Note: This is copied from my Gamespot account, so you'll see it there too.

Many had hoped for a game with a great story, gameplay, visuals, sounds, and the likes. Sadly, Stranglehold just can't compare the games like Uncharted.

The game opens with a VERY short scene (I think somewhere around two minutes, at the most). You can tell that the developers really wanted to make the game feel like one of the classic movies by John Woo, the game tells you little, and expects you to be fine with it.

The characters feel shallow, and the voice work could use a bit of a touch up. I know, I know, it was meant to be like the movies, but honestly. Can't they have a thinner Chinese accent? It was hard to understand what they were saying, and no, I'm not being closed-minded. Even through the accents, the lines were delivered with little emotion, and felt cold. Bugged me a bit that there wasn't a subtitle option too.

The graphics could've used a bit of work as well. They weren't bad or anything, and yes, I was playing on a SDTV, but that shouldn't matter. Other games look amazing without the use of a HDTV, and I respect them for it. I did like the fact that on a certain level, it was raining, Tequila (the main character) was wet, his clothes were darker and stuck to him, his hair was plastered against his forehead. It was quite convincing.

The gameplay also felt somewhat broken. Even after adjusting the look sensitivity, it was hard to aim. There is no lock-on option (although, you don't necessarily NEED one, one would be appreciated). I would find myself over aiming normally, and under aiming in Tequila Time (bullet-time). The game was also short. Only seven levels, each about an hour long. It seemed that you could just run in a tight circle and spray your enemies with whatever type of bullet you wanted until the room feel silent and you moved on. The whole 'use the environment against your enemies' thing didn't go further than the third level, after than there was little interactivity with the environment.


The sounds sounded good for the most part. Most of the weapons had a nice ring to them, although the shotgun wasn't NEARLY as deep as it should have been. The musical score was all right, but nothing really stood out.

All in all, the game wasn't horrid, it just wasn't as good as most expected. With better games out there, I'd say pass this one and play a different game.