Stranglehold
Preview
Famous movie director John Woo is deeply involved in the development of Stranglehold. Need we say more?
by Rook
previewed on PC
Sequel to a movie
With the growing influence of video games over the last several years, Hollywood has become more and more involved in the story and development of movie based games. Many of these games actually contain a grand cinematic element to make it seem the player is actively participating in a movie. Famed action director John Woo, known for an enormous list of blockbuster martial arts high adrenaline action movies, has finally stepped into the virtual world with Midway Games and the upcoming release of Stranglehold.
Stranglehold's background is quite unique; It is being released as the official sequel to John Woos Hard-Boiled, which was released in 1992 and starring Chow Yun-Fat as the rough, no nonsense Inspector Tequila. The story takes place several years after Hard Boiled when Inspector Tequila is assigned to investigate the murder of a Chicago police officer. His investigations eventually drag him into the murderous underworld of both Chicago and Hong Kong. During his investigation he finds his own family more involved in the goings-on than he ever imagined.
Chow Yun-Fat has offered his likeness and voice acting to the title which really helps to establish an authentic and genuine gaming -and- cinematic experience. It has been years since the famed director and martial arts hero worked together, making the potential for this game very high indeed.
Pure chaos
The 'interaction-combo' system is likely to be one of Stranglehold's most groundbreaking features. As the player controls Inspector Tequila around the game environment, the Inspector will effortlessly jump, open, slide and navigate physical obstacles in his way without hindering the combat system in any way. In fact, the combat and interaction systems work together to form impressive movie-like combinations that are signature to John Woo films. If the player were to run into a bar during combat, Inspector Tequila will automatically hop up and slide of the counter top. This automated interaction allows the player to concentrate on the often intense combat going on around him and not navigating a maze of obstacles that the avatar can get hung up on.
When Tequila pulls off an action maneuver such as sliding over a table-top or long jump while in combat, a slow motion function called 'Tequila Time' will engage. This will allow further customization to the characters actions during a dramatically appropriate moment. If Tequila slides over a table, shooting wildly at a room full of thugs, 'Tequila Time' will allow not only ease of targeting but it will also allow the player to chain another action event. This, in combination with fully destructible environments, makes for endless high quality chaos.
