Stranglehold demo now available on US PSN
by Kyle Orland 
{ Sep 6th 2007 at 9:25PM }
Hey, American PS3 owners ... tired of your Xbox 360-owning friends laughing in your face because they can play Stranglehold right now while you're stuck waiting until the end of the month for your interactive John Woo-inspired goodness. Well the mockery is over, because today you can play Stranglehold on your console of choice.
True, it's just a downloadable demo, but playing it over and over and over again until Sept. 25 is kind of like having the full version. And if you get tired of it, hey, that PixelJunk Racers trailer ought to keep you busy for a good few minutes.
A complete list of the new content available at the PSN store today:
- Stranglehold demo (Free)
- NBA Live 08 demo (Free)
- Motorstorm Coyote Weekend VIP Pass ($5.99)
- Motorstorm vehicle packs 1 to 4 ($0.99 each)
- Ninja Gaiden Sigma Weapons Master add-on ($2.99)
- Turok "Quiet Kills" trailer (Free)
- PixelJunk Racers trailer (Free)
- Heavenly Sword Making-Of episode 5 (Free)
- Heavenly Sword Anime episode 5 (Free)
- Lair "World in Chaos" trailer (Free)
- Motorstorm Coyote Revenger trailer (Free)
- Drillbit trailer (Free)
- Resident Evil: Extinction trailer (Free)
- Heavenly Sword Anime wallpaper (Free)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
OTAM @ Sep 6th 2007 9:34PM
They need to get a Lair demo up already so us PS3 owners can see what the deal is without having to drop $59.99
Slvrgun @ Sep 6th 2007 10:04PM
There is no big deal. Its a horrible game.
Matt B @ Sep 6th 2007 10:12PM
I love the game. Most everyone that did buy the game like it. It's not nearly as bad as claimed by people who played 3 minutes and couldn't grasp it.
OTAM @ Sep 6th 2007 10:17PM
Well Slvrgun,what I like to do is try something first and make my own judgement on it. Reviews tell me nothing except what those people playing it think. I saw Resistance get such high scores and I thought it was a very average game that went too long. On the flip side,there have been games like The Punisher that got lukewarm praise and I LOVE it. I want a Lair demo so I can see if I will like the game or not because I was very interested in the title.
Everyone can sing to the mountains about how great a game is and give it 10/10 everywhere,but if I don't like the game the phrase "a masterpiece" means nothing.
mr nimblewick @ Sep 6th 2007 11:02PM
"It's not nearly as bad as claimed by people who played 3 minutes and couldn't grasp it."
You mean the reviewers?
sheppy @ Sep 6th 2007 11:25PM
I have no opinion on Lair either way. Haven't played it. Once I get my $30 copy, then I'll have an opinion but a title this generally hated has one of two fates to it.
A. The cool to hate game. In other words, the game that's not as bad as everyone is saying but then it became popular or almost expected to bash the game to fuck. Just as the media loves to find games they hype to Oblivion... reference intentional... they also find ones to tear apart.
B. Genuine shit, irredeemable.
Justin B @ Sep 6th 2007 11:38PM
So to summarize Sheppy:
A) It's not actually bad.
B) It is actually bad.
WOAH!
Jake @ Sep 7th 2007 12:25AM
I played it for a while and didn't like it. Giving it a 49 might have been harsh, but IGN was making a point.
Thing is, a lot of people that play games won't really realize how bad it controls. It has sweet graphics and sound, and it does have, I thought, fun gameplay moments. For some, that may be adequate.
I think what really irks people like me about the game is that so much care was taken in the visuals and sound and concept, yet the gameplay at times is absolutely broken.
Basically, if you take away the graphics, this game plays worse than Bullet Witch. Lair is the absolute definition of a game that should have been delayed. I laughed at people who called it AAA before release, but I have to admit after playing the game that it really did have the potential.
Oh well, you live you learn.
Vidikron @ Sep 7th 2007 1:53AM
I would like to point out that Heavenly Sword is now up to an 80 on Metacritic. Perhaps not AAA quality, but far from bad. At this point it's headed the way of Warhawk. Where you had an early bad review and the anti-PS3 brigade jumped all over the game claiming it as a flop and in the end it may turn out to be pretty damn good after all.
a.j. @ Sep 6th 2007 9:37PM
"Hey, American PS3 owners ... tired of your Xbox 360-owning friends laughing in your face because they can play Stranglehold"
lord knows i've been dying to play a mediocre Max Payne game since listening to them troll about it over at PS3Fanboy.com for the past three weeks. thank god!
