Joystiq

UT3, Stranglehold sell more than a million worldwide

Jason Dobson — 2008-03-13T10:00:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Fighting

It's silver lining time. Midway Games, which misplaced nearly $100 million in 2007, has announced that despite leaking money like a rusty sieve, two of its most prominent releases last year, Unreal Tournament 3 and Stranglehold, each managed to sell through more than a million units globally.

The announcement was made by company CEO David Zucker during a recent conference call, and while sales were not broken down across platform or region, the executive did note that "European PC sales of Unreal Tournament 3 are outpacing North America." Still, we'd encourage Midway not to call out the cheerleaders just yet. There is still that nagging issue of all that missing money.

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Stranglehold ad gets choked off UK airwaves

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-01-16T14:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Business

The UK's Advertising Standards Authority has banned the ad for John Woo Presents: Stranglehold from the airwaves, citing the ad could be seen as "encouraging and condoning violence." GI.biz reports that Midway believes the ad was edited in a way that it would show no blood or gore. Considering there's no negotiation on the matter, it's time for Midway to go back to the editing room.

The ASA has been rather comical in its banning practices whenever they pop up on the gaming radar. Last year the ASA banned an old Xbox 360 ad depicting people doing stunts and driving recklessly despite the ad clearly stating: "Dramatisation. Professional stunt. Do not attempt." We can't wait to see what ad the ASA decides to ban next by throwing darts blindfolded at an index card covered wall.

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Best of the Rest: Ludwig's picks of 2007

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2008-01-02T06:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Nintendo DS, Features, PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360

Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (Wii)

Though its puzzles may occasionally infuriate, the real source of frustration regarding Zack & Wiki stems from the fact that nobody bought it. Every year has its share of titles that deserve an audience yet never find one, and in this regard, Zack & Wiki is easily one of the most tragic games to put an uncontrollable smile on your face. Relentlessly charming and beautifully presented, the debut of Capcom's choc-chomping pirate and his simian sidekick challenges the mind and warms that cynical, meh-spouting lump in your chest. How refreshing it was to overcome obstacles and bosses by choosing the power of the mind over an impossibly large bazooka.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PlayStation 3)

Don't praise this game as the PlayStation 3's long-awaited killer app. Don't praise it for its guided tour of Cell and Blu-ray possibilities. Rather heap your kind words on Naughty Dog's impeccable design, snappy writing and tight grip on the very concept of "adventure." It may not be a riot of innovation -- Gears of Indiana Jones and whatnot -- but the game's likable characters and cinematic flair make sure that the edge of your seat is as far as you go.

Pac-Man: Championship Edition (Xbox Live Arcade)

If I was to envision a mental calendar representing what I was doing with my life for most of the year, there'd be a mysterious black patch, lasting several weeks, around the time Pac-Man: Championship Edition saw release. The truth is, in-between the game's addictive modification of the Pac-Man formula and a constant high score war with folks on my friends list, my life outside of games became a complete blur. If it didn't help me plot a more efficient way of devouring ghosts, it was irrelevant.

Tomb Raider Anniversary (PC)

Honestly, I'm tired of having to explain this game to friends who raise an eyebrow and say, "But dude, hasn't Tomb Raider been rubbish for the last twenty games or so?" The series had its Batman Begins reboot with Tomb Raider: Legend and has been totally awesome since. Dude. Anniversary remakes Lara's iconic debut, melding Legend's superior controls and fluidity with the original game's intelligent level design. Trust me, the result is better than the game in you imperfectly remember.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii)

It's impossible for me to tell if this is the best Metroid Prime overall, but there are certain things which it's best at compared to the previous two and utterly fantastic games. Prime 3 is perfectly paced, to the point where "just one more missile upgrade" becomes "just one more area." Next you'll be wanting to do "just one more planet," only you've finished the game and remarked that the end of the trilogy finally brings with it a truly engaging story. The Wii's controller also delivers the best combat yet -- I think we can drop that "First-Person Adventure" nonsense now and call this one a shooter.

DiRT (Xbox 360)

The only game to cause me personal injury, Dirt is the most thrilling racer to come along in years. From out of nowhere, Codemasters produced an amazing graphics and physics engine, one conveying every bump, jolt and ill-advised jump on the track. Choose an interior viewpoint and watch out for the trees!

