John Woo Presents Stranglehold Reviews

This game fails on many levels. The gameplay is no good with the shooting being extremely difficult along with the graphics not being up to par, with the addition of the horribly created slow motion feature. They tried too hard to rip off the amazing classic "Max Payne". this game needed a few more months of development to even closely relate to any mediocre game.

Videogames can be the most entertaining form of media available if interesting ideas are put into the right hands. 2001's "Max Payne" and its 2003 sequel, "Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne," managed to take the magic captured in Honk Kong action cinema and translate it perfectly into the videogame universe. A well-written, intelligent plot and superb voiceacting was complementary to a game that was, otherwise, an amalgam of highly stylized "Matrix"/John Woo-esque action sequences and film noir visuals.

Enter Midway and Tiger Hill's "John Woo Presents Stranglehold." Funny how "Max Payne," a game that openly borrowed from Woo's films (namely his classic “Hard Boiled”) is generally seen as the precursor to the "slow-mo movement" in interactive media. It's interesting to note that without John Woo's unarguably style-over-substance directorial style and long, drawn-out gun battles that take place in nearly all of his films (NAMELY the aforementioned "Hard Boiled") there would be no "Max Payne."

So where does that leave "Stranglehold?" Some call it an inferior retread of a classier, more accomplished title. Others hail it as the defining moment in videogames where the world of movies is perfectly recreated for the player's own amusement. I'm one of the latter. Thanks to endless game play innovations and the power of next-gen hardware, "Stranglehold" is able to be what "Max Payne" only hinted at being nearly a decade ago.

That is not to say that "Max Payne" is not a fantastic achievement or, in fact, a landmark game. It is. But I think there would have still been a "Stranglehold" no matter if the former had been released or not. For lack of a better phrase, "Max Payne" took baby steps, whereas "Stranglehold" is a fully realized assault that firmly places the player in the middle of the action; it is completely and wholly immersive. Sure, "Max Payne" may have a better plot, it may run for much longer, and it may also have been much more groundbreaking, but "Stranglehold" does one thing that "Max Payne" just couldn't do seven years ago.

The words I'm looking for are "total immersion." The John Woo trademarks were certainly there in "Max Payne's" case; diving through the air in slow-motion, dual pistols, sliding across surfaces with the aforementioned guns drawn, big explosions, etc... And "Max Payne 2" certainly upped the ante graphically and plot-wise. But that is probably my biggest complaint with "Stranglehold." It’s incredibly basic story is just one big excuse after another in which to cause wanton destruction. There is nothing satisfactory about the game's story and you will not be the better for having endeared it's cut scenes. It screams senseless melodrama, but that is also a Woo trademark.

But game play is where "Stranglehold" really shines. "Max Payne" was, by and largely, an innovator those seven long years ago. No one had ever played a game where you could alternate between real-time and Bullet Time in an action game or any other genre of game before. "Stranglehold" succeeds in that it mirrors a John Woo film, stylistically, from beginning to end without flaw. You can do everything from engaging in standoffs (either shooting your foe or dispatching of him by shooting items in the environment while also avoiding incoming fire) to running up/sliding down banisters, jumping off walls, diving through the air, swinging from chandeliers, and using "roll carts" to lie on flat and careen towards your enemies with; all of this while shooting nonstop. There is no reload button. It really gives you, the player, a sense of being in a Woo flick, what with all of these trademark moves at your disposal, as well as the ability to consistently fire round after round without ever having to reload.

There is also the Massive D(estructability) engine created specifically for "Stranglehold" that plays a large part in its success. Had the game played like any other third-person shooter, only with the gimmick of Bullet Time (now called Tequila Time - named after the main character) it would have likely fared much worse with fans and critics. The Massive D engine allows for nearly every single object in the game to be destroyed. Objects aren't just destructible at certain locations, rather, they are FULLY destructible and you can use this greatly to your advantage. Shooting a sign above an enemy will cause it to fall down on top of him, killing him. The same can be done with statues that may be looming over them. Lights, air conditioners, and nearly every other object in the game can be shot to have the same effect. But this can also be a detriment to you as well. Your cover can literally be destroyed. Kick up a table by pressing LB next to it and, within seconds, it will be nothing but shredded splinters. Take cover onto posts and watch as pieces of brick and plaster fly apart to reveal portions of your body. It really is amazing to watch this engine work. Nothing is predetermined, as I've mentioned. The damage made to objects is 100% random.

