A few days ago I had that “I-need-to-have-an-uncomplicated-game-after-that-shitty-GTAIV-disaster” feeling. It was a disaster, because it didn’t run smooth. It was more like a fucking slide show. To take my mind off of this I found Stranglehold waiting in my cabinet for me to install. And I did.

Story ★★★★☆

So let’s start with the question: What is the game about? It is a story about a bad-ass, bulletproof cop who investigates the kidnapping of his ex-girlfriend and her daughter. To make things  complicated, his ex is the daughter of a mafia boss. Russian mobsters that want to take over business in Hongkong kidnapped his ex and daughter to extort the mafia boss, whereupon this guy calls bad-ass cop Inpector Tequila – that is You! – to save them and shoot the shit out of the competition.

Now, there are some twists1 in the story, but nothing that an attentive observer couldn’t figure out beforehand. Nevertheless, it is enough to justify the shooting of hundreds of people – and that’s what the game is about.

Controls ★★★☆☆

Running around is with standart WASD, left mouse is shooting, right mouse button is manual slow motion. Space is for diving and jumping on stair-rails, serving-trolleys, etc. Handling Tequila is not always easy as he automatically slides across tables when running into them. Therefore taking cover2 is not simple when you slide across a market stall, directly slithering into waiting enemies. People who have never played a shooter before might struggle with this.

The heart of all controls are the special moves controlled with the numbers 1-4 and that are animated beautifully.

1 – refills a part of your health.

2 – fires a precision shot in which the camera follows the bullet.

3 – initiates a rage mode in which your weapon doesn’t need reloading and your health remains stable even if hit by thousands of bullets.

4 – Tequila turns around while shooting, killing as many people as he can.

Graphics ★★★★★

All special moves3 results in a bloody outcome. People gargeling from blood, holding their arms, taking cover from the pieces of walls and furniture that blow up in their faces, etc.4 Yes, almost everything is destructable which makes the expression “to blow somebody’s cover” become literal. Every bullet is calculated by the engine5, best seen by looking at the precision shot triggered by pressing 2. Characters are very detailed and the impacts of bullets likewise. Chow Yun-Fat is easily recognizable and believable as Inspector Tequila.

Balance ★★★★☆

As the handling is not perfect, but still good, the balance suffers a bit. This game requires quick response to the approaching enemies that become tougher and more in numbers with every new chapter. However, the game remains fair and even if you have to retry an section the levels are very big, so you can try another tactic which might work better. This brings me to the last point.

Replayability ★★★★☆

Although there are many scripted events and the story will not change, the enemies will still be a challenge. The levels are big and can be mastered with a lot of different tactics. Even if you use the special moves over and over, they still look fantastic. Go blow off the dust of Stranglehold – it will keep you entertained in a long winter’s night.

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆

I fink that Stranglehold is great cinematic entertainment for shooter fans that doesn’t disappoint.

  1. best friend betrayal, etc. [↩]
  2. which is assigned to CTRL and doesn’t always work too well [↩]
  3. except for number 1 [↩]
  4. It all sounds worse than it is. This is not a game for kids after all. [↩]
  5. similar to Max Payne [↩]

Trackback? If you liked this article, subscribe for more updates.