Dialogue is appropriately cheesy, especially when Tequila's boss keeps tossing out every angry police captain cliché in the book. It's not that it's completely awful or anything, but it feels very tacked-on. Maps are a little on the condensed side, and though you can use the slow-motion mechanic in multiplayer, its scattered execution in this mode makes it all but worthless. Sure, it gets repetitive at times, its few forays into more action-adventure style gaming over straight ahead shooting aren't much fun, and the multiplayer is borderline irrelevant; but there's enough solid, exciting action here for any shooter fan to sink their teeth into. Somewhere in there, Tequila's former girlfriend and daughter both end up being held hostage by one of the gangs.

These are arguably the game's weakest links, in that they're often difficult to discern and sometimes take more shots than they ought to actually work. Standoffs are kind of awesome, in a contrived sort of way. As helpful as some of these abilities become later in the game, they're not entirely required. The Tequila bombs become a lifesaver in a few situations, though they also tend to make a few of the boss fights overly easy. It's tough to do, though once you get the hang of it, it's also quite amusing to watch Tequila dart from enemy to enemy while dodging bullets and unleashing hot-leaded hits of his own. That's not the only ability he's got, either.

Stranglehold is a third-person action adventure game set in Hong Kong and Chicago, featuring film director John Woo and actor Chow Yun-Fat. Cover points are also helpful, though you can rarely stay in one place for very long, as the environment around you tends to get destroyed very quickly. Stranglehold Review It would be very easy for the average person to take one look at Stranglehold and write it off as a Max Payne rip-off.

Chow Yun-Fat joins several other noted actors for the voice cast. The soundtrack is a nice mix of typically bombastic orchestral pieces and some Asian-flavored string sections, and the game's sound effects are mostly top notch, from the gun sounds right on down to the individual sounds of bullets hitting each and every type of surface.

Cover points are also helpful, though you can rarely stay in one place for very long, as the environment around you tends to get destroyed very quickly. Sorry, but you can't access this content!

These special abilities are all useful, though some more so than others. Enemies come flying out of every nook and cranny of each stage, and always with guns blazing. Turning the game up to the hard difficulty level fixes that some, though not entirely. You will shoot a lot of people in Stranglehold. The voice acting is quite solid overall. But it's not so dynamic and over-the-top that you won't ever find yourself bored due to repetition. Tequila can interact with practically every piece of scenery in a level. One example is the accurate-shot ability, which lets you move a targeting reticle in slo-mo to any part of an enemy's body, and then watch the bullet fly directly to its target. Fortunately, about halfway through the game, the developers apparently decided to just give up on these distractions and focus almost exclusively on the shooting. Stranglehold redefines the action gaming experience with its … Stranglehold is a third-person action adventure game set in Hong Kong and Chicago, featuring film director John Woo and actor Chow Yun-Fat. Fortunately, the game autosaves after every checkpoint, so as annoying as this issue is, you won't ever lose significant progress.

Using both the A and D buttons to dodge and the mouse to aim, you have to take enemies out one by one whil avoiding getting shot.

Woo might want to reconsider lending the game his name. If you run up to a wall, you can dash up it and dive even further than usual.

These are arguably the game's weakest links, in that they're often difficult to discern and sometimes take more shots than they ought to actually work. These special abilities are all useful, though some more so than others. If you run up to a table, you can choose to slide right over it, or kick it over and use it as a temporary cover point.

In a sense, it makes the gameplay a foregone conclusion. By no means is Stranglehold an overly challenging game, but by the time you hit the third or fourth level, you'll see a noticeable jump in difficulty. You will shoot a lot of people in Stranglehold. That's because, in a sort of round about way, it is. But it's not so dynamic and over-the-top that you won't ever find yourself bored due to repetition. That's because, in a sort of round about way, it is.

on September 4, 2007 at 5:47PM PDT. If an enemy is standing underneath a neon sign, shoot it and watch the sucker get crushed. As helpful as some of these abilities become later in the game, they're not entirely required. These standoffs quickly snap Tequila's focus around from one enemy to the next. It lacks the gritty feel of the original flick, and a lot of the film's cool factor to boot.

Enemies come flying out of every nook and cranny of each stage, and always with guns blazing.

in library 4.3/5 English & 6 more 9.99 9.99. Apart from that, you've got Tequila's default pair of pistols, along with assault rifles, submachine guns, heavy machine guns, grenades, and even the occasional rocket launcher to play around with. If you run up to a wall, you can dash up it and dive even further than usual. It's not that the gameplay isn't fun, because it is. Though the game refers to it as "Tequila Time," this is really just the bullet-time mechanic from Max Payne given a fancy makeover. It's also worth noting that the PC version of Stranglehold controls a bit better than its console counterpart. It's an interesting piece of work that's more fun than it isn't, and fans of Hard Boiled ought to especially enjoy watching Chow Yun-Fat reprise his role as Inspector Tequila.

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There's even more on offer. GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers. It's really quite impressive how much of every environment is destructible. However, all those things are fed directly into the act of shooting people--and shooting them often, to boot. By far the most impressive aspect of the game visually is the environments, and specifically how awesome it is to watch them get completely destroyed. Apart from the short single-player campaign, there are some production bonuses to buy through an extras shop (John Woo himself sits behind the counter), and a multiplayer mode that's probably not going to garner much attention. The Tequila bombs become a lifesaver in a few situations, though they also tend to make a few of the boss fights overly easy. Pulling off stylish moves throughout the game fills up a meter that lets you trigger one of four different "Tequila bombs." Once you get past the point where the difficulty gears up, you'll actually have to use those different abilities smartly to survive some sequences.

Whether you're in a gaudy Hong Kong casino, a lavish penthouse, or a cold, sterile-looking history museum, it's great fun to destroy the scenery. You can knock the repetitive gameplay, short length, and crappy multiplayer, but you can't deny that stuff blows up real, real good. Yun-Fat dead-reads a few of his lines, but mostly he sells the character as well as he can while speaking English. Stranglehold effectively takes the elements that made Max Payne fun and uses them to its own advantage, while sprinkling in a number of original touches and gimmicks that give the game its own Hong Kong cinema flavor. On the less positive side, character models are overly shiny and not especially detailed, animations are limited, and the camera periodically gets in the way of the action when it snaps to angles that are hardly beneficial to your survival.

Again, the gameplay is solid and even thrilling in spots, but it's probably not a bad thing that the game only lasts for a half-dozen hours or so. But the action is satisfying, even though what you're playing is essentially a one- or two-trick pony.

© 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Fortunately, about halfway through the game, the developers apparently decided to just give up on these distractions and focus almost exclusively on the shooting.

Tequila's got a good number of effective moves and abilities, Gameplay does fall into repetition after a while, Some of the dynamic portions of the environment are more trouble than they're worth. That's not the only ability he's got, either. With limited play modes and inconsistent, cramped gameplay, this isn't a multiplayer game to get excited about. But there's enough solid, exciting action here for shooter fans to sink their teeth into.

Stranglehold's presentation is mostly good, though it's not without blemishes. It would be very easy for the average person to take one look at Stranglehold and write it off as a Max Payne rip-off.

Exploding barrels are all over the place, and you can imagine the havoc they wreak when shot.

These standoffs quickly snap Tequila's focus around from one enemy to the next.