The Warriors: Street Brawl Impressions

Let's start with the obvious: This Warriors game is not the same as the other Warriors games from Rockstar. In fact, The Warriors: Street Brawl is an entirely new game that bears more in common with such classic brawlers as Final Fight and Double Dragon, and it features four-player cooperative play. It also features a few different modes from the outset, including a Story mode, Arcade mode, and Boss mode. Plus, there are 21 levels spread out across seven different missions.

We got to check out a little bit of the Story mode, which allows you to select from numerous characters from the movie, such as Rembrandt, Riff Raff, and Vermin. There are also some unlockable characters--like Ajax and Mercy--that become available after beating the game. The controls in this mode and the others are pretty straightforward: You can punch and kick, as well as grab enemies and knee them (or you can hold them in place and let one of your cooperative buddies do some damage). When enemies get knocked to the ground, you can continue to stomp on them and beat them senseless. Additionally, characters have a special move that they can use when the action gets a little too hectic--think of this move as being similar to Mike Hagar's spinning punch or Cody and Guy's spinning jump kicks from Final Fight.

In terms of the levels, the few that we saw remain true to the overall look of the original film. The surprisingly detailed environments--such as a subway platform and subway train--have a dark and gritty look. Moreover, the actual character models are also pretty faithful to what was represented on film. We'll have more on The Warriors: Street Brawl in the near future before it is released on Xbox Live Arcade later this year.