This game is like a nice fuzzy blanket. Dusted off my Xbox 360 that still surprisingly works and popped in this bad boy. I beat the first Max Payne recently and I just can't help but get a kick out of this specific pipeline: Hard Boiled influenced Max Payne, which then resulted in Strangehold, a video game sequel to Hard Boiled, that was definitely influenced by Max Payne. Love it.
It's barely worth even mentioning that Stranglehold hasn't totally aged gracefully; video games from previous console generations rarely do, we really can ease up on mentioning that when talking about older games. That includes myself, I need to get better at it. But yeah, jumping and bouncing around as Chow Yun Fat just blowing the everloving shit out of bad guys, the environment, and everything in between, is so fucking fun.
Build up your "Tequila Bomb" powerups and snipe a dude in the nuts from afar, unleash the barrage attack with dual wielding submachine guns on a squad of goons, or do the ultra slo-mo spin attack that kills all enemies on screen like a Contra special attack. The fact that Max Payne 3 came out 5 years later than this (which obviously, plays/looks/feels incredible) is a sign of how ahead this game was in 2007. Everything around you breaks, shatters and explodes in over-the-top John Woo style violence, blood splatters, bodies fly, bullets are always in the chamber as you never have to reload, ever. Brilliant!
Not a perfect game, the difficulty ramps up quite a bit near the end as it throws so many dudes at you at every angle, and it gets a little much at times (also the bullet-sponge bosses don't really do much for me). But holy hell, as a John Woo/Chow Yun Fat diehard fan I ain't rating this anything lower than 4 stars. A must-play if you're into either of them.
If you're still reading: Some personal suggestions if you love this game and are looking to check out other movies by Woo or starring Chow Yun Fat that aren't Hard Boiled. The following are must-watches:
- The Killer
- A Better Tomorrow 1 & 2
- Bullet In The Head
- Once A Thief
- Full Contact
It's barely worth even mentioning that Stranglehold hasn't totally aged gracefully; video games from previous console generations rarely do, we really can ease up on mentioning that when talking about older games. That includes myself, I need to get better at it. But yeah, jumping and bouncing around as Chow Yun Fat just blowing the everloving shit out of bad guys, the environment, and everything in between, is so fucking fun.
Build up your "Tequila Bomb" powerups and snipe a dude in the nuts from afar, unleash the barrage attack with dual wielding submachine guns on a squad of goons, or do the ultra slo-mo spin attack that kills all enemies on screen like a Contra special attack. The fact that Max Payne 3 came out 5 years later than this (which obviously, plays/looks/feels incredible) is a sign of how ahead this game was in 2007. Everything around you breaks, shatters and explodes in over-the-top John Woo style violence, blood splatters, bodies fly, bullets are always in the chamber as you never have to reload, ever. Brilliant!
Not a perfect game, the difficulty ramps up quite a bit near the end as it throws so many dudes at you at every angle, and it gets a little much at times (also the bullet-sponge bosses don't really do much for me). But holy hell, as a John Woo/Chow Yun Fat diehard fan I ain't rating this anything lower than 4 stars. A must-play if you're into either of them.
If you're still reading: Some personal suggestions if you love this game and are looking to check out other movies by Woo or starring Chow Yun Fat that aren't Hard Boiled. The following are must-watches:
- The Killer
- A Better Tomorrow 1 & 2
- Bullet In The Head
- Once A Thief
- Full Contact