This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Brian Mohr.

Back in 2005, Rockstar’s The Warriors made its way to the Xbox and PlayStation 2. The beat’em up fighter was a terrific action title on the consoles, but porting a title from the consoles to a handheld doesn’t always mean it’s going to translate well. Thankfully though, unlike Midnight Club 3, Rockstar did a terrific job bringing over the action title to the PlayStation Portable and in the end it’s arguably just as good. 

First and foremost it has to be mentioned the game is only $20. For that much, Rockstar packs a punch with a ton of content. The story is approximately twenty hours long as your gang builds up their street credibility as The Warriors. On your way you’ll mug, steal, spray-paint and work with teammates to be the top gang and eventually figure out why you’re being frame for the boss’s assassination. That’s not all this game has to offer though as the title features ad hoc multiplayer for up to two players to play in a level. On top of that, the game includes bonus characters and a classic style side-scrolling fighter titled Armies of the Night which is pretty fun. 

Of course, none of that would be important if the controls weren’t intact and thankfully Rockstar did a commendable job porting the title from the PlayStation 2 to the PlayStation Portable. The original combat was simple, utilizing X and square to fight and O to grab. All of that is still intact and you can grab, throw and roll around with opponents. Add to that the fact you can connect attacks together in a string makes the action just as exciting. Simple punching and kicking aren’t the only attacks available, though. Players can utilize weapons and get special and rage attacks too. If that’s not enough for you, each Warrior fights completely different so it’s fun and interesting to play with every one of them. 

Just like in the original, the AI is terrific too. The computer will beat you to a pulp and use team attacks to take you and your Warrior teammates down. Also of note, the boss attacks are very challenging and provide a nice bit of difficulty to the entire experience.

Finally, the sound is pretty good. The game features quality voice acting from many of the actors in the original movie. There is also a nice variety of sound effects and the soundtrack fits the 1970’s time period. 

While the controls are solid, they are a little more complicated than on the PlayStation 2. In particular, defending yourself and spray painting your enemies is significantly more difficult on the handheld as the button combinations are a little trickier with the slightly smaller controls. Of course with less buttons, there were some changes to the controls most notably pushing the left trigger and analog nub to move your camera around and pressing select to issue commands, but it is still not that terrible and overall it is a relatively small issue compared to the mostly good job the developers did in adjusting to the less buttons.

Besides the slightly obtrusive controls, the graphics in The Warriors are a little dated even for the PlayStation Portable. First and foremost, it must be noted that this game originally came out in October 2005 and little has changed in the actual in-game graphics. Once in awhile you’ll see slowdown and occasionally the camera will give you uncomfortable angles to view the action from including a very awkward ground third-person view. Speaking strictly about the graphics though, the environments and character models are good, but still a bit blocky. One thing that can’t be overlooked though is the feel of the 1970’s. The environments and visuals all fit the time. 

On the console, The Warriors was an impressive beat em' up fighter and Rockstar has brought that experience in full to the PlayStation Portable. The game features plenty of content, solid audio and terrific AI. Without question the game does have some deficiencies in relation to its slightly awkward controls and graphics, but The Warriors is a terrific game no matter the console and it comes in at an affordable price making it a sure fire recommendation.

Although a little more complicated than the PS2, the controls are still good and AI effective.

The framerate, environments and character models are solid, but aren’t overall impressive.

The soundtrack, sound effects and voice acting are all well done.

The fighting is repetitive, but doesn’t get tiresome and overall the story and action are nice.

There’s a fair amount to do, including ad hoc multiplayer and a classic side-scrolling fighter.