PhydeWice @ Sep 6th 2007 10:12PM
Max Payne 2 wasn't mediocre?
JanJan @ Sep 6th 2007 9:42PM
Anything with Chow Yun Fat is far from mediocre
Ska Oreo @ Sep 6th 2007 11:10PM
This is fact.
Mio @ Sep 7th 2007 8:54AM
Chow Yun Fat is the Chinese Chuck Norris.
0ldb0y @ Sep 7th 2007 9:22AM
Chuck Norris is the white Chow Yun Fat.
upz @ Sep 7th 2007 11:57AM
The funny thing is, we don't really like Chow Yun Fat that much here in Hong Kong. Most see the American infatuation with him pretty much the same way Americans see the the German infatuation with David Hasselhoff.
Derka @ Sep 6th 2007 9:47PM
Way to be late again sony, it's been on xbl for 2 weeks. Sigh.
Noshino @ Sep 6th 2007 9:55PM
Seriously, I thought it was up to the developer...weren't tehy also having problems with the game itself that there was going to be a delay? how is this Sony's fault? If you want to blame someone, I suppose you should blame Midway...
Wes @ Sep 6th 2007 11:47PM
Noshino? Are you nuts? How is this Sony's fault?
They choose unconvential hardware with a reasonable learning curve making it take longer and be harder for game developers to program for. Whereas, said competition did not and are getting their games released anywhere from 2 weeks to a month earlier.
GaryM @ Sep 6th 2007 10:01PM
"Anything with Chow Yun Fat is far from mediocre"
What about 'The Replacement Killers'?
blooh @ Sep 6th 2007 10:07PM
cancelled out by the awesomeness of Hard Boiled
Ska Oreo @ Sep 6th 2007 11:10PM
@blooh
Hard Boil is fucking amazing.
sheppy @ Sep 6th 2007 10:10PM
You know... this is one of the biggest content drop weeks in a while and somehow, someway, Kyle has made this topic trollbait. Thanks Kyle. Hey, guess what, my 360 is working right now, how about yours? Oooo, burn.
Matt B @ Sep 6th 2007 10:18PM
The past couple weeks have been plentiful on the PSN. Of course positive Sony news is mostly looked down upon.
Just like Sony offering up a $3B IPO to invest in the PS3 and screens is a look of desperation whereas $1.15B to fix 360's is applauded. It's a joke, and who the joke is on is laughing the hardest?
Classic!
Patrick @ Sep 6th 2007 10:39PM
MS is the new black, but clear plastic on white plastic is the new black too.
sheppy @ Sep 6th 2007 11:05PM
But the article itself is a bit jaded towards the 360. Not the topic posters which I expect, but the article itself. Which becomes even more ironic considering this article has a very high 360 preference over the PS3 for now apparent reason other than bashing the game delays. Ultimately hilarious because I'm drawn to the next question based upon his own website, games for lunch, his 360 is down but his PS3 is up. So essentially the article is like this...
"Haha, stupid PS3 users get a delay on a game that I couldn't play anyway due to red rings of death. God, it sucks to be a Sony fan right now, what with their fancy consoles that work."
ukickmydog @ Sep 6th 2007 10:39PM
I'll still laugh in their face because they bought a ps3
Snukadaman @ Sep 6th 2007 10:49PM
Welcome too being nickel and dimed for cars and maps ps3 owners....and you thought it would never happen...now the next step is getting charged for psn and its par for course.
Vidikron @ Sep 7th 2007 1:46AM
Oh boy, I hope paying $1 for a new vehicle doesn't bankrupt me. Perhaps I should put my money toward horse armour or overpriced non-enhanced 20 year old games instead.
Snukadaman @ Sep 7th 2007 3:23AM
oh its vidikron the defender of the ps3....whats up troll...by the way would you ever expected heavenly sword too get that 80%..the way most ps3 defenders talked it was suppose too garner a good 90%...enough too be a AAA title...wait beyond i guess?
Matt B @ Sep 7th 2007 9:55AM
It's a AAA title to me. Who gives a shit what you think. Weren't all you guys talking up Blue Dragon and Two Worlds as AAA titles. I notice they are not on xbots "lists" anymore.
