Stranglehold

 (39 customer reviews)

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...Read more

You can see Stranglehold from two different perspectives. You can see it as a repetitive shooter that pits you against waves after waves of (cheap) enemies that suddenly appear from nowhere. Or, you can see it as a great homage to one of the great action movies of all-time, Hard Boiled. I choose the latter, and it was no wonder I had so much fun with it.

The story isn't important, since intense action featuring Chow Yun-Fat as Inspector Tequila is the order here. But if you must know, it involves some dead cop and the kidnapping of Tequila's ex-girlfriend and daughter. Reason enough for a massive surge of killing? You bet.

Playing through seven levels, you get to control Tequila and his array of skills (most have to be unlocked). Apart from the usual third-person shooting, you'll get abilities like the precision aim, which allows a first-person view, zoomed in, for a free-aim at whichever part of an enemy's body you see fit. Shooting at balls is highly...Read more

I went into this game expecting a no nonsense, fast paced, action packed, arcade like 3rd person shooter.... and it was everything I expected. Midway and John Woo do not pretend or attempt to make this game anything else. The game in a nutshell has 7 levels (about an hour each for skilled gamers) filled with hordes of enemies, countless ammo at your disposal, and tequila time (bullet time) mixed in. At times you can also kill enemies using the enviornment (explosive canisters and overhead signs mostly. The sniper mode, barrage mode and spinning mode upgrades come in handy when the enemies get overwhealming (and they do at times). In an era where games are becomming more complex (I like these games too), sometimes its nice to play an adreneline filled game where its not required to think much. The games only down fall is that its over within 7-10 hours, however I plan on keeping this game on my shelf for when I just want to blow things up. If the short game play bothers you... rent...Read more