Stranglehold Not Worth Your Time
I didn't finish Stranglehold. There are games that I never finish because I didn't find the time, but I always think, "I should go back and finally finish that one." Stranglehold isn't one of those games.
Now remember that I'm not a professional reviewer. I can respect that they are expected to play through the entire game before submitting their final score. But for someone like me, who's just a regular dude, I think there's value in saying that I didn't find it worth my time to keep playing this game. Let me elaborate.
The story in Stranglehold is supposedly linked to the one in John Woo's classic action film, Hard Boiled. However, I found that the main character, Inspector Tequila, is about the only common factor between the two, and even he is just a shadow of the character from the film. The game never even seems to reference the film, making me wonder just how this is supposed to be a sequel. Yeah, there are nods to the film, like the tea house shootout and some other little nuggets like that, but those are just mostly easter eggs for the fans. While the story in Hard Boiled isn't exactly award winning, I still found it above average for an action film. Stranglehold abandons that gritty type of story telling and instead goes for the generic "lone wolf cop bending the rules to get his man" plot that we're all sick of at this point. He defies a chief who constantly pulls him off the case, the bad guys turn on each other, and there's even a family kidnapping to round out the standard cliches. If you're a fan of the movie hoping to spend some time in Tequila's shoes, this game will have little to satisfy you.
Now, I can usually ignore a crappy story if the game is actually fun to play. Stranglehold was fun...for about two minutes. After that, I pretty much saw all that the game had to offer. Shoot some dudes, slow down time, shoot more dudes, ride on a rail while shooting dudes, then move along for more of the same. It's been compared to Max Payne, but for some reason I found Max Payne fun and compelling while Stranglehold was boring and routine. The guns just don't feel or sound powerful, which is weird for a John Woo project. You use Tequila Time to pull off fancy moves, which makes dispensing with the hordes of enemies an easy task. In fact, it's usually too easy. Boss battles can present a challenge, but you rarely feel that sense of accomplishment when you beat them. Maybe because you know you're heading for another stage for more of the same.
At some point, I realized I just wasn't having fun. There was no point in pushing through repetitive gameplay for a story that just wasn't compelling. Maybe there's some cool payoff at the end of the game, but I chose not to stick around and find out. I recommend you don't either. Go watch Hard Boiled or play Max Payne, and leave Stranglehold on the shelf.