Vidikron @ Sep 7th 2007 10:14AM
LOL.. calling me a troll? Please. You're pathetic. As for HS, I didn't really know what to expect. I hoped it would be God of War quality, but it appears that that will not be so. But my point was that the idiots around here jumped all over the game after one early bad review (and by "bad" I mean a 7... which really isnt that bad anyway) and claimed it a flop. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago people were claiming that HS, Warhawk, and Lair were all flops. Lair appears to be a big disappointment, but Warhawk is excellent (as I've been saying all along anyway) and HS appears to be pretty good itself. Far from the flops claimed by the fanboys. But, whatever, keep on trolling, bud.
Vidikron @ Sep 7th 2007 10:19AM
Oh, and for the record, I actually own all the systems. I do defend the PS3 quite a bit, but that's only because it gets attacked so much more than the other systems... and often it's stupid shit posts like yours here. So, of course, I comment on those.
Snukadaman @ Sep 7th 2007 3:15PM
It doesnt take a fanboy too defend a problem with a game it just takes one too defend them.....that said I have been a member of playstation underground since 1997 and a gap member since 2003...I dont have all three systems because im not falling for hype or bullshit.i own a 360/wii and will not purchase a ps3 until i see either a price drop or games. Funny how you add two worlds as one of the titles people added too AAA lists mattB..since it came out of nowhere there was never the anticipation and the 3 sony titles. Your all over the man vidikron...defending vigorously your precious ps3...i suggest you just calm down and sit back..and enjoy the console wars...and stop being a fanboy.
Autopsy15 @ Sep 6th 2007 10:51PM
Yes, this would be fun to play, if you could download it. It frakin stopped right before it reached 70%! I'm gonna have to wait until tomorrow to play.
Ivan @ Sep 6th 2007 10:57PM
the strangehold demo is pretty 1337, 1337mb that is,
sorry bout the terrible pun, but I felt a strong urge to point it out
can't wait for it to finish downloading
Andy Witmyer @ Sep 6th 2007 11:42PM
Sounds interesting.
Night Elve @ Sep 6th 2007 11:55PM
Well Sony is doing an amazing job with the PSN Network I really can't complain about it.
And everyone says that Resistance is an average game but you know what, I'm having a blast with it.
Jake @ Sep 7th 2007 12:30AM
Stranglehold isn't that bad. I would call it the definition of a game that you rent and enjoy. But a few nights is more than enough.
Bennyishere @ Sep 7th 2007 12:35AM
Nice to see "The Other Side" getting something. I'm sure PS3 owners are convinced the PS3 is the best, just like 360 owners are convinced the 360 is the best, so really no need to discuss it yet again. It's like telling a religious person to convert to another religion.
refinedsugar @ Sep 7th 2007 1:16AM
"playing it over and over and over again until Sept. 25 is kind of like having the full version"
lol, someone finally said it. Done and done.
Desiri @ Sep 7th 2007 1:57AM
I have to pay $6 to race a track backwards?
I guess next-gen is all about paying $20 in extras for every single game or risk being booted because you don't have every single level in the server rotation. Sigh.
Zaphod Beeblebrox @ Sep 7th 2007 2:52AM
yeah, yer right. Paying $10 for 10-20 year old games is much, much, better. Go land on a mushroom with your butt. Oh yeah, paying $250 for a gamecube in white plastic is a goood deal too.
Deaddy @ Sep 7th 2007 3:55AM
Stranglehold has some cool ideas but the demo had some severe slowdown (not the intended kind) and at one point it turned my controller off.
The Motorstorm pack is worth the price, the track recycling isn't great but you also get an eliminator mode, 5 vehicles, and 9 races. Worth $6 if you like the game.
http://www.theobjectreport.com @ Sep 7th 2007 9:54AM
I'm really getting excited about the Halo release. Problem is, I'm pretty sure I need to upgrade my PC. Or just get a new PC altogether. I want to experience the game fully and I know its going to cost me.
Alex S. @ Sep 7th 2007 12:03PM
holy crap, the audio in this demo is awful.
I played through and beat the 360 version, waiting for collectors PS3 to drop in price to get it for HD Hard Boiled.
CrimsonReign @ Sep 11th 2007 1:16AM
What ever happened to seeing is beleiving?I was disssapointed in the overall graphics and feel of Stranglehold.Is it just me or can anyone else get honest about what we, as gamers have been accepting as good lately.The controls did not feel solid and the gameplay became monotinous and boring after a minutes play.Look i am not trying to bash the effort but can we please get back to "Seeing is Believing"cause in the end,isnt that what gaming is really all about?