Can You Dig It?

Waaaaaaarrrriorrs... Come out to plllllaaaaayyy!!! 

The Warriors is a great PS2 title. Developed by Rockstar, it captures the violence, the gritty feel and accompanied by an epic soundtrack. It was released last year on the playstation network and I ended up buying it on my trusty PS Vita. 

The game takes places some months before the meeting with Cyrus. You play as all the Warriors throughout the game but start as Rambrant during his initiation. This phase is solely a tutorial of how to bop some heads. It has co-op and a rumble mode, but I never really played that mode. As a Warrior, you'll face off against The Turnbull A.C's, The Orphans (who are the worst gang in existence) and obviously... the 5-0! Can you survive the onslaught and make it all the way back to Coney Island? 

PLOT. 

If you don't know the plot to this...then you are a sheltered child. The game follows the Warriors on how they are invited to the meeting with the Gramacy Riffs. There's also historic mission on how each of the main members of the gang joined which helps the to give the game more layers and depth. The game also has side missions in each level which is usually to tag over that gangs colours. There is also bonus missions at the Warriors HQ which help boost stats.

GAMEPLAY.

The controls don't change much from the console to handheld, the only difference is to move the camera you have to hold a shoulder button and the left analog. I'm adamant it was the right analog for the consoles! X and Square attack, circle grabs, triangle picks up weapons and jumps and the left shoulder button lets you run. You can mix up the attacks to create different combinations. 

Each of the Warriors has their own strengths and weaknesses. For example, Fox attacks aren't to powerful but he has a larger rage meter. The rage meter gets filled after landing so many attacks and allows the player to have stronger attacks. If you grab the enemy and use square and X together, the player will put together an head smashing combo. Ajax will gut punch, pick up and slam AND - as if that wasn't enough - stomps on their head! 

The health bar is shown by a small circle round the players feet and can be replenished by purchasing Flash - the quick fixer-upper. It's good that it doesn't cover the screen and is in view enough to see when your health is low. You can also use weapons which break after (roughly) 5 shots. 

The combat is some of the best I've seen for a beat-em up. Then Rockstar made it co-op. And blew my mind. There's something special about holding a Moonrunner as your mate throws a knee that would send a chimp into space! 

To give the game more depth and to add to your high score, you can rob people and steal radios you earn money. The money helps buy the Flash and spray paint. The game mechanic's for stealing or breaking into a shop are simple enough but still provide a challenge to the player. 

PRESENTATION.

Not much to say here and that isn't a bad thing. It's a PS2 title so think of Manhunt or San Andreas and you're on the right track. The frames and animation for the fighting have very few problems. I don't think I ever played this and seen it glitch. The presentation is always dark though but it's understandable considering this is a game about the armies of the night...

SOUND.

The classic songs and sounds from the film have been used. They even used some of the actors to re-record lines and to do additional ones also. It certainly captures the feel of the time and helps create the atmosphere. 

CONCLUSION.

For those that haven't played or seen The Warriors. You must. A free area beat-em up that works is rare and there is more to this game that meets the eye. Even after you complete the story, Rockstar added a side scroller - much like Streets Of Rage - and kept all the controls. It works. Incredibly well. The music from the 79' classic, transport the player into the shoes of one of The Warriors and some of the mission are memorable. The Warriors gets a 9/10. 


Cheers for Reading, 


O.E.G. 
@TheOEGamer
Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment. 

Top Five! Rockstar Characters

Yes! It's a top five! Rockstar have made some top characters throughout the years within their games and instead of me trying to decide on the top five games, It's going to be the characters. I have spent quite a bit of time going back and forth on this so without further ado....MY TOP FIVE! *There may be some spoilers, but I'm not going to say look away because that would defeat the purpose of said blog!*



No. 5 - 8 Ball

I think that 8 Ball deserves to be on the list. Sure, people will probably think of more deserving (Max Payne? see below), however, 8 Ball is the very first character everyone met when playing G.T.A. III and delivers one hell of a memorable line! I still remember to this day.
"I know a place on the edge of the Red Light district where we can lay low, but my hands are all messed up, so you better drive brother!"
8 Ball, you're a legend.










No. 4 - James 'Jimmy' Hopkins

This loveable little scamp is Jimmy Hopkins from Bully (or Canis Canem Edit). Whilst the game is somewhat like a G.T.A game, it manages to hold its own. Jimmy is dropped off at a new school, and is instantly the outsider. I felt I warmed to Jimmy because in certain ways I could relate to him. We've all been there, the new kid at a new school, new surroundings and that's where the attachment comes. But unlike us Jimmy created the gap of the things we all wanted to do at school, be it beating the tough jock, or stealing the girl from the greasers. However, I'm sure none of us as a kid had dared to think of scraping on the scaffolding on top of their school, in what seems like, a fight to the death!






No. 3 - John Marston

We've all played Red Dead Redemption, and Rockstar did a perfect job of capturing the feeling of the wild west. The grit. The grime. The shootouts. And then we have this gent. John Marston. He a perfect portrayal (in my eyes) of a man. He owns a farm. He has multiple guns, smokes and drinks like a boss, and has words of wisdom for every man! But the best thing about him and why he's earned this spot is his death. Like an ultimate man, he walks out of a barn towards an entire posse of armed men, accepts it with grace and even manages to take some to hell with him before being killed in a hail of gunfire. Look up man in the dictionary and this grizzled chap will be staring right back at you.





No. 2 - Trevor Philips

 Yes. Trevor's in the list people! We all know him from that new game G.T.A V, but does he deserve to be this high on the list? Fuck yes! Why, some of you cry? Trevor is that person who will act out what he's thinking, regardless of the consequence. There was never a dull moment whilst playing as him. Even when you switch to him from one of the other characters, he's doing something random. Dressed as a lady, drunk. Wandering round Los Santos in pants, drunk. Surrounded by corpses on an island, drunk. The list goes on. I was always intrigued to see what he would do next and lets face it, who hasn't wanted to just lose it sometimes?





Drum roll! 

No. 1 - Tommy Vercetti

That's right ladies and gentleman. Tommy Vercetti. I even managed to spell the name correctly on the first attempt. Voiced by Ray Liotta, this guy made some memorable times for me and I'm sure others. Tommy seemed to me like a larger than life character, always moving forward and making it big. His temper was something to note, especially at the end when all hell breaks loose in an ultimate royal rumble. And this victor? This macho mother fucker!









Honourable Mention

Max Payne.

Yeah I know I probably should have put him in, and if it was a top ten he'd definitely be number 6. But honestly, I've only played the third and felt I couldn't just use that version of Max. I remember how brutal the first and second were but I think I was more focused on the gameplay at the time and I was just watching a friend play bits! So apologies internet!





Right well there you go, my top five Rockstar characters. If anyone has any different leave a comment and let me know. Next top five? Suggestions welcome.

O.E.G