StrangleholdXbox 360 Review

Stranglehold was actually my most anticipated game for 2007 with BioShock just behind it. The game is the follow up to John Woo's hit action title, Hardboiled. The game has always promised highly destructive environments but that alone wouldn't make it too much different from other third person action games. So what is it that Stranglehold has that helps set it apart from the rest?

Stranglehold is really able to capture the essence of an action movie, specifically John Woo movies. You'll face waves of enemies and use many things in the environments to help crush these gang members. Most importantly, the game's "style moves" imitate an action movie and does it successfully. It's something that really needs to be seen, but it's really something else when you are attacking enemies by running up a stairway railing or swinging from chandeliers or even just diving. There are even moments in the game where you are in a standoff with several enemies and the it'll go into bullet-time (or Tequila time in Stranglehold) where you control dodging bullets with one thumbstick while moving your aim with the other. Maybe Midway should've made a Matrix game...

Multiplayer mode for Stranglehold didn't come out as well I would have hoped but it is still nice to have it included. 6 player deathmatches result in mayhem as bullets are flying everywhere. Slow motion works differently in deathmatches as you must build up your Tequila Time. In the end, the multiplayer mode is more of a throw in that doesn't come out that great but is a good way to waste some time.

While Stranglehold doesn't win any awards for amazing next-gen graphics, it's the environment destruction and animations that really stick out. You'll constantly see a new animation that looks really nice. There are just so many animations in the game to help keep the game fresh. The cutscenes use the in-game engine and so they aren't anything special but it's sometimes better than having amazing cutscenes and then not that great in-game graphics.

It's hard to really talk about Stranglehold because you really need to see it to understand how well things work and how great the gameplay really is. It sort of comes off as a basic arcade style third person shooter but it is really more than that. It's really is the sequel to a high action movie from John Woo. It feels like you're controlling the star of an action title that can perform some over the top stunts. Midway really succeeds in what it set out to do and it's fun.

SCORE: 9/10