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It's action movie in a box, baby!!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: September 05, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Wow...what is there to say about Stranglehold?

If Bioshock was your lovemaking session, then Stranglehold would be the cigarette that you need afterwards to recovering while waiting to go another round (Halo 3).

Many comparisons have been made between this and Max Payne regarding the style in which this game is played but also I think a dash of Devil May Cry was added to this recipe.

This game also reminds me of Tomb Raider without all the puzzles.

But most of all the game is balls to the wall action.

Stranglehold is pretty much a straightforward action movie which you control, where you must simply mow down hordes of enemies but in the most stylish way possible; if it moves, kill it.

By doing so, you advance the story. And it so far is a decently told story, not a great blockbuster but if you have watched enough Hong Kong cops and robbers movie, this is what you are getting. The story is simple: Drug kingpins are killing cops....kill all the kingpings until you find head kingpin....does it need to be more complex than that? NO!

You will be too busy destroying everything in sight and I do mean everything. While you are making your merry romp thru the streets of Hong Kong, not only will you find that you can shoot up the set around you but also there are certain peices that you can shoot out to cause more destruction....properly placed baddies can be killed by exploding barrels, dropped air conditioning units, rocks and much more.

And of course as you proceed, you get power ups as you go to slow down time (Tequila Time), hit enemies in certain spots (Precision Aiming) and all out mass killing (Barrage)not to mention the signature Woo Mexican Standoff (which really is a mini game in and of itself).

there are also many weapons including the Golden Pistols which you ca get early on if you know where to look.

Does it get repitive after awhile? Sure...but it doesn't stop the fun. In fact there is one level that you play that lifts the idea from G.R.A.W. where you face attackers from a helicopter.

How well does it control? It handles itself pretty well once you get it down pat. There are no changes to controls once you are dual wielding guns and if you ask me, sticking yourself behind coverage in some aspects handles a lot better than Gears of War. One button push, look and fire and run when done.

Graphically speaking, the game looks pretty good. Tequila looks pretty well refined but the baddies look just like in the movies...a whole bunch of forgettable faces trying to kill you. The scenery also looks great but you won't have time to enjoy it as you are too busy shooting it all up and after you cleared it you get to see what's around you. There is a lot of attention paid to some of the details. You start wondering if these guys are gonna catch lung cancer from all the well rendered cigarettes smoked, the alleys look like some of the most unsafe places this side of New York.

Soundwise, this game is gorgeous. The ambient sound from the city scenes will make you feel that this is a crapmed city. Babies crying, TVs being watched...yeah...you are there....when the guns go off they sound like they are all around you and when things blow?

Well let's just say, turn down your subwoofer if you feel your neighbors paying a late visit if you wake them up. This is one of the most ambient sound sets I have heard since Call of Duty 2 interms of gunplay.

To a point, I think maybe a brief tutorial could have been added to give players a chance to learn and practice some of the moves but on the other hand it's really hard to pull out some fo the moves used when it's hard to exactly get an idea where your enemies are going to appear.

Also, some may complain that the game may be too 'railish' as you can't go everywhere in some sections but think of how much of a good thing that may be...while you are concentrating on trying to pull off a hard combo, you have to worry about sliding off a pier into the water. On the other hand, you can jump off a lot of objects and don't have to worry too muich about dying...whether it takes away from the realism....it's up to you...but then one man going up against 10+ enemies all shooting at him and not dying is a tiny bit absurd too hmm?

To sum it up, if you want some mindless gunplay to tide you over til Halo 3, this is the game to play. This is the closest you can get to being in a Hong Kong flick without having to sign on stunt man. Try it as a rental first but if you really like it, buy it.

Now if we can just get a decent Die Hard game......

8 out of 10

Fast,frenetic,acrobatic gunplay on steroids...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: September 05, 2007
Author: Amazon User

