A button masher that doesn't lose its thrill. Can you dig it?
Enter Rockstar and their brainchild, The Warriors. Having yet to drop a bad egg Rockstar picked up the beat-em-style of gameplay added a dash of gang warfare, threw in a pinch of brutality, and a whole fist full of violence to create one of the most fun and refreshing games I've played all year.
The Warriors was probably one of the first modern day gang movies to ever be released. If you've ever heard Shaq or countless others belt out, "CAAANNNNN YOOOOUUUUU DIIGGGGGGG ITTTTT?!" then you should know that that line came from this movie. The movie is about a gang of n00bs that look more like a roller derby team than a gang who gets framed and put on the most wanted list of every gang in New York City. They basically have to get back their home turf (Coney Island) before getting "bopped" something fierce. This game is very immersive being that Rockstar loves the openended style of gameplay and fills the game up with a load of side missions.
In the game you control one of the Warriors and can either progress through the storyline, engage in sidemissions, hone your characters stamina (and you own by repeatedly pressing the A button - comes in handy when you're jumped by about 20-30 gang members), or just cruise around Coney Island and mess stuff up, collect protection money, or help your fellow Coney Islanders.
The graphics are what you'd expect from Rockstar decent but not super crazy high def. I personally like them and feel that they are more than adequate for what it is. I would definitely say pick this one up or if you're at all skeptical then just rent it but here's the pros and cons.
Pros:
- Great use of the movie. Really true to form to the movie.
- Fun fun gameplay. Lots of added moves, weapons, and animations make the gameplay fun and fresh. Played for about 10 hours over the weekend and still want more.
- Immersive story line filled with side missions. Linear or non-linear.
- Interested storyline with good FMV interludes.
- Decent multiplayer. Good for kids and dads (that don't mind the language) because dads can mash buttons and still whoop butt.
- Intelligent AI - your gang will pick up weapons and responded to commands that you give them. Bad guy AI is pretty smart too.
Cons:
- Not a big deal to me but a lot of people complain about button configuration. The black button is block and clicking the left analog stick brings up the command menu. Spazzer will mostly likely hit that when in the thick of it. Those that reload and change fire rates in Socom beware.
All in all I give them game a 9.5 because I enjoy games like this and there's always room for improvement.