A lot of people seem to think of Rockstar as ” GTA and Red Dead company,” perhaps since these IPs have occupied developer resources and talent for more than a decade. But there was a time when the famous Scottish developer was known for more than just Michael Mann-influenced crime thrills and wild west ideas. There was a time when Rockstar made games like Warriorswho infused her trademark writing and design chops into a wickedly brutal story.
Warriors is a 1979 film adaptation of the 1965 crime novel that eventually became a cult classic. The film is decidedly gritty: shot on 35mm film, its blacks are crushed and oppressive, its atmosphere often unnerving. This, in turn, is balanced by the absurd plot and crazy characters that helped cement it together Warriors' reputation as a hidden gem in the years following its release. It takes place in an alternate version of New York, where gang activity has reached an all-time high. Individual gangs have effectively established de facto governments across the city, all at constant war with the police. The film centers on the eponymous Warriors gang, who are accused of murdering Cyrus, the leader of the most powerful gang in town, while he is in the middle of brokering peace between the various factions. The story continues to follow the warriors as they make a daring escape back to their home turf of Coney Island, facing deadly rival gangs.
Rockstar's The Warriors is the perfect companion to the film
It's quite fitting that Rockstar – especially Rockstar from 2005 – adapted Warriors. The game was preceded by various key works from the developer, p GTA: San Andreas and Hunt for people perhaps they are the closest parallels to Warriors film. It's easy to argue that these games, at least in part, were inspired by the frenetic and amoral tone Warriorsespecially in their portrayal of gang activity and violent crime.
Rockstar's Warriors however, it is not really an adaptation in the traditional sense. Although it overlaps heavily with the movie in parts, at least half of the story is original content. The game begins with the murder of Cyrus, just like the movie, but then goes back a few months, providing hours of backstory to several of the main cast members before the inciting incident in the movie. It's hard to overstate how valuable this creative decision was, as it allowed Rockstar to further refine these iconic characters years after they debuted on the silver screen. Thus, Warriors it's not just an adaptation of a cult classic, but an expansion of it, providing an enriching, canonical narrative context.
In the end though Warriors to match the film, Rockstar flexes its writing and production muscles to faithfully recreate a number of iconic scenes, including:
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Kelly's famous “Warriors, come play” taunts
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Cyrus' opening “Can You Dig It?” speech
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“I like it rough” honey trap for Ajax by Mercedes
Several Warriors Cast members from the film, including James Remar, David Patrick Kelly, and Michael Beck, reprized their roles in the game.
The Warriors is a classic yet bombastic old-school 3D beat-em-up
Unsurprisingly, the mainstay is gameplay Warriors which most collapses when exposed to modern scrutiny. Still, his melee quarantine is fun and expressive, full of punchy combos and over-the-top animations. Most of the campaign focuses on massive brawls, often with a dozen or more enemies, which, combined with the third-person perspective, lends it a unique sense of chaos.
Warriors however, it also has surprising diversity. Between each mission, players return to the gang's base in Coney Island, where they can train and gain stats or engage in several mini-games such as Wheels of Steel (a wheelchair race) and Survival (an endless brawler mode). Notably, many of these minigames support multiplayer for up to two players.
The campaign itself is also rich in content, especially compared to other 3D brawlers of the era. For one thing, the game provides an incredible variety of environments: WarriorsThe level design covers greasy wine bars, run-down parks, and claustrophobic neon-filled street grids. Mechanically, each gang member has a unique fighting style, and the missions themselves will often feature non-combat objectives such as spraying graffiti tags or escaping hordes of bloodthirsty enemies.
Why New York's rendition of The Warriors is still special
Most gamers know that New York City is an almost ubiquitous setting for video games, having been the setting for a number of well-received and influential games, with prominent examples being:
- Marvel's Spider-Man
- Grand Theft Auto 4
- True Crime: New York City
- Max Payne
Although it's not like open world Spider-Man or GTA 4, Warriors can present its version of the Big Apple with far greater vigor and impact. This is because each level of the game is isolated and designed as a backdrop rather than just a replaceable part of a larger map. In other games, staples of NYC like subway bathrooms, Chinatown, and graffiti-filled alleys are just small parts of a larger whole. IN Warriorsthese New York City staples are characters in their own right, designed around specific gameplay and narrative quests.
It is important to point this out Warriors it represents an extremely fictionalized and stylized version of New York, even more so than something like heavy-noir Max Payne. Of course, the gangs of real New York do not have as much power or freedom, and virtually every city street is not a hotbed of unabashed violent crime (despite what some may think). Warriors presents a hellish version of a city whose very real crime problems have been turned up to eleven, resulting in pure anarchy and destruction. Rockstar's film concept supports and underlines this fictional idea of New York, while offering one of the most surprising and refreshing New York environments in gaming history.
- Released
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October 17, 2005
- ESRB
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M // Blood, intense violence, sexual themes, strong language, drug and alcohol use
- Developers
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Rockstar Toronto, Rockstar Leeds
- Engine
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RenderWare
- Multiplayer
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Local multiplayer
