bit-tech Shopping: Midway Stranglehold (PS3)

• 1080i (HDTV)
• 720p (HDTV)

Rating: 10

Time with product:

Strengths: Tons of action, great presentation, John Woo style makes you feel like a one-man army

Weaknesses: A little on the short side

Summary: I bought the game after trying out the demo on the PC. As far as action games go, Stranglehold is top-notch. Playing as Inspector Tequila, you'll go through a variety of levels, filled with large groups of enemies just asking for a shootout. What separates Stranglehold from other action games is John Woo style. You won't be sitting behind cover in Stranglehold. You can, but where's the fun in that? Instead, you'll be diving behind cover, sliding across tables, and even sliding down railings as you slow time down using "Tequila Time" (think Max Payne) to blast through an entire group of enemies without a scratch. The variety of moves coupled with Tequila Time really does make you feel like a one-man army. You'll never be bored with the amount of enemies trying to kill you, which is the one thing I ask for in an action game. Presentation is also top notch, and really helps move the story along. The only real weakness is that it all ends rather fast. However, you'll love every second of it. Stranglehold is an absolute must-buy for action fans.

Rating: 6

Time with product:

Strengths: Nice variety of locales, Unlock Cool moves as game progress

Weaknesses: Can be annoyingly tough at times, repetitive

Summary: I had very high expectations with this game, & I was not necessarily disappointed. There are lot of shooting, jumping & special moves going on in this game. However good they appear, one has to admit that the game does not bring anything new to the genre of shooting/action games. The game is a little unbalanced in terms of difficulty. On normal settings, some areas are too easy to clear, while you will find yourself stuck forever in others. I was really annoyed with one particular mission where one had to protect a set of musicians while the AI pops up from every corner. Still there are some nice visuals & sound with good weapons & upgrades. There is a story somewhere in the game but you would enjoy this game more for the environment & all the cool moves you can perform

Rating: 8

Time with product: 1

Strengths: Action-packed, cool moves, no need to reload weapon, story is decent, music

Weaknesses: Third person perspective gets a bit claustrophobic at times, graphics not exactly high-end, doesn't take long to finish game

Summary: Produced in the style of John Woo's signature movies and starring Chow Yun Fat as the main character, Stranglehold takes you across continents, killing baddies everywhere you go. While the graphics are nothing to write home about, the storyline is kind of interesting, and I am a big fan of the soundtrack. The gunplay isn't bad either. As Inspector Tequila, you can use a variety of weapons to take out your enemies, dropping them easily using the game's own version of bullet time (called Tequila Time in Stranglehold). The cutscenes are terrific and move the story along nicely, though it gets confusing at times. But hey, you're here for the shooting, and in that respect, Stranglehold delivers. Recommended.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 2 Months

Strengths: A good action shooter game. Easy to control.

Weaknesses: Graphics can be better.

Summary: If you are a Hong Kong movie fan, you would definitely dont't want to miss this game. With starring of a famous HK movie star, Yun-Fat Chow, together with the scene of Hong Kong and chicago, I enjoyed every chapters in this game (although the game is quite short). In addition, you can play online where the story line would be different.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 15

Strengths: lots of shooting and actiondestructible environmentsgood gun selection

Weaknesses: online game selection could use an updateno support for headset

Summary: great game. i loved the demo when it came out, and i just recently purchased it. the game is full of action and slow motion gun fights. it's all jhon woo style, but in a video game. you get the double wielded guns, slow mo jumps, doves flying. story mode is interesting and online mode is fun to play. it's a great game.