Phoenix Wright 3: Trials & Tribulations (DS)

Let's face it, there's not a whole lot going on here in terms of pure gameplay. Strange then, that the game I had the most fun playing was Phoenix Wright's third and final turn(about) as the most chronically and comically unprepared attorney in the world. A great cast of characters and a story which thrives on ridiculous twists make it a great read... but what makes it a good game? I know exactly what the answer is now. It's the swell of excitement that arrives when you make the connection, when the amazing soundtrack kicks in and you flip an impossible case around at the very last and desperate moment.

Disappointments

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS) -- Bad poetry says it best: A bore, a snore and a chore. It took me several months to claw my way through this game, as all desire to play it quickly evaporated every time I touched my DS and remembered that yet another return to the Temple of the Ocean King awaited me. I could forgive the bland music, dull environments and utterly dreadful sailing, but this was one bad design boomerang I loathed. I desperately wanted a sequel to my beloved Wind Waker... just not this one.
Blue Dragon (Xbox 360) -- Assembled by a JRPG dream team, I think it's fair to say that Blue Dragon delivered what I expected. Exactly what I expected and what I thought I wanted. It turns out the line between "traditional" and "old fashioned" isn't always clear, a fact which Blue Dragon learns throughout its unevenly paced adventure. I liked it, but I should have loved it. The feeling that Mr. Final Fantasy phoned this one in just couldn't be avoided.
Super Paper Mario (Wii) -- I send my condolences to the families of the developers responsible for this charming title. As I understand it after playing the game, the entire team was mysteriously killed halfway through development, leaving the disastrous second half to random amateurs. What a shame.
Stranglehold (PS3) -- Though it captured the destructive action of Hard Boiled fairly well, it also did a good job of capturing silly aspects of game design. Do we really need irritating bosses that, for some reason, absorb 10,000 bullets before keeling over? Certainly no more than we need poor checkpointing, sluggish aiming and the ugliest implementation of Unreal 3.0 to date.
The Darkness (Xbox 360) -- A surprisingly forgettable game, The Darkness was carried by its morbid atmosphere and highly entertaining use of vicious tentacles. There was a decent game here, but every mechanic felt woefully underdeveloped. The last part of the game is a complete mess, deluging you in abrupt cutscenes (depicting things you could do yourself!) and leading you to believe that there's an important choice to be made. There isn't.

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Stranglehold getting new DLC, achievements

Justin McElroy — 2007-12-07T08:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action

Hello, my name is Michael Beck, and I represent the Exploding Fruit Consortium of North America. Every day, our technicians are working to make your fruit not only delicious, but volatile, ready to pop at the slightest touch, sending succulent meat and shrapnel-like rind flying in every conceivable direction. But there's someone out there who doesn't want you to (carefully, and while always wearing eye protection) enjoy our products. There's someone out there who would rather use this nutritious (and often fatal) food source as a mere prop for his shoot-em'-up bullet ballet. That person ... is Chow Yun-Fat, star of the game Stranglehold.

Now we hear that his brutal game is getting even more despicable with downloadable content on the way soon soon. The pack will include multiplayer maps like Wong's Estate Grounds, Rooftops of Chicago and (the one that gets our blood boiling) Kowloon Market. There will also be 21 new character skins and 250 achievement points, whatever that means. Honestly, it turns our stomachs. Please, Midway put a stop to this. If not for the exploding watermelons ... think of the children (who, by the way, should not be within 100 feet of exploding watermelons).

[Via X3F]

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Midway expects no more PS3 delays in 2008

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2007-11-02T18:25:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Business

Did you know that the American PS3 version of Stranglehold slow-mo dived out the door this week? Midway's destructive Hard Boiled follow-up, like several PS3 games in the past few months, had been pushed off the edge of the calendar so many times that many eventually lost sight of it, played it on competing platforms or just moved on to other things. Midway CEO David F. Zucker recently discussed the predicament following a ~~Top Secret!~~ financial conference call, noting that technical hurdles on Sony's platform initially slowed them down.

