The beast is back. Rockstar, the gaming world’s resident bad boys, as well as a favorite target for quite a few crusading politicians, has returned. Delving further into the past then ever before, the developers of the infamous Grand Theft Auto series emerge to bring us into the brutal world of The Warriors.

Admittedly I laughed out loud upon hearing that Rockstar’s next project was to transform the 1979 movie, The Warriors, into a video game. I recognized that the story – a fictional New York City gang is wrongly accused and hunted for the assassination of a rival gang leader – made a good premise for the medium, yet I wondered if they had become too ambitious. Would resurrecting such an old license, one with a relatively small following, generate interest in the gaming community?

My fears and doubts disappeared the moment I reached the start-up screen. The Ferris wheel from old Coney Island rotated against a black background as eerie, foreboding music played, warning of the danger to come. There is one aspect of gaming that Rockstar excels in more than anyone else: the way they draw us into their world through the use of sounds, atmosphere, and great story-telling. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is one of the best-selling games of all time because it conveys the feeling of being a part of the decadent and materialistic lifestyle of the 1980s. Continuing in that tradition, The Warriors brings the gamer into the harsh and violent world of gangs in late-1970s New York City. From the emphasis on gang tags, (you actually get to draw the graffiti), to the strange and often humorous lingo (“bopping” = fighting; “wool” = woman), this is an action/brawling type game unlike any other.

Wisely enough, The Warriors never assumes you have actually seen the cult classic, evidenced by the opening scenes, which mimic the first five minutes of the film, almost word for word. Graphically, there’s nothing to write home about, but the character models and voice-overs are excellent. The game goes to great lengths to focus on the distinct personalities of each of the nine Warriors. When meeting a character or a new gang for the first time, a stylistic freeze-frame highlights that character and his name (Think Guy Ritchie’s gangster comedy, Snatch).

I can’t remember the last fighting game in which I could actually differentiate my characters. With the help of the freeze-frames, I easily recognized ‘Rembrandt’ as my writer, ‘Swan’ as my strong, silent leader, and ‘Ajax’ as my defiant and unstoppable “bopper.”

As for the game play itself, story mode consists of mission-based stages that alternate between fighting and running from rival gangs, and numerous other deviant behaviors: breaking and entering, mugging, stealing, and the like - just to earn “street cred.” (These stages are where the movie and the game entwine.) The actual fighting is by no means revolutionary, but it is more than adequate. Two attack buttons can be used in tandem to create combos. However, The Warriors is easily Rockstar’s most concerted effort to give the player plenty of variety in delivering pain. With the inclusion of a command button – which allows you to issue orders to your Warriors – and the option to engage in punishing tag-team grapples, many players will find the combat of the game extremely satisfying.

To ensure that the game does not become a tedious, repetitive beat-fest, The Warriors includes a plethora of smaller tasks, each with its own play mechanic. Let’s examine the aforementioned mugging scenario: In order to mug an unsuspecting innocent, one must grapple them and rotate an analog stick until it vibrates, simulating the twisting of the victim’s arm. Picking locks, spraying graffiti, stealing car radios – each act has its own mini game, which keeps The Warriors from descending into a mindless button masher.

What is mindless, however, is the multi-player mode. While The Warriors has a decent rumble mode (in which two gang members or even two full gangs smash one another), the multi-player story mode is an absolute disappointment. The thought of playing through the meat of the game with a friend was enticing, but it was an effort in futility, thanks to the abysmal camera system and horizontal split screen, which is often disorienting, especially when scanning the horizon for an objective marker. Often, you will spend minutes just trying to find your partner. I see many a controller flung to the ground in frustration when trying to navigate the “chase” stages in this mode. Rockstar dropped the ball on multi-player; The Warriors begs for the inclusion of an online mode, especially for the story multi-player.

As I played, it occurred to me that this was one of Rockstar’s least controversial efforts. However, it’s replete with swearing and derogatory remarks, along with its visceral bloody combat; The Warriors deserves its M rating. Although the combat is brutal, don’t look for any of the sickening gutting and suffocation kills that made Manhunt so disturbing. Similarly, the almost total exclusion of guns prohibits the player from going on the homicidal cop-killing rampages that put the original GTA in the spotlight.

Sex is occasionally implied, but is not included as a playable portion of the game (as it is in the GTA games.) Barring any “hot coffee” sex mini-games hidden deep within the game’s code, it’s highly unlikely that any grand controversy is being stirred up over the game’s release.

The Warriors is not Rockstar’s crown jewel (that will remain GTA: Vice City until further notice.) It is, however, a highly entertaining action game destined to do extremely well. Rockstar went to great extremes to stay true to the film, with success. Anyone who is even remotely a fan of the movie will get a thrill from it. Consider the current dearth of good brawlers available in the market, and all signs lead to another hit for the unstoppable Rockstar machine. In the words of Cyrus, leader of the Riffs gang, “Can You Dig It ?”