81
This is the true sequel to "Hard Boiled," which means Stranglehold is more about style than substance. So, not surprisingly, the story is melodramatic and forgettable and the adrenaline-pumping action is the star of the show.
80
Stranglehold might stumble occasionally under its own ambitious weight, and might not quite deliver on all its promises and potential, but it's still a unique and absorbing 8-hour tour through a legendary action director's potent unfilmable dreams.
73
Stranglehold is not a disaster. If you desire nothing more than to kill criminals on a massive scale, turn nightclubs into a war zone, and look cool doing it – this is your game.
10
Awesome sauce. For 2007 it has OK graphics and for the time it had the best destruction in gaming, the story is what makes it amazing. For it to be a sequel to a movie is baffling
8
Stranglehold is a solid 3rd person action game with beautiful graphics and satisfying gameplay. For fans of Max Payne! Overall rating: 8.3.
6
This is a solid a Arcade like shooting game where you are playing a weird John Woo movie that all the Talking scene have been cut out of. The gameplay is what I call non-stop action because it doesn't feel like you can breathe. It's just going on all at once the enemies keep getting out of doors for at a time moves over the time. It's just relentless. It almost makes it too hard psychologically I had to take breaks every 15 minutes because it was just non-stop. And maybe just me but I have tried to play this game so many times but the second level always kill all the infusionism. This is the first time in the 13 years. I've had this game ,that I now defeated the second level in the game . But the problem is because it is so relentless and is the same gameplay all the way through the game it gets kind of tedious and repetitive they're good part is the level design is so destructible that it's amazing to look at but sadly when you played it for two hours. You have kind of played all day have to give but then again it took me three and a half hours to complete it so I can still recommen it if you want mindless action.
Stranglehold
Released On:
Sep 5, 2007
Metascore
Generally Favorable
77
User score
Mixed or Average
7.2
My Score
Drag or tap to give a rating
Hover and click to give a rating
Metascore
Generally Favorable
77
78% Positive
46 Reviews
46 Reviews
20% Mixed
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
2% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
90
Stranglehold is fun. It's fun in a "God hand" way. [Oct 2007, p.81]
85
Despite the game's undoubted scope for replayability, it is decidedly low on play time. But in the cold light of day, we're not too bothered with all that - because Stranglehold offers something so raw and so hyper-energetic that the next game you play after it will feel positively tired and lethargic in comparison. Woo hoo.
User score
Mixed or Average
7.2
46% Positive
41 Ratings
41 Ratings
47% Mixed
42 Ratings
42 Ratings
7% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
Aug 1, 2024
10
Awesome sauce. For 2007 it has OK graphics and for the time it had the best destruction in gaming, the story is what makes it amazing. For it to be a sequel to a movie is baffling
Sep 11, 2016
9
I can't comment on the multiplayer aspect of this game but the single player campaign is about as fun as one could expect of any game. This game makes you want to sit down and finish it. I almost wonder if all the reviewers who commented how short the game was maybe just enjoyed it so much it seemed like a quick play. The game is at least 10 hrs which is longer than most other shooter single player campaigns. The draw of this game is it is frantic from start to end and pieced together with a decent story. In my opinion this game went for fun factor over realism and it nailed it. Here we have a good shooter game with a story with many destructible ways to take enemies out. As a player you can take the traditional approach of shooting enemies but you can also take out enemies through "bullet-time" powerups or by environmental damage. There is a tactical side to this game embedded within the high paced action and this is what makes the game so fun. The game is devoid or glitches and I found the checkpoint system paced as expected. If you die you start back at a reasonable area. Lots of health and ammo is available and not over or under abundant. The design of each area seemed to have paid attention to what a player would find entertaining, in other words this game actually seem play-tested to a high degree. I also found each chapters environments well thought out and interesting and varied. A couple downsides about the game and they are minor is the camera at times can be a little funky and do what it wants by way of zooming in and out on its own. It was annoying at times but not overly. Just saying it wasn't perfect. The other issue is sometimes to be stylish and get the skill points you could accidently dive or stick to somewhere you did not intend. Again, partially annoying but at least the spawn points and checkpoints in the game limited the frustration of how annoyed this was and minimized it to being a side effect. Anyway I highly recommend this game it really is a hidden gem especially at what the game must cost now.
80
Even though it isn't a direct adaptation of a film, Stranglehold is probably the best example of a movie-based game to date.
80
The gunplay works great and the presentation definitely carries Woo's signature style. It's the quintessential action game experience, even with its weak multiplayer option.
76
Taken as a whole, Stranglehold is a well-made, but short and shallow gaming experience that ends up being best suited for a rental and not worth its asking price for anyone expecting a game with a lot of depth to it.
70
Apart from its brevity, it's damn good fun. [Issue#25, p.98]
42
Unfortunately, the gameplay breaks down fairly often, with enemies acting like idiots, getting stuck on objects, or becoming bulletproof from particular angles.
Jul 4, 2013
9
If "Stranglehold" weren't the first name of this game, its second name would naturally be "badass." John Woo, Chow Yun-Fat and Midway games make the style, mechanics, and destructibility brilliantly entertaining.
Oct 28, 2023
7
Definitely a fun game but the tricks you can do are kind of lacking and it's hard to find the ability to do those tricks when enemies sometimes aren't even near where you want to do them for a game based solely off of tricks and the points to do them it definitely does it but it does it OKAY it's definitely a fun thing to play although I would change how long the missions are and split them up a little better because they kind of feel like they drag on for awhile seeing as how it takes only 4 hours to beat the game. The game is fun though solid 7.5/10
Mar 6, 2022
7
This bombastic video game based on John Woo's "Hard Boiled" should please the filmmaker's fans. It's a third person shooter similar to "Max Payne", but with a lot of big explosions. The game feels more like a Hollywood movie than a Hong Kong action flick. It features Chow Yun Fat's Tequila character, but never seems like "Hard Boiled 2". But it's still great and action fans will a blast with it. Overall, I would rate this with a 7.7 out of 10.
Apr 27, 2011
4
If you can find this game for about $5 id say go for it. Very repeatitive. Online is empty. Bullet time is cool, though id rather just be playing max payne.
Dec 28, 2014
3
This game is nearly unplayable in just about every aspect. Easily one of the worst games I've played within the last decade. Controls are horrible and story is forgettable.
SummaryAcclaimed action director John Woo presents Stranglehold, a stunning 3rd-person action adventure videogame and "spiritual sequel" to Woo's action masterpiece "Hard Boiled." Stranglehold redefines the action gaming experience with its acrobatic gunplay, thrilling cinematography, frenetic combat and incredible Massive Destructibility (Mass... Read More
Rated Mfor Mature