"For our first wave of next-gen games... lead development has been on the Xbox 360, due to its earlier introduction and larger installed base," said Zucker. "We ran into some technical issues developing for the PlayStation 3 that have taken more time to finalize than we expected." He now considers said issues resolved, however, and expects "PS3 versions of [Midway] titles to ship day and date" with those on other platforms beginning next year. As for Unreal Tournament III, PS3 owners should look for it "as soon as it's ready."

Finally, with development hassles supposedly out of the way, Midway can continue work on a soon-to-be-announced title described by Zucker as an "ambitious open-world game." We certainly hope he means the Psi-Ops meets Crackdown adventure we just envisioned.

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Wildfires prompt Midway to evacuate San Diego office

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2007-10-24T22:12:00+00:00

Filed under: Business

As firefighters battle to control ongoing wildfires in Southern California, almost 1 million people have been forced from their homes in what Bloomberg deems the largest evacuation in California's history. The blazes have also affected businesses, with GameDaily BIZ reporting that Midway employees have been asked to leave the publisher's San Diego offices (one of many spread across the world).

In response to less sensitive gamers asking, "But what about mah gamez?!" Midway has provided assurances that its development schedules remain unaffected and that the company's Mortal Kombat, Strangleholds and so forth remain in the hands of employees dutifully tinkering at home.

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Concept art glued and bound in 'The Art of Midway'

Jason Dobson — 2007-10-18T18:55:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Business

We'll admit that when approached with the subject of art in video games, Midway is not the first company that comes to mind. Not to say that their games are not art, as we sidestep that land mine and save the explosion for another day, but Midway's titles have never come across as particularly driven by aesthetic style, making us all the more curious as to the contents of Midway's newly released art book, The Art of Midway: Before Pixels and Polygons.

A 160-page collection of concept art for some of Midway's top titles, the book is said to include 200 illustrations covering such games as The Suffering and Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy, to the more recently shipped Stranglehold. And of course you can bet there will be quite a few doodles from the Mortal Kombat franchise as well, with Baraka's toothy grin featured on the book's cover. However, what's more interesting to us are the unpublished works said to be included in the book from Midway artists such as Stephan Martinière, Vince Proce, Ben Olson, and Bruno Werneck. Our coffee table has been looking a bit barren lately, and this book would fit quite nicely next to the sweat ring and stack of back issues of People.

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Stranglehold demo now available on US PSN

Kyle Orland — 2007-09-06T21:25:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Action

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)

[Via PS3Fanboy]

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Stranglehold slips again on PC, PS3

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2007-08-31T15:00:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action

Guy with two guns epic Stranglehold is still struggling to get a grip on the PS3 and PC, with both versions facing delays just as the Xbox 360 version sees completion. Inspector Tequila's seething vendetta against neatly stacked grocery stands begins on the Xbox 360 September 5th (September 14th in Europe), with the PC version now following on September 18th in the US and the 21st in Europe.

Shacknews reports that the PS3 version of the bullet bonanza is now scheduled for release on September 25th, which translates to an imprecise "October" for Europe.

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PAX 07: The licensed games panel

JC Fletcher — 2007-08-27T04:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Business

There's nothing more indicative of gamer culture than the fact that a bunch of us got together at a fan event, with games to be played right over in the exhibition hall, to talk about business. We can't help it! We love sales numbers and such.

Vlad Ceraldi and Steve Bocska from Hothead, Steve Bowler from Midway, and David Freeman from Sabertooth Games held a panel to talk about licensed games yesterday at PAX. All of these individuals have unique qualifications to talk about the subject: the two Hothead representatives, in addition to working on Penny Arcade Adventures now, previously worked on last generation's Simpsons games. Bowler worked on NBA Ballers and is now on John Woo Presents Stranglehold, and Freeman juggles licenses in his work with Sabertooth's Universal Fighting System card game.

One major issue that kept coming up was the deadline associated with licensed games. All agreed that the major factor in the often low quality of licensed games is the drive to release the game according to a schedule other than its own. An analogy was made to a giant bucket: the game must come out when advertising for every other associated property hits, so that the advertising for the movie, the show, toys, cereal, etc., helps the game as well, and allows the game to contribute to the total earnings (the bucket) of the property.