I would be remiss, however, if I didn’t mention the Tequila Bombs. As you progress throughout the singleplayer portion of the game, you unlock one Tequila Bomb at a time, at separate times. They are controlled by the D-Pad. Pressing left slightly refills your health meter, up allows you to use Precision Aim, right is Barrage, and down is the Spin Attack. Precision Aim finds Tequila focusing on one target, firing one round, and it will result – based on where your foe is hit – a plethora of predetermined death animations. Something of an in-game cut scene. Barrage allows you to fire off incredibly rapid shots while sustaining no damage, whereas the Spin Attack lets Tequila spin 360 degrees and, whether there are four enemies on-screen or 14, he will shoot them all. You can collect paper cranes (a nod to “Hard Boiled”) scattered throughout stages of each chapter to refill your Tequila Bomb gauge every so often.

Unsurprisingly, "Stranglehold" is powered by the Unreal 3 Engine, though I can't say it’s one of the better looking games using this powerful new technology. For a better representation of what this engine can do, take a look at "Gears of War," "Turok" or the excellent "Army of Two." Although "Stranglehold's" textures look great within more abundantly lit areas, in darker locales the textures tend to look rather murky and indistinguishable. I will give the developers credit for discarding the industrial look of the engine and creating locations that were much more open and grandiose, though. The character models, as per usual with the engine, look the best. Environments are lit well and feature some nice post-processing but each section looks far too similar and suffers from some mildly low-res texturing.

Perhaps the one thing "Stranglehold" has over any other action game of this ilk, including "Max Payne," is its sound design. Weapons sounds are fantastic, music is loud and bombastic, and voiceacting is supplied by a host of talents, including Inspector Tequila himself, Chow Yun-Fat. His presence alone adds an air of credibility to the game that would have been sorely missed otherwise.

It is certainly understandable, considering the game's short length and ease in difficulty, that the lack of respectable AI would be a big issue with most gamers. As important as that is in nearly every other game on the market, the dumb enemies tend to help "Stranglehold" live up to its promise of being a playable John Woo film. Dumb enemies make for easy targets; easy targets make for satisfying kills. Even when the number of enemies gets to the point of overbearing, the game is never too difficult or the intelligence of your foes too complex that you can't get yourself out of the situation. I found that mildly refreshing.

With this Collector's Edition of "Stranglehold" Midway has seen fit to include a fantastic bonus disc, as well as cover art that, I personally think, is miles ahead of the standard art. The bonus disc contains a wealth of features, such as a great making-of documentary, extended cinematics (with comparisons to early storyboards), a trailer for the Dragon Dynasty edition DVD of "Hard Boiled," a sound design featurette, additional storyboards, and more. If you can still find this edition, it's well worth the money. Fans of the game will definitely appreciate the behind-the-scenes info these documentaries dish out.

In a nutshell, "Stranglehold" is NOT for everybody and I say that very loudly. Personally, I'm a big John Woo fan. From "Hard Boiled" to "Face Off" to "Windtalkers," I love the man's work through and through, and odds are if you respect and admire his films as much as I do, "Stranglehold" is the game you've been waiting for for what seems like decades. It has style, class, an amazing physics engine, and more action than you could ever want. Sure, some people are going to complain about its length (between 6-8 hours), its lackluster AI, and repetitive game play, but that is what makes "Stranglehold" such a unique experience. Well, not so much the length, but certainly the continuity in action that some folks mistake for repetition. It really is both a sequel and something of a tribute to "Hard Boiled." Woo fans will love it to pieces. Everyone else, you just wouldn't understand.