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Stranglehold (Xbox 360) | 
 enlarge | From: Midway Games Ltd
Category: Video Games
List Price: £49.99
Buy Used: £6.25
You Save: £43.74 (87%)
New (12) Used (26) from £6.25
Avg. Customer Rating:  33 reviews
Sales Rank: 414
Platform: Xbox 360
Rating: Parental Guidance
Media: Video Game
Number Of Items: 1
Age: 11 - 18 years
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5037930100031
ASIN: B000BLE9C8
Release Date: September 14, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: 100% Guaranteed, Sameday 1st Class Dispatch, boxed with instructions
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Preview
Companies are always going on about the synergy between movies and video games, but all this really ever seems to mean is lots of dreadful movie tie-ins where all the money has been spent on celebrity voiceovers. Stranglehold is different though, in that it's essentially a sequel to 1992's classic movie Hard Boiled, made purely for video games. This time Inspector "Tequila" Yuen is unleashing his unorthodox policing methods on Russian crime bosses in both Hong Kong and Chicago. It stars the likeness of original lead Chow Yun Fat and has been developed with hands-on help from director John Woo - who it turns out does seem to know a thing or two about video games.Of course video games have been ripping off John Woo for years, particularly his trademark slow motion shots of two-handed pistol action. As a result this initially seems dangerously similar to Max Payne et al., but the graphical power of the next generation consoles and PC ensures that this is a far more dynamic and interactive affair. Not only can you make use of a bullet time effect (call "Tequila time" here) to slow down time around you but almost all of the scenery can be used too, from sliding down banisters guns firing to scooting across the room on top of a waiter's trolley. The damage done as you go is truly impressive, with tiles shattering off the walls, chandeliers impaling bad guys as they fall and electric wires and water mains unhinging themselves everywhere. Making a mess has never been so much fun.
HARRISON DENT
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| Customer Reviews: Read 28 more reviews...
Arguably too short but, amazing fun while it lasts. January 17, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Stranglehold is an all action shoot 'em up which is great fun while it lasts. A lot of complaints have been made that it's too short. I agree to a certain extent but because the game play is virtually the same throughout I don't think it could have been stretched much further.
The action is some of the most exciting ever seen on a games console and the way the scenery is destroyed adds to the immersion. Usually the damage to scenery in other shooters is minimal. In Stranglehold the damage is remarkable. Almost everything can be shot. During a gunfight, tables are knocked over, bottles smashed, concrete form pillars is smashed off and in one level even fish tanks can be shot spilling the contents all over the floor. At the end of a gunfight when you get your breath back and look at the room you are in the level of destruction is amazing.
Because the action is so fast and exciting its one of the few games you can let your mate have a go on and not get bored watching someone else play it.
Forty quid is definitely a lot to ask for a game that is this short, this easy and has very little replay value. However, now the price is half that it's definitely worth a purchase. Fans of big budget action films will love this.
Mental Fun!! January 16, 2008
I must take issue with the people complaining that this game lacks depth - its a "shooter" for goodness sake?! What did you expect other than shooting?? And you do get loads of super fun, super varied and super exciting shooting. There's no lazy programming here. You can interact with your entire environment. The graphics are stunning. The character control is excellent. If you don't enjoy swinging in slow motion from a chandelier shooting gangsters with a machine gun then what in blazes are you doing buying a shooter anyway?! The difficultly levels really do change the game as well. In some games (see Gears of War), its hard to tell the difference between "Casual" and "Insane" difficulty - not here. I was reeeally struggling on hard as opposed to the relative sail through I had on Casual. And that's as it should be.
Only a couple of negatives - the game is short. I wanted more!!
The multi-player is poor - but I don't really like online shooters anyway. You just end up getting killed endlessly by the same nerd that spends his entire days and nights snipering newbies like me. It's their substitute for having a woman y'see....poor wee lambs.
Anyway - buy it.