Another issue is what Ceraldi described as "too many cooks," which involves licensors and advertisors setting restrictions on what can happen ingame-- one example being that McDonalds wouldn't allow the Golden Arches to be destroyed or used as weapons in Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. Also, the NBA did not allow the use of gold teeth as unlockable items in NBA Ballers (though they later showed up in a Tiger Woods golf game). Namco and Capcom characters could not be bundled together in the UFS card game, although Freeman said that otherwise, his company has near-total freedom with licensors.

The other major problem with licensed games is the money required to secure a license. All of the developers mentioned that the high cost of licensing a game limits the budget for the actual game.

With such investments required, then, it is easy to understand why all four developers supported the shutdown of fan games based on licensed properties. We rarely hear opinions on this from developers themselves, though we never have any problem figuring out how publishers feel about such creations. Ceraldi described a feeling of protectiveness of the license they've laid out so much for and put so much time into.

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Stranglehold slips to Sept. 5 on PC and Xbox 360

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2007-08-23T16:55:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action

Midway has confirmed to Joystiq that guy with two guns epic, Stranglehold, has been delayed past its initial August 27th release date on Xbox 360 and PC. John Woo's thoughtful study into the nature of exploding watermelons will now release on September 5th, with the PlayStation 3 version still following on September 17th. If you're clueless about Stranglehold or just have an urge to crush goons beneath suspiciously tethered neon signs, we'd recommend you have a look at the demo currently on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

[Thanks, Kyleia and Justin]

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Stranglehold PS3 still coming to Europe this year [update]

Ross Miller — 2007-08-09T14:56:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Action

Update: Alright, that's enough of this "delay" rubbish. Though still due out August 27 for Xbox 360 and PC, and on September 17 for PlayStation 3 in the US, some confusion has arisen regarding the European version of John Woo's Stranglehold. Dutch site PS3 Only obtained a statement from Midway that didn't feature a release date but noted (translation via N4G) that the game is "definitely [coming] out this year." That's the news -- the misinterpretation implied a delay to the European PS3 release.

1UP confirms that Stranglehold for the PlayStation 3 has not been delayed and will retain its September 17 release date. The lack of a release date in the European Midway statement was simply due to human error (those humans are always messing things up). Our sincerest apologies for the confusion -- we've been tasked with cleaning the repeatedly destroyed fruit stalls in your favorite action film.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

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Stranglehold demo slo-mo dives onto Live (also, there are doves)

Justin McElroy — 2007-08-08T08:35:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Online

There's a demo for Stranglehold, the video game sequel to John Woo's Hard Boiled, now on Xbox Live, and we couldn't be more excited. And it's not just that its cinematic gun battles are a little bit of fresh air after being locked in the hot station wagon that is the summer game release schedule. We're also really excited, if only for a few moments, to get to be Chow Yun-Fat, uncanny valley be damned.

And honestly, if you're going to be Chow Yun-Fat, Hard Boiled Chow Yun-Fat is the one to be, though Better Tomorrow Chow Yun-Fat would have also been acceptable. Can you imaging having to play as Anna and the King Chow Yun-Fat? Or even The Postmodern Life of My Aunt Chow Yun-Fat? We probably wouldn't even download the demo for that. ... Oh, who are we kidding? It's summer, we'll play anything.

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Stranglehold placed on Xbox 360 and PC Aug. 27

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2007-07-27T23:00:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action

Guy plus two guns news now, with Gamespot conveying the long-awaited release date for Midway's bullet-time bonanza, Stranglehold. The destructive action title, labeled as the interactive sequel to John Woo's classic Hong Kong film, Hard Boiled, starts its commercial shootout on Xbox 360 and PC on August 27th. Slow-mo effects seem to be a little more pronounced in the PlayStation 3 version, however, as it's scheduled to arrive three weeks later on September 17th.

One might speculate that Stranglehold is yet another title to be sucked into the increasingly epic Unreal situation, though a three-week delay is certainly preferable to indefinite postponement (and help is on the way!). PS3 owners can take solace in the fact that an HD version of Hard Boiled awaits them on that special edition Blu-ray disc -- well, except for the ones that actually had to click on that IMDB link.

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Joystiq impressions: Stranglehold

Andrew Yoon — 2007-07-13T17:25:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, E3

Don't mess with Chow Yun Fat. Stranglehold, the video game "sequel" to the classic Hong Kong flick Hard Boiled, more than impressed at its E3 showing. The promise of making you feel like a star of a John Woo film has been fully realized, and we couldn't be happier.