....can best describe Stranglehold. A third person shooter that looks and plays like a blockbuster asian themed action film. While the cutscenes at first are somewhat jaggy, they get better towards the 2nd 3rd levels. But really who cares about cutscenes, for me its about gameplay and Stranglehold is hitting the action dept. on all cylinders.Only tequila mode slows down the pace and you'll need to use it to stay alive. Luckily it automaticly refills so you'll be in constant use of it. The bullet trails are quite well done ,as you can dodge bullets (slow mo tequila time) in 'stand off' mode , its like wild west duel ONLY with 5-10 against you..simply awesome. And sniper tequila mode d-pad up aim fire and you follow the bullet like a bullet cam and wil get a unique cinematic kill or not if you missed ,which is unique every time, not the same cutscene over and over, Very cool. The graphics are quite nice and cinematicly done, not the best textures but still very very nicely drawn and detailed,lots of asian themed art, very visually stunning in some areas ,in short, a very pretty game. And you can destroy just about anything you shoot like stone carvings of chinese dragons 6+ feet high etc. Sometimes the action is so intense I have to take a break . While the constant shooting can get repetetive ..the tequila time and the acrobatic movement make up for the simple game mechanics, which is shoot everything and shoot it again. You'll slide across a counter while shooting,jump onto a push cart on your belly while shooting, hop up to a railing banister,slide down banister shooting, hop through a window shooting, kick over a table for cover while shooting,all in one continuous smooth motion. WOW simply stunning shooter gameplay. The controls are smooth and easy to master. The use of the LT is what causes you to do all those acrobatics..and tequila time (auto-enters) while aimimg at an enemy. Also you can manually turn it on with RB . Alternately in options menu you can turn off (auto-enter) tequila time while aiming at enemy, if you want complete manual control of tequila time. If your a fan of shooters ..or fan of Maxx Payne and Matrix games ... Stranglehold its simply awesome and much better IMO. Something to hold you over until HALO3 is out or if you need a change of pace from (equally awesome) Bioshock... Stranglehold's only (7) levels being the one negative thing, the levels are pretty big mostly linear , still Stranglehold is just so intense, what it lacks, it makes up for in fantastic shooter gameplay which it has in spades. Dont miss Stranglehold.

One of the more entertaining games out there

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 12
Date: September 06, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game is great fun to play, simply because of the incredibly cool things you can pull off, and the amount of destruction you deal out. The character leaps around, bounces off walls, swings from chandeliers, slides down handrails, and all that while shooting two guns at the same time.

The overall look of the game is great. If def. has a cinematic feel to it. (Note: The game also has a pretty high level of gore and violence, so it def. isn't for everyone...)

It isn't all that realistic. More like "wire-fu but with guns". But heck this is fun. It really makes you feel good about yourself and the awesome moved "you" just pulled off.

The one negative about the game is the save system. It is the console-typical (although ot necessary) check-point system. Unfortunately, in the later parts of the game (especially the final sequence), you can go a long way (seems like close to half an hour) without hitting check-points. Especially after defeating a boss I would always expect a check-point...

I bought this game at about the same time as I got Gears of War and Bioshock. Both these games I had high expectations in and I ended up liking them pretty good. But as it turns out, I like this shooter better. It may even be ma favorite xbox 360 game to date...

A hell of a ride!!!!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: September 06, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game has no real story depth, or gameplay depth, but it is a jam packed action shooter. It really feels like you are in a Hong Kong shooter with guns blazing everywhere. Want proof?? If you run out of ammo in a shoot-out then just walk around a bit and you are sure to pick up ammo from all the fallen enimies. You really see John Woo's presence in the game with the gun battles. Almost everything can be shot up and destroyed wich just causes mass debris to go flying. It was great to see Chow Yun Fat reprise his role as Inspector Tequila.
This game truly personifies a rollercoaster of a game. Nothing intellectually great, but A LOT OF FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Be ready to bring it!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 4
Date: September 06, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Intense is the best word to describe Stranglehold,yes it is like Max Payne I'm sure you've heard but its so much more to.Its row after row of bad guys and many different ways to put them down.They did a good job of using John Woo's action style into the game.The game is short about 7 hours but it sure is one crazy ride,enjoy.

Stranglehold

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: September 06, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game is amazing - one of the few games where my wife actually sat down next to me and wanted a go at it. I had to pull myself away from it to go to work today, and 1 hour later my wife calls me to tell me she's playing it... aaarrghhhh!

Chow WOULD Be Proud ...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: September 09, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I discovered the films THE KILLER and HARD BOILED back in '93 and always admired the hypnotic gunplay and the charisma of Chow Yun Fat as he dispatched hordes of neverending thugs.
This title is the game equivelent of those movies and then some ! It's like a dream come true !
Can't wait for a sequel !

