John Woo Presents Stranglehold Reviews

Stranglehold is John Woo's first foray into videogames. Whether Woo was involved in guiding Stranglehold or more of a watchful godfather, his influence can be felt in every mission. Midway has managed to capture the essence of a Woo film in some ways more than Woo has over the past decade. You get everything a fan could ask for: excessive gunplay, heavily stylized cinematic moments, melodrama, slow-motion dives, dual-fisted pistols, and, of course, lots of doves. Some have called Woo's films a beautiful ballet of violence. Stranglehold is less ballet and more a mosh pit of bullets. Either way, lots of people die and little in the environment is left standing once you get in to the habit of non stop shooting.

Stranglehold puts you in the shoes of famed Inspector Tequila. Chow Yun Fat comes stateside to reprise his role The story is convoluted -- a kidnapped girl, a dead cop, and drug money are just some of the main themes in stranglehold. The cut-scenes are sometimes dripping with non life look but this just not stop it being affective.

As Tequila, your job is to shoot first and never ask questions. You'll be tasked with storming through seven chapters, each of which is a lengthy expedition of violence. You'll travel through Hong Kong, from the marketplace to an extravagant restaurant/casino and on to the main villain's palatial stronghold. From start to finish every level is overcrowded with enemies and your main objective in almost all of the missions is to kill everyone and proceed towards the exit. Don't worry, Inspector Tequila isn't traveling alone. He's brought friends.

Your buddies in Stranglehold are a reliable pair of Beretta pistols. Though you do have a limited amount of ammunition, you never have to reload. This is a brilliant concept because reloading only slows down the action. And Stranglehold is not the type of game that benefits from any pause in the action. This is a full throttle balls-to-the-wall shooter. In fact, if you had to take the time to hit a button to reload, you'd probably be dead before a fresh clip was in your gun. Even in the pussy-footin' first level, you find yourself surrounded by enemies, being shot from all directions. Good thing Tequila is tough enough to shrug off a few thousand bullets over the course of Stranglehold.

If you get tired of the Berettas, there are several other weapons to choose from as you progress through Stranglehold. Among these are an M4 Carbine assault rifle, shotgun, rocket launcher, and an M249 light machine gun. You only get one weapon type per class (with the exception of the extremely powerful gold Berettas). It would have been nice to have a bit more variety in the weapons (and a flamethrower), but Midway touches on most of the essentials. Though modeled after real weapons, there's no realism in the execution. The shotty can kill from long range, for example. But Stranglehold isn't about realism -- it's about kicking a whole lot of ass.

To assist in this ass-kicking, Tequila gains access to four different powers while progressing through the seven chapters of Stranglehold. These "Tequila Bombs" are all potent powers essential for completing Woo's sequel to Hard Boiled. The Bombs are each assigned to a direction on the D-Pad. As you perform stylish kills, you'll begin filling your Tequila meter. As the meter fills, you can call in more powerful Tequila Bombs.

The first level of Tequila juice gets you a boost of health, which is like carrying around a medipack. Second up is Precision Aiming. When initiated, time slows and you zoom in on the nearest enemy. You then have several seconds to aim at any body part and fire a single bullet for massive damage. Each hit location has multiple animations. Shoot someone in the throat and they may clutch the wound and attempt (unsuccessfully) to utter a final word. Or be cruel and shoot a baddie in the good 'n' plenty. He'll grab at his missing member before falling over into a merciful blackness. There are a lot of mindless shooters on the market, but none of them immerse you in John Woo's world. And that's where Stranglehold stands out. This is the true sequel to Hard Boiled, which means Stranglehold is more about style than substance. So, not surprisingly, the story is melodramatic and forgettable and the adrenaline-pumping action is the star of the show. Stranglehold could use two more chapters and a little more visual polish, but it is an otherwise exhilarating experience. There are plenty of "Oh my God" moments and just enough challenge to sustain anyone's interest from start to finish.