What makes Stranglehold so impressive is how intuitive it is. The controls have been fully streamlined to make the player look awesome at all times. Is there a table blocking your way? Simply run to it, and you'll jump right over it. Want to roll to the side, and hide behind a cabinet? Just use your analog stick. Simple movement is anything but: the interaction that the player has with the environment is incredible, and it's even more impressive knowing that a single button doesn't need to be used.

But, Stranglehold would be a failure if all you did was move around. Unsurprisingly, the shooting is fun, brutal, and intuitive. The L button activates a bullet time mode, which will allow the player to jump and doge in slow-mo while shooting. A clever mix of careful navigation and wise use of slow-mo will make you a lethal killer. However, Strangehold ups the ante even further: the D-Pad is used to activate some truly over-the-top bonuses. Our favorite has to be the zoom-in function, which will focus your aim. By pressing the trigger, the camera will follow the high-powered bullet, making head shots even that much more enjoyable.Other abilities include high-powered, rapid-fire shooting. Press RIght on the D-Pad, and the shotgun will become a devastating weapon that will literally tear up the environment, and your enemies. Finally, there's one special attack which will unleash Tequila's signature spinning move, where he circles around, firing at all enemies around him.

The environmental effects are nothing short of astounding. The graphics are impressive as-is, but seeing almost every element in a level destroyed is awe-inspiring. Nearly everything in a level can be destroyed. Not only will everything fall apart, but the debris that's left behind will remain in the stage permanently. It's highly refreshing to see everything simply stay, without fading away, or disappearing. After a quick gunfight, utilizing all of Tequila's advanced abilities, the world will be absolutely devastated. In addition, the physics in the world can be used to your advantage: building signs can be shot to fall on enemies, wooden floors can be destroyed beneath goons, and explosives will, well, explode.

Stranglehold combines great graphics, intuitive controls, and dynamic gameplay to craft a true action movie experience. The game will launch on both PS3 and Xbox 360 in August.

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Today's chowiest video: John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat in Stranglehold

Kevin Kelly — 2007-06-23T00:01:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Fighting, Video

So, you know how developers say things like, "Oh yes, Steven Spielberg was very involved in the development of this game" when what they actually mean is "Yeah, we sent a fax to his office and showed him a picture." We've been wondering if that's how involved John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat were with Midway's Stranglehold.

Here's video evidence to quell our fears that John Woo's involvement was simply sending a smiley-face emoticon to the development team when they asked him for feedback. Plus, seeing Chow (Mr. Yun-Fat? Fat? CYF?) recording lines for the game and sitting in meetings warms the slow-motion, dove-filled cockles of our hearts.

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Stranglehold cover system is a lot like Space Invaders

Ross Miller — 2007-05-30T17:45:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Retro, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action

The latest post in the development blog for John Woo's Stranglehold explains the action game's cover system with a rather ingenious analogy: Space Invaders.

More specifically, Senior designer Patrick Curry is describing medium-sized objects (e.g. couches, concrete columns) that you can use for cover and are destructible. "As your cover shrinks Tequila will automatically crouch down to use whatever cover's left," he said, "but in Stranglehold no cover lasts forever." It was lead designer Neill Glancy who came up with the analogy, which explains how gunfire will slowly whittle down cover that either you or your opponents may be using.

We know what you're thinking: will you have the cojones to blast through your own cover, just like in Space Invaders? Real-world application of retro gaming skills embedded after the break.

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John Woo directing Ninja Gold film in conjunction with Warren Spector's game

James Ransom-Wiley — 2007-05-29T11:14:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Action, Adventure, Business

John Woo will direct and produce the film-half of Ninja Gold, a multiformat project co-created with celebrated game creator Warren Spector. According to Woo's production partner Terrence Chang, the concept is based on ongoing factual accounts of the Yakuza and Russian mob stealing gold from South Africa. "The idea actually started with John Woo," Spector told Reuters, "He wanted to do something involving traditional ninjas in a modern-day setting, and the idea just resonated with me."

