The Warriors (PlayStation 2)

Based on the 1979 Paramount Pictures film of the same name and voiced by most of the original cast, The Warriors follows the career of a Coney Island street gang. Starting months before the events of the film, The Warriors expand and defend their Coney Island turf, while proving that they are heavy enough players to join The Riffs’ network. With a citywide rep, they can get invited to a major gang meeting where the future of New York street crime will be decided.

The game follows the nine lead members of The Warriors (with flashback missions showing how they came to The Warriors): leader Cleon, Swan, Ajax, Cowboy, Cochise, Snow, Fox, Rembrandt, and Vermin. During the game, the player will control each member, usually acting as a war chief and leading a squad of Warriors on a mission. Missions vary from simply wrecking another crew to completing a series of objectives while avoiding arrest or worse.

During missions, players can mug pedestrians, steal car radios, commit smash and grabs, tag walls or bomb other gangs’ burners, and load up on flash. Between each story based mission, The Warriors return to their Coney Island hangout where they can train to improve their stats, go out on patrol, review their accomplishments, replay levels, or enter into a series of quick-play combat matches.

The game plays like a squad-based brawler. Each Warrior has his own fighting style and much of the game environment can be weaponized. Fights are fast and often brutal, but stealth is also an option. Players can perform stealthy finishing moves and distract police or other gang members with thrown bottles. The game’s environments are fully 3D allowing Warriors to escape along the rooftops, hop over fences, or dash into shadowy areas.