[BabeSlayer]

By BabeSlayer

Stranglehold Review by BabeSlayer

If anyone knows anything about John Woo than you pretty much knew what to expect from a John Woo video game, I mean this is the guy that made that awful movie mission impossible 2, and other such unbelievable poor acted movies. That being said wouldn’t mission impossible 2 make a fun video game? Wouldn’t all that action he seems to pack into a movie with cool moves, intense gun battles, and hero’s that are untouchable be fun for a video game? HELL YES IT WOULD! And it is pretty dang fun. A word of warning however if you are prone to motion sickness avoid this title like the plague. I’m not at all a motion sick person, never have been but this game for the first little bit felt like I was on a rolling ocean in a little boat, once I got used to it, it was not that bad but I can see where some people would have a serious issue with this game if prone to motion sickness. Anyway on with the review!

Gameplay elements: You know there are few things as satisfying as blazing duel pistols at loads of enemies with pretty intelligent hit boxes so if you take an arm the arm flies if you hit the head it’s a head shot and there going down, and if you take out there legs it looks like your taking out there legs. It is just fulfilling for some reason to know hordes of enemies are falling victim to your viscous onslaught of firepower. Now take all that and do it while grinding down railings swinging from chandlers and diving through windows over counters and under collapsible bridges. Then you’ll have a taste for Stranglehold. The element of this game that really gives it depth (because lets be honest not a lot of depth involved in blazing through level after level of extreme firepower) is the Tequila time and Tequila bombs. Tequila time is something that’s going to be very familiar to fans of Max Payne or any Matrix game, you can pretty much slow down time and dodge bullets aim better etc. Tequila bombs however are special abilities you can use when you’ve gained enough Tequila meter (you gain it by style points for killing in cool ways…like while doing a corkscrew dive off of a chandler onto a cart and killing 10 enemies in the process with dual wielding sub machine guns) the first tequila bomb is a sniper shot or pretty much one well aimed shot, that if you hit with kills instantly…well usually, just aim for the head. The animations for this are pretty dang cool and going into it is pretty fun. The second Tequila bomb is barrage, pretty much you have about 30 seconds of continues fire from any weapon you have without it using any ammo…so if there’s a ton of guys pull your shotgun turn on barrage and enjoy the carnage. The third the tequila bomb I’m not sure what its called but it’s the way your going to get your ass out of a bind when your completely surrounded by enemies…yes its sweet! You have another Tequila power but its not worthy of being called a bomb, its just a way you can heal yourself if you get in a pinch and can’t find a med pack. Another pretty cool part of the game is standoffs, this happens about 2-3 times per level (so far) and it is kind of like a mini cut scene the characters exchange small dialogue usually consisting of insults and whatever else. It ends with you having to dodge bullets and fire back at the up to 10 guys surrounding you all in slow motion and your stuck in spot so your just dodging and firing, usually there is some part of the environment you can use to your advantage like propane tanks that make big booms, or signs that come a crashing down! There are occasional boss battles to mix up the monotony of just annihilating brainless masses of enemies as well.
Graphics: The graphics in this game are about par for the course on the next gen. system but seriously this game never was a huge graphics pusher, its major appeal is gameplay. I’d rate this graphics about the same as I’d have rated Max Payne’s graphics on the last gen. box not great but not terrible, good enough to not be a distraction but not good enough to bump the rating up.

Single Player: The single player really consists of the same thing over and over again, which is killing lots of enemies and then killing some more enemies….blowing stuff up, occasionally flying around in a helicopter shooting people as well. The story line is pretty lame IMO but hey it’s a John Woo what’d you expect?

Multi Player: If there is one reason only to try this game this is it. Its not the best multiplayer experience I’ve ever had but it was enough to make go back for more…and more and more. It seriously was intense and comical at times. Its so fanatic, but at the same time organized and coordinated. The gun battles you get into are things of legend. There is massive amounts of weapons to be had, even the return of “the golden gun” which pretty much pwnz your face. Maybe it was just because it was first day experience but everyone on there with me seemed to be having a good time. One of my major concerns was how the Tequila bombs would work online, they actually work pretty well, ever now and then (which is actually pretty rare considering) when someone uses a Tequila bomb everyone slows down (its actually pretty cool) and that dude gets a chance to pwn the board, but its VERY limited not at all like single player and actually has to be planned almost perfectly to actually pull off a kill or multiple kills with a Tequila bomb. It really adds a pretty fun dimension to the multi player. Nothing like being in a glorious gun battle when time suddenly slows and you get that sickening feeling in your stomach as you watch your opponent take aim at your face and you press buttons franticly to try and dive out of the way…sometimes you’ll make it in time sometimes your brains will end up on the window, either way be sure to return the favor! I experienced ZERO lag yes I know shocking especially for something that new but literally ZERO lag played like I was playing way more intelligent fast paced single player was a great overall multi player experience.

Overall: Over all I enjoy this game its fun fast paced and a break for the regular stuff we have seen so much of (FPS TPS RPG) this one really just is unique and I appreciate that. I don’t think this is a game everyone will enjoy but I think it’s a game everyone should at least give a chance cause it is pretty entertaining at least. I don’t think this game is ground breaking in anyway its nothing really phenomenal, but it is fun.

I score it at a 8.2 fun, fast paced, chaotic action, but lacking the driving force of a strong storyline.

(I will include pictures tonight as I’m at work and unable to do so here)