The two components, the game and film, will be developed somewhat independently, while retaining similar elements that will provide a narrative link. In a departure from the norm, neither will be entirely based on the other -- think: convergence, like, totally. Though Spector has been credited as an executive producer of the film, he implied that Woo will be commanding the movie with little help from the game developers. Chang added that the film will be more reality-based (so no signature-Woo bullet ballets?), borrowing lightly from the fantastic elements of the game. Chang hopes that a script can be completed soon, so that production can begin next year. No timetable has been given for the game's development.

As for Woo's other game-related project, Stranglehold, Chang suggested that a film adaptation was a strong possibility. "We would definitely bring Stranglehold to the big screen," Chang said. "We would like game titles to have all kinds of possibility. Having a movie made from them is certainly a major consideration for deciding on a title."

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SGD '07: Joystiq hands-on with John Woo's Stranglehold

Kevin Kelly — 2007-05-23T20:26:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Fighting, Galleries

Click for the full version of the box art.

Waiting for John Woo's Stranglehold to hit store shelves is a bit like watching one of his movies; there's a lot of slow-motion, and plenty of bullets and destruction during the wait. We got our hands on the latest build at Sony's recent Gamers Day, and fired thousands of rounds in an effort to see how we were at controlling Chow Yun Fat.

Now, if you haven't seen a John Woo film, you need to rush out and rent one right now. Since Hard Boiled, which is the prequel to this game, comes on the Blu-ray disc, we'd recommend The Killer. Both of 'em star Chow Yun Fat, tons of guns, and a lot of over-the-top action. Hong Kong action cinema at it's finest.

Gallery: Stranglehold (PS3)

The game takes places ten years after the events of Hard Boiled, and you played Fat in his iconic Inspector Tequila role. He obviously hasn't been trying to get himself promoted, or else he's still a pain in the ass to work with. After all, he does tend to leave high body counts behind him. Probably the best news about this game is that Chow Yun Fat lent both his voice and his likeness to the game, otherwise this would be just another shoot 'em up with bullet-time.

Actually, make that "Tequila Time" ... seriously, that's what Midway is calling it in this game. It works the same way as bullet-time in other games, hit a button, slow time down, watch meter drain, refill, repeat. Besides that, Tequila also has several special moves that can be triggered once you've blown away enough bad guys. There's a focus aiming feature that also slows time down a bit, and offers some extremely graphic death animations which vary based on where you shoot the baddie. You also get a unique 360° spin feature which lets you whirl around like Wonder Woman, firing guns like crazy.

We played through a museum level where you can literally blow away everything ... the Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton, the stuffed meerkats, even the paintings on the wall. Nothing is safe from our poor aim, and we sure hope that place is insured. You can also interact with the environment; sliding over tables, sliding down bannisters (whilst firing two guns, of course) and even swinging from the pterodactyls that are hanging from the ceiling. Talk about a night at the museum. Zing!

Even though diving through the air and firing guns as Chow Yun Fat is pretty awesome, we wish we'd seen a bit of the story to let us know what was going on. Granted, the storyline in Hard Boiled is pretty thin, and its all about balletic gunplay, just like this game, but we wanted to hear some dialogue and seen some Fat (zing, again) cutscenes. Interestingly enough, the Midway developers told us that the Xbox 360 version was much more finished than the PS3 version, and that it looks a bit better to them. Make of that what you will, fanpeoples.

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PS3's Stranglehold coming with Woo's Hard Boiled in HD

Kevin Kelly — 2007-05-17T03:01:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Action, Fighting, Galleries

Good news for PS3 owners, and a synergistic slap in the face to Xbox 360 lovers: the PlayStation 3 Collectors Edition of John Woo's Stranglehold will have the HD Blu-ray version of his classic film (and Chow Yun-Fat's classic firing-two-guns-whilst-jumping-through-the-air starring role) included on the game disc.

Midway had to work out a special deal with the Weinstein's Dragon Dynasty imprint, which owns the rights to John Woo's Chinese-language films. They'll be releasing a new special edition of Hard Boiled sometime later this year under that banner, so this may be the only way you can see the movie in HD for some time.

Mind you, the fancy version of Stranglehold will cost you $10 on top of your standard "next-gen" fee, resulting in a steep $70 price tag. No word on special features, or if the disc will play in regular Blu-ray players ... but we'll take our game with a shot of Inspector Tequila. Thank you very much.

Gallery: Stranglehold (PS3)

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