Derivative, repetitive gameplay, last gen graphics

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 10
Date: September 10, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I will be honest and state that this review is based upon the Stranglehold demo and not the full version, which I have not played. However, I can't imagine the full version deviating greatly from the demo version.

Graphics - cut scenes look awful with facial expressions and CG from several years ago. In game graphics slightly better, but still look like polished Xbox graphics, not 360/ps3 quality.
Sound - Sound feels muted and muffled, lacks any real standout music or voice acting.
Gameplay - Slow down time, shoot things that blow up or fall, slide on stairways and counters, shoot anything that shoots at you. Gameplay is interesting for about the first 2-5 minutes, after that it just becomes villain killing ad nauseum. Literally hundreds of guys to shoot each level and about four different ways to kill them.

There were three of us sitting down to play this demo and it scored a resounding 0/3 for who would like to try the full version. This was coming from a group of people that had bought, played and beaten classic turds like nightmare creatures, deathtrap dungeon and other bad games.

Do yourself a favor and go play Max Payne or Bloodrayne again instead of trying this one. At least try the demo first.

Good not great, but still one helluva ride!!!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: September 11, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Stranglehold is basically Max Payne meets, well, John Woo. This game is action packed from start to finish, although it is on the short side. The graphics are nice, and they get much better on the later levels. Controls are what you expect for a Max Payne rip-off, plus a few John Woo signature specials moves. The multi-player isn't too deep, but still fun. If you are a fan of Chow Yun-Fat/John Woo movies and/or Max Payne then you will probably dig this.

That said, this game could have been a lot better. First off, its rather short. There are 7 levels, each one takes about an hour or so. Luckily it is challenging and you will find yourself dying a bunch so don't expect to finish this in one sitting. The game also could have used more guns. Its got the dual pistols, assault rifle, shotgun, mp5, machine gun, nades and a rocket launcher. There was no sniper rifle or uzi-type weapon. You also could only have dual pistols. No dual automatics, which would have been fun. Lastly, there is some serious compression going on in the cutscenes. The voice-overs are top-notch, but I was expecting a lot more from the cinematics. The real-time cut-scenes look much better IMO. The AI is also pretty dumb, most of the time they either hold a position or run straight at you, nothing new here.

Overall this is a fun but shallow game. If you are a big Hong Kong action movie-buff, then this is the game for you. Otherwise its a solid rental because you can probably beat it in a couple of days.

Like being strangled ...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 9
Date: September 12, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The hype for this game, along with the screen shots, and the mere fact that John Woo teamed up with actor Chow Yun-Fat really had me thinking there was no way this game couldn't be great. So I picked it up at the rental store, and thank God I did only rent this game and waste $5 as opposed to $60.

From the moment you turn the game on, the graphics and story line pull you right in. You watch a few movie segments go by, which are awesome, and then you are cast into game play. This is when the game takes a sharp turn down hill.

From the moment you start playing you are hopelessly delivered an ambiance trying to recreate something between the lines of games' Max Payne, Dead to Rights, and The Punisher. Instead, you end up flying around with guns blazing on what seems like unlimited ammo at your dumb enemies mindlessly killing everything in sight. I might add that there are ridiculous amounts of enemies that come at you from all over the place, and yet it takes about a hundred gun shots or so to bring you down. This is on the normal difficulty I might add. Then while you're trying to like this game, you can't help but realize the graphics on this game could have been accomplished on a last-gen console, and it probably could have been even better than that.

I'd also like to mention that your enemies' AI are probably dumber than a toaster oven. They don't take cover. They don't try and flank you or out wit you. They just all simply take bad shots at you as they stand in the middle of their little area waiting to be shot.

The game controls are a bit clumsy as well, making this game even harder to try and enjoy. It's easy to shoot, don't get me wrong, but with so many enemies coming around you from all different angles out of nowhere, it's difficult to try and get a grasp on who and what you're shooting at. There is a cover system, but no where near is there the kind of fluidity that takes place in gaining cover compared to Gears of War or the late Tom Clancy games of Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon.

There is no innovation of any kind either. Bullet time is stolen from Max Payne, and there's the kind of third person shooting game play we get that's reminiscent from second and third rate games. The stages and levels get old fast. It's the same every few seconds. Go into an area, fight off 50 bad guys, press the left control pad button a few times to heal yourself, and move on. I lost interest after a half of days worth of game play. I think I would rather be strangled to near death than play this game. Then again, playing this game was kind of like that. *shrugs*

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