponent you can execute one standing up, or one while you have your opponent on the ground. Cleon will grab an opponent’s face and bash their head into the ground with a sickening bloody thud three times before he bitch slaps them and then crawls off their body (usually they are dead after this). You have a rage meter that fills up and allows you to pull off two more power moves that are twice as brutal as the normal ones. When Cleon is in rage mode, that same move turns into one where he elbows the guy in the face flipping him over on his stomach, then Cleon proceeds to jump onto his back with his full weight and twist his body to break his back.

You have to play the game to feel the sensation. These attacks feel very visceral with the help of well placed vibration in the controller and sickening, meaty, sound effects.

The game pays complete homage to past beat-em-ups as well. It has all the clichés like, baseball bats, knives, beer bottles, crutches, guitars, drums, pool cues, pool sticks, chairs, cash registers, trash bags, trash cans, machetes, Molotov cocktails, spray paint, sledge hammers, crowbars, meat cleaver, plunger, axe, etc. It even has a fully fleshed out sidescrolling oldschool style beat-em-up called The Armies of the Night that you unlock after beating the game.



Most of the main weapons have tons of attacks you can pull off. The detail that went into this game is ridiculous. Take the knife for example:

From behind the enemy in a grapple you stab the knife into the spine and twist it.

From in front of the enemy you stab it into their stomach and lift them off the ground to slam them into the pavement with the knife still in them.

When you grapple them on the ground you stick the knife into the side of their neck and twist.

Regular melee combat with the knife is very knife fight like and damaging.

During the knifes double team attack (yes the game has fucking incredible double team moves) one guy holds the enemy while the other one stabs him in the gut and leans into the knife to add more weight.

You can also throw the knife into an enemy’s chest for an instant kill.

And finally, when you are in the shadows hiding and you do a stealth kill from behind with the knife in hand, you will slit their throats open.

That is 7 ways to use just the knife. While it is the most versatile of the weapons, all the weapons have a certain charm to them.

I could go on and on about the combat system and about how simple, yet detailed it is. It may sound like over the top violence, but it’s not. The combat feels like a fight for survival more than senseless murder. They are out to kill you just as much as you are them. Throughout the game you play as all the Warriors. You also have a home base where you can improve your skills and access all the other gameplay modes.



There is also a competitive mode where you can face off against a friend in a plethora of different game types. You can also do this with every character you come across in the game(well over a hundred). Through optional objectives you can unlock playable characters for the multiplayer modes. These optional objectives involve the mini-games that you can do in the game.

All of the mini games are quick, fun, and never get repetitive, and are enhanced by the fact that you need to carry them out quickly because of your hostile environment. They are executed in simple enjoyable ways, like for example, when stealing a car radio you bash out the window and then press Y (or X if PS2). Then you unscrew four screws to take the radio out by rotating the controller stick in a 360 motion. It’s all done quickly and simple. All of the other mini games are the same way.

The music is a lot of the original music from the film and a lot of ambient synth music that adds to the ambient, raw atmosphere. It truly sets the mood for a dark street in a gang ridden part of town. This game is very immersive thanks to the score. At the same time it adds to its attitude, something this game has much of.

The detail that went into this game is unmatched for it’s genre. Yet at the same time it keeps everything super simple, and super fun. From the ominous title screen showing Coney Island’s Wonder Wheel rotating methodically in the dark background, to the way that everytime you die, at the game over screen the smooth-voiced female DJ mentions who killed you and where you were “bopped”.



Detail, love and care went into this game. In the way that Kojima Productions or Valve treat their games. You will not find another game in the genre like this. Also, if you hated GTAIV now, you will hate it even more after playing this game. GTA could have taken pointers from the combat system in this game. This game will make you realize how dumbed down of a game GTA is for the masses. After playing this game, GTA’s combat system will be laughable.

You should get this game. I can’t stress it enough. It’s fucking incredible. I suggest you get it for the original Xbox though if you can. The reason for this is because you can actually play the game in 720p resolution which makes the game look terrific for its age and allows it to stand the test of time even further. PS2 is fine though if that is all you can manage, it's what I played it on the first time. It isn’t backwards compatible with the 360 (why I don’t know, hopefully they want to put it on Originals). You would have to have component cables to display in HD for the original Xbox. It’s worth it though if you can.

This game will not disappoint. Play it with a friend, bashing a guy’s head into a brick wall together never gets old. If you want to experience one of the most raw, atmospheric, immersive, badass, fun, brutal, bloody, take-no-prisoners games ever, this game is for you.

Only one question remains:

"Can you dig it?"





The Warriors official site. There are two different versions, just reload the page until you get it.