John Woo has been involved in films for many years, but Stranglehold is his debut in the video-game world. Taking styling cues from his directing and the gameplay mechanics of Max Payne, Stranglehold does well to hold up in the frenzy of over-the-top-action releases this year. The game includes all of the quintessential elements of a Woo film including an unfathomable amount of bullets, dual pistol wielding, a ridiculous amount of environmental destruction and doves… lots of doves. Oh, and did I mention all of this happens in slow motion?

The fans of Hardboiled can clap with glee to know that Chow Yun-Fat returns as “Inspector” Tequila in what can be called a sort of sequel to the movie. The events of Stranglehold take place a while after the film as Tequila takes on a new investigation involving the murder of a fellow cop. As the story unfolds there are a huge amount of gangs that run a lot of the underground Hong Kong and eventually one of them kidnaps a close family member and a friend. No matter what happens though, it’s always just Tequila, the one-man army, being sent into a building littered with hundreds of bad guys. So basically the story of Stranglehold serves the same purpose as the stories do in his films, they are excuses to start shooting and blowing things up, and that my friends, is exactly what you get to do.

You play from the third-person perspective and are able to do ridiculous amounts of stunts, all being performed in a very 'Enter The Matrix'-type control scheme. Different moves and stunts are initiated by the action button such as flipping off of things, diving, side-jumping etc. When performing these moves Tequila inflicts more damage than usual, so the game really encourages you to do them as much as possible. When pulled off successfully though, the gauge at the bottom of the screen slowly fills up to reward with you special abilities or moves as the game progresses. To the game's credit, the slow-mo moves look so cool that even after being performed so many times in a row they really don’t get boring.

This is credited to the massive amount of sheer crap that is in each level to destroy. Chunks of stuff is flying all over the room, glass is breaking, marble is falling off the pillars and walls; it’s all very detailed and looks absolutely fantastic in slow-motion. The visuals alone are crafted very well and reflect Woo’s personal touch throughout the entire game.

In the end, Strangehold is a high-octane punch with minimal, and dare I say non-existent, story? The multi-play is anemic, with only two modes of gameplay and gets very old when trying to shoot your friends when they do the same stunts you are doing off the same pillars. But, the single-player is fun. Period. If you like shooting and blowing things up in slow-motion for no reason, get this game.

Gameplay: 7.8
Running, flipping, shooting and blowing things up all in slow motion = cool.

Graphics: 9.0
Beautiful graphics, and visuals even though everything has got that glossy look.

Sound: 8.5
Great orchestral soundtrack, and sound effects that fit very well with his movies.

Difficulty: Medium
The game isn’t too difficult, but the checkpoint saves make you redo a lot when you die

Concept: 7.5
Playing a Jon Woo film is every testosterone junkie’s dream and for his first attempt in the world of gaming he did quite well.

Multiplayer: 4.0
A little boring compared to the great feel and cinematics of the single player. Only a couple hours of entertainment at most.

Overall: 7.6
If you are a fan of third-person action or Jon Woo, this game will deliver a fun and exciting ride. If you are into deep stories and complex characters with story plot twists, avoid this and anything else Jon Woo for that matter.