Developed/Published by: Midway Studios Chicago, Tiger Hill Entertainment / Midway Games
Released: September 7th, 2007
Completed: 12th May, 2015
Completion: Finished it.
Trophies / Achievements: n/a
Kind of a wake-up here to just how old the “previous generation” of video games I’m still living in is, this is from eight years ago, basically making it, and I believe this is the scientific term, “old as balls.”
Anyway, I’ve been meaning to play through it for ages because I like Hong Kong action (although John Woo has never stood out particularly to me, because he’s done so few films comparatively) and I played the demo in, probably 2007, and remember thinking it was hilarious.
I think the demo (and first level) somewhat portrays the game under false pretence. Starring a digital Chow-Yun Fat as the same character he played in Hard Boiled in a “how exactly did they get them to agree to that” way, the first level asks the question “what if you covered Chow-Yun Fat in Vaseline and set him loose in a marketplace?”
It’s hilarious as you slide about on everything, smashing watermelons and leaping about in slow motion at all times while shooting folk, if you remember how John Woo movies were always called “balletic” this is “balletic” in the way a dance recital for five year-olds would be, if you got them all drunk and made them perform on a waltzer.
Unfortunately, while the rest of the game features just as much stuff to smash, the novelty wears off fast, as it becomes pretty transparent that the level design boils down to “trap the player in an arena until they kill enough baddies, run to the next arena, repeat.” Well, apart from the level where you have to endlessly destroy tables with drugs on them/place bombs (feels the same) and a really dull turret bit.
And tragically, Chow-Yun Fat is totally wasted, as there’s a skeleton of a plot that makes far less sense and is far less compelling than your average Hong Kong film—and they usually made those up as they went along.
It’s all a bit dull, and not helped by the fact that I’ve already played through Sleeping Dogs, United Front Games’ Hong Kong actioner, which is varied, fun and totally gets the genre right down to the compelling story. I can’t really blame Stranglehold for not being as good as a game that came out five years later… but I will anyway.
Will I ever play it again? Nope. I don’t really regret playing it, though.
Final Thought: Completely forgot to mention that there’s a boss fight in the middle that grinds the game to a halt because you’re not supposed to leap around during it and (in fact) I got stuck for ages because I had no idea you could crouch/crawl. Whoever it was that decided games should always have a bit where they’re like “ah-ha! now you’re not supposed to play the game the way you’ve learned for hours” should be forced to walk on their hands and eat with their feet for a year.