'100% action à la John Woo'
 Developer: Tiger Hill
Publisher: Midway
Category: : Action
Multiplayer: 1-6 (Xbox Live)
Official Site
Platform: X-Box 360
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Date posted: 18 January 2008 (Updated)
Written By: Ian
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Stranglehold is John Woo's first foray into the videogame market, and here he presents the sequel to the hit Hong Kong actioner Hard Boiled.
Chow Yun Fat reprises his role as the irrepressible star, Inspector Tequila, and there is an impressive cast of bad guys, big guns, bosses, and a plot involving the kidnap of Tequila's wife and daughter, and a tale of revenge.
Developed by the team behind the impressive "Psi-Ops: The MindOps Conspiracy", 'Stranglehold' looked like a winner from the day it was announced way back in early 2005.
Originally scheduled to be a launch title, the game has undergone a huge revamp, including the addition of multiplayer, and further delays as well.
So does the finished product deliver a satisfying sequel to Hard Boiled?
Graphics and Gameplay
Stranglehold's graphics are a real mixed bag.
Beautiful renderings of Chow Yun Fat and the other main characters are incredibly lifelike and realistic, but other enemies look repetitive and generic; neither are they animated so well as the main cast.
The scenery can be amazing, the second level, set in a shanty town, for example, is jaw-droppingly attractive, with excellent water effects, beautiful smoke and explosions, and bright, vibrant textures that never cease to amaze.
Other levels can appear dull, with lower-quality textures, and rooms and corridors that repeat over and over.
The visual style, is, however, very John Woo, from the use of doves to the destructible environments, which is impressive from a game by any stretch of the mark.
  
Musically, there is not a lot to write home about, as it has basically been left out of the game.
However, the sound is pretty good. The bullet effects, the guns themselves, and the voice acting are all of the highest quality, and the lip-synching is generally excellent as well, adding to the cinematic experience of the game.
The script is also pretty good, despite it being one large excuse for Tequila to blow up half of the Eastern world.
In terms of the actual gameplay, Stranglehold can be disappointing. There is something about the game which just isn't quite up to the standards set by "Max Payne 1 and 2", and you always get a niggling sense that various things could be done better.
Progression through the levels is a particular flaw, as often you have to kill a horde of enemies before the next door will magically open up in front of you, which is hardly next-gen.
The difficulty level also varies wildly, with some parts being extremely hard even on 'normal', yet no more difficult on 'hard-boiled,' the unlockable 'extreme' difficulty.
However, the addition of 'Tequila Bombs', which are souped-up special moves, are a great addition, and also the deformable scenery and vast array of objects to slide up/down and ride on/swing off are excellent and do add some much needed variety to the otherwise tired gameplay mechanics.
  
Multiplayer
Multiplayer in Stranglehold is a disappointment. The prospect of bullet-time in multiplayer was a genuinely exciting prospect, but Tiger Hill destroyed all sense of fun.
The cranes from the single player return, and basically anyone who collects enough can pull off the Tequila bombs, and they are invincible whilst they are shooting, which inevitably involves them killing you.
Therefore, multiplayer becomes a rush for the cranes placed in the level, as there is little point in actually trying to kill someone unless you have cranes.
Furthermore, you have way too much health. If, by chance, you do have a battle without cranes, it takes forever to kill someone. However, when pulling off a tequila bomb you kill someone almost instantly, which is ridiculous.
Multiplayer without cranes and with less health would have been fun as the maps are varied and of a good size, and 6 players is a reasonable amount. Tiger Hill really dropped the ball here.
Conclusion
Stranglehold is ultimately an average action title. The multiplayer promise is completely ruined by a) the lack of people playing and B) the fact that it is just a race to pick up all the cranes dotted about the level. This is a real shame as bullet-time in multiplayer would be very cool.
The single player is also very short, and whilst it is clearly a high-budget, fun game, there are some shortcomings in the AI, and some frustrating moments.
Also, there is not a great deal of replay value, leaving you with a 5 hour game; making it very expensive per hour of enjoyment you get.
Stranglehold is an ambitious title and if you like pure action and ignore a few flaws, it may be entertaining for a short time.
-Ian
Ratings
Manual:
82 % |
Graphics:
88% |
Music & Sfx:
93% |
GamePlay:
79% |
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This game scores
 
on our 5-point Rating System
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