The Warriors was released in 1979, and while it wasn't the first R-rated movie I saw (that honor goes to Halloween in 1978) it was one of the first, and certainly left an impression. Starting the game and hearing the simple atmospheric theme put me on edge and made me realize that there was plenty of brutal violence to come. The game didn't disappoint in that way … or any other way for that matter.

The Warriors on PSP is a nearly direct port of the 2005 console game based on the movie, with very few exceptions. And let me put it right out there - this is one of the few ports that doesn't make you say, "aw, another crappy port!" The one difference of note is that the classic game mode called Armies of the Night that required you to complete the main quest in the console game is now available from the very beginning.

The Warriors is essentially a fighting game, but not a one-on-one brawler like Def Jam - you are part of the Warriors, a tough gang from Coney Island. The movie and game are told somewhat in reverse - both start with a massive meeting where the leader of the Riffs declares a truce for the benefit of all of the gangs, and is then gunned down. The movie tells of the Warriors being framed for the killing and having to work their way back to Coney, pursued by he police and every other NYC gang. In the game, you start as the newest member of the Warriors gang, which is the smaller of the gangs on Coney Island. The story of the game involves gaining reputation and credibility for the gang through your exploits around the city. Eventually the game and movie come into sync on the night depicted in the opening scene. The Warriors have gained the credibility to be at the big meeting, but they need to fight for their survival after being framed. From there until the end, the game and movie depict the same events - and amazingly the game does a really good job of allowing you to 'play through' the movie without feeling led by the nose.

The gameplay features a nice combination of missions, free-roaming and destruction, with loads of brutal combat. As you progress through the story you use skills that you learned in the training and early missions to increase your reputation and standing among the other gangs. It's a nice gameplay style that flows excellently throughout; you almost never feel backed into a corner with only one solution - except during mandatory stealth sections, where a single detection can cost you a lengthy reload and repeat of the mission. It is interesting how the game feels as you're playing - you know you're getting missions with simple objectives and goals, yet you're allowed to roam within the current zone of the city. This allows you to pick up bonus objectives, drop extra 'tags' (spray painting your logo over that of a rival gang), destroy storefronts, mug people for cash, buy some flash (drugs that act as health kits) and take out wandering groups of rival gang members.

Beyond the missions, there are a host of integrated mini-games. Spray painting tags involves a trace the line mini-game that penalizes sloppiness by using up loads of paint. Stealing a car requires you to use the analog stick to 'turn' the screws quickly. Picking locks involves hitting the button to stop the tumblers, which spin increasingly more quickly as the level increases. And mugging people involves a power struggle that plays out by pushing the analog stick to follow a control indicator and fill up your power meter before your mark fills his.

The graphics look appropriate for a game ported from the PS2 and the performance rarely suffers from these good looks. The occasional stutter occurs when things get very busy onscreen, but really have no impact on gameplay. However, the game happens almost exclusively in the depths of night, meaning that all of the environments are dark and drab. While it makes sense for the story, it does little to make the areas feel interesting or alive. The darkness also tends to make the characters indistinct and makes it hard to tell friends from foes until you are right on top of the scene.

The audio meanwhile is pretty near perfect - from capturing the vibe of the late Seventies scene perfectly to getting the voices of the original actors just right, everything feels good in this one. Yes, we can dig it! The soundtrack from the movie is relied upon heavily to set the atmosphere and tone - and it works perfectly. Everything that is done in the early sections (those not a part of the movie) also works very well with the background music. It's hard to overstate how great a job Rockstar have done with the music and voices - they were instrumental to the movie and any missteps there would have wrecked the credibility of the entire game.

So how about my three 'PSP Pet Peeves' then, which are the load times, controls and camera? For good or bad, these are the weakest things in the entire game. The load times are fairly long - about a minute per mission. Generally this isn't an issue, but when you get into 'single try failure' missions (such as the early mandatory stealth training), you really feel those minutes stacking up. The game was pretty obviously designed for dual analog sticks, making the PSP control somewhat difficult. This is especially noticeable with the camera controls. In a game that is so thoroughly populated with group combat, having to battle the camera to see who is where is a real pain, and since you really can't move and change your view at the same time, the camera issues forces you to stop everything and correct them, occasionally netting you a serious beating for your troubles. The rest of the controls aren't too bad, as you have the controls and combos drilled into your head in the training mission, and they are clear and simple enough to be remembered easily. The only issue I ran into is that several combos require simultaneously pressing multiple buttons and I had occasional difficulty getting the system to recognize those combos.

The other complaints I have are mainly related to the intelligence of my allies. Frankly, regardless of what you see during the cut scenes, they're all pretty dumb. I would be mugging someone and they would start beating him with bats. Or I would need protection and they would be standing around doing nothing. In general you won't notice because the intent of the game is to put you at the center of the action - and that works just fine. But when you need them your pals, they just aren't there for you and the stealth training mission is a great example. Your allies appear to have pre-programmed path-finding that is oblivious to whatever the current mission requires. So when you need to sneak around someone, half your crew is guaranteed to run around the wrong side, alerting him and failing the mission.

Beyond completing the story mode by yourself, you can go through the game in co-op mode with a friend, or take on Rumble Mode alone or with a friend. Rumble Mode involves getting into gang battles with small goals such as 'capture the girl' and 'king of the hill'. You can unlock playable gang members and build your own custom gang too. This is all good fun, but the best part is going through the story, because that combines fighting with a variety of other tasks. The final gameplay mode is the one that PSP owners get for 'free' - Armies of the Night. Console gamers had to complete the main story mode to unlock it, but on the PSP it's available from the start. This is a simple 2D side-scrolling beat 'em up in the tradition of games like Double Dragon, and is a nice little addition.

One other great thing - the game is budget priced from the start. This is in stark contrast with how games like GTA: Vice City Stories came out at a premium price and was cut at retail by around 50% within two months, then further undercut by a console release two months later. The Warriors recognizes that it's a late release of a console port and prices itself accordingly. For this price and this level of quality, it is an absolute bargain - it isn't one of the very best PSP games, but it's not far off either. It does an excellent job of being many things at once - a movie tie-in, fighting game, mission-based open exploration game and more. And it provides compelling gameplay throughout - once you get immersed (which happens pretty quickly) you will just keep playing until you're done. And you'll be happy you did. Warriors - come out and play-ay!!

Reviewed by Michael Anderson for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).