Yun Fat is sooooooooo cool December 21, 2007
based on the hit movie Hard boiled this game is very cool to play and the story is typical gangsta, the controls are pretty easy to learn and it is probably the best looking game on the 360 at the moment. But, just too short but then again I love longer games so that probably isnt fair of me to say. Great game a definate classic
 Great game, poisoned by the storyline. November 14, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This Game is fantastic for first time players. Great visuals, a Max Payne like presence all around when you utilize some of the fantastic mouth watering special attacks.
You play as well renowned actor Chow Yun Fat, and the game is intended to be a sequel to the hit movie: "Hard Boiled". The game achieves this to some extent, as i can see the definate similarities from film to game, however the joy ends when one focuses on the storyline.
The storyline suffers with its lack of depth, and its somewhat incoherent and frustrating jumps between places. The game on a whole is a joy to play, but the average gamer may feel asif the fun has ended a little too early.
Another thing which brings the game off its pedestal is the Frustrating difficulty level, you could find yourself dead within seconds in some areas, or you might not die at all, it all depends on how you play the game, i decided to use the special attacks less throughout the game.
The "barrage" attack can dispense bosses on even the hardest difficulty level which can be frustrating for the die hard shoot-em-up fan, because in my opinion the bosses fall short of the challenge intended. One of the special attacks i enjoyed to utilize frequently was the "Precision Aim", where the character fires a bullet with pinpoint accuracy from a helpful zoom screen, the enemy which is struck with the bullet then reacts accordingly with where they were struck.
Overall i would recommend this game to people who are looking for action over depth, Stranglehold in its entirety is a diamond in the rough, which has been let down by badly structured storylines and a disappointing ending.
True Woo Style gameplay - challenging but not too difficult - shame about multiplayer though November 6, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
For those of you who love John Woo films and his artistic style, this game is for you. The game character Tequila is the character from the movie Hard Boiled (played by Chow Yun Fat) - a badass cop who doesn't mind bending the rules to put bad guys away. As in the movie Hard Boiled, the action scenes are wonderfully played out with a mix of slow motion and manic gun fights or exposions. In this game Stranglehold, this is no exception.
The feature of the game is that you can slow time down for a limited period of time allowing you to aim more precisely and kill more bad guys. You'll find that you want to dive often where time is automatically slowed down (just like in Hard Boiled!!).
You can also run along banisers, chairs, walls etc which is great fun and I really like being able to jump off a wall, kick it and fire my guns falling backwards and also jumping onto a trolley and killing peole as your coast along (also in Hard Boiled in the Hospital). John Woo's trademark is the used throughout the game like the use of two pistols, Woo time (slow motion) and close encouter gunfights, and sliding across tables etc. In the extra's, you can go to a shop with John Woo as the salesman and buy extras after earning them during gameplay.
Similar to Devil May Cry for the PS2, you have Style points and combo points, so the more you kill people with style (e.g. sliding down a banister and killing guys) the more points you gain. Your points are contributed to 'Tequila Bomb gauge' that fills up. As you progress along the game you unlock 4 specials. When the first quarter fills, you have the option of a health boost; the second precision aim (allows a zoom in to bad guys for distance shots); the third quarter allows Tequila to fill up with bullets on whatever weapon he is holding and then blast away very, very quickly without diminishing your ammo count; the final quarter filled up allows Tequila to do a special move, spinning on the spot to kill bad guys (which is really cool to watch).
As in Hard Boiled paper cranes make an appearance. You can collect these throughout the game to increase the 'Tequila Bomb gauge' immediately to help you get to those special moves quickly.
There is a multiplayer option but so far I don't think I've come across anyone on it yet. Maybe I'll take a look on the XBOX forums to see who's interested in some gaming.
All in all a very enjoyable game. The movement for gameplay is easy to get used to and intuitive. The game is not too difficult to play but in places, hard enough to be a challenge. In addition, at any checkpoint, you can play on easy, casual and hard, so if you get stuck, just start the game again and continue the gameplay on an easier level.
If you always wanted to play Tequila and kick some butt, then get this game as you'll have a blast doing the slow motion, jumping over chairs, kicking tables etc. in true Woo style.
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