Chow Yun Fat + John Woo = Win
Cinematic gameplay
Amazing visuals
Top-notch voice acting
Chow Yun Fat and John Woo
The Bad:
A little on the short side
Combat gets repetitive
So-so multiplayer
Needs more weapons
John Woo is a legend in action cinema. Chow Yun Fat is equally famous for his roles in action movies. Now they're applying their talents to video games, and this end result is one of the best action games in a long time.
Stranglehold stars Chow as Inspector Tequila. The same character made famous in the Chinese action film "Hard Boiled." A cop has been murdered in Hong Kong, and it's up to Tequila to get to the bottom of a conspiracy that involves several Chinese gangs, the Russian mob in Chicago, and a long lost love.
GAMEPLAY – 8
Stranglehold will draw immediate comparisons to the Max Payne series. But while the games are similar in gameplay style, Stranglehold surpasses Max Payne in nearly every way. And considering the Max Payne series owes it's very existence to the works of John Woo as inspiration, the claims that Stranglehold is a Max Payne rip-off are unfounded. That's like saying the Ford Model T is a rip-off of the Toyota Tundra.
The controls are simple, yet allow for a great deal of freedom. Stranglehold plays a lot like most shooters, but what really makes a difference are Tequila Time and Tequila Bombs. Leaping through the air while aiming at an enemy activates Tequila Time, but it can also be turned on manually. This slows down time, which allows you to more easily dodge bullets and fire more accurately.
Tequila Bombs are special moves that are activated by pressing the D-pad. These moves become available as you perform stylish kills. Such as shooting multiple enemies at a time, or using the environment to kill them. These moves include heal, precision shot that lets you shoot distance enemies for a one hit kill, barrage that makes you quickly fire off an entire clip of ammo while taking little damage, and spin attack that kills every enemy in the room. These moves are very cool to see, and add a nice level of fun and strategy to the game.
Even though there are some great cinematic moments, the combat can get repetitive quickly. This is mainly due to the fact that all enemies act the same way, and there are only a handful of weapons. All the enemies will stand still while trying to shoot you, and rarely take cover from your shots. They're all killed in the same way too: just shoot them until they're dead. There's no tactics for different types of enemies. Several soldiers appear later in the game with bulletproof vests, but instead of having to shoot them in the head or limbs; a shot to the chest will still take them out.
You'll also come across your standard set of shooter weapons: pistols, SMG's, shotguns, assault rifles, etc. While the smaller guns can be duel-wielded, they all do the same amount of damage. Meaning that the gun you use is more of a choice of personal preference and what's available than strategy.
GRAPHICS – 10
Visually, Stranglehold is one of the best looking games on the 360. The character models are superb, and Chow Yun Fat looks just how like he does in real life. The characters show real emotion on their faces. Until now, games had focused more on voice acting than visual acting. Stranglehold looks to be a positive step to making this more commonplace. The character animations are also great. Rag doll physics are very well done, and again give that great cinematic feel.
While the level design is linear, and somewhat bland, the way in which they're presented is really top-notch. Environments are almost completely destructible. Hide behind a pillar, and enemies will shoot at the pillar disintegrating it in the process. Other things like fruit baskets, walls, and furniture will explode in dramatic fashion when shot at. I really can't find anything major to fault the game on in the visual department.
SOUND – 9
Sound wise, Stranglehold is nearly perfect. As you would expect, voice acting is top-notch. Even the minor characters come across beautifully. This, combined with the facial acting, gives the game that one-of-a-kind feel. As far as acting goes, there's nothing else out there like Stranglehold.
Rarely do I mention sound effects, but they should be noted as something to write home about. I mentioned that everything looks great when shot at, well they also sound great. Gunshots have a nice loud effect, enemies scream in pain when shot, and objects sound very realistic when shot.
My only gripe is the music. There's very little to speak of. You'll hear the occasional Chinese drums when a battle ends, but nothing during the actual battle. Not even during boss fights. Which is a shame considering how well done all the other sound effects are.
VALUE – 8
Stranglehold is a short game. Most gamers can beat it on normal in less than 8 hours. There are only 7 levels, and they suffer from some pacing issues. The second level really dragged on a lot longer than it should have, while other levels that are a lot of fun are over too quickly.
There's multiplayer, but it's nothing special. It's the same repetitive combat from the single player except you're fighting your buddies. It's not bad, but it's not going to hold your interest for long.
The achievements are surprising well balanced, and even fun to unlock. My favorite is where you have to kill 307 people in online matches. This is the number of people that were killed in the movie "Hard Boiled." The higher difficulty settings are very challenging, but most players wont have the patience to play through 7 levels of getting their ass handed to them.
Overall, Stranglehold is an amazing game. It really pushes the limits on what is possible in a video game, and gives a unique movie-like experience. It's fairly standard in terms of gameplay and replay value, but if you love action movies these flaws are easily overlooked. Maybe not a game that you'd want to own, but well worth a rental.