GamesRadar - Stranglehold

Developer: The Bosses Mandated Stranglehold's Unnecessary Multiplayer Mode (News)

Nov 4, 2009

Kotaku writes: "Why do some games have multiplayer? Because the executives demand it, even if the developers don't want it. As explained in a recent account of goings on at Midway."

Stranglehold patch 1.1 released (News)

Jan 26, 2009

A new Stranglehold patch, version 1.1, has been released and is ready for download. It fixes a lot of resolution bugs and improves the movement keys.

Great game deals at Goodwill (News)

Feb 3, 2008

If you're looking for deals on games, you might want to try your local Goodwill. Besides the stuff people scoop out of their attics and basements, many retail stores including Target, Sears and JC Penny often send overstock items to Goodwill as donations. You can get some serious discounts on new games and game gear.

A Gamertell writer found a $10 copy of Stranglehold, as well as a $20 2GB memory card among several deals at her local Goodwill. The article also offers several hints for picking up bargains.

Stranglehold - Expansion pack 01-07-08 (Video)

Jan 7, 2008

The spiritual successor to the Hong Kong smash Hard Boiled, Stranglehold aims to blow you away with ridiculous action, amazing physics, and John Woo's matchless style.

Leaked: NIMF's Annual Video Game Report Card (News)

Dec 4, 2007

Kotaku's Brian Crecente has a leaked copy of the National Institute on Media and the Family's annual Media Wise Video Game Report Card, set to be officially released tomorrow. This year's report card is broken into five parts:

Â¿ The MediaWise Video Game Report Card
Â¿ The Buying Guide
Â¿ The ESRB Rating System and Ratings Education Efforts
Â¿ The Retailer Ratings Education and Enforcement Surveys
Â¿ Annual MediaWise-Harris Interactive Poll of Kids and Parents

Kotaku gives a quick summary for each part.

Midway Announces Increased Revenues, Losses (News)

Nov 1, 2007

Major publisher Midway Games has announced that, for the three-month period ending September 30, 2007, its sales totaled $36.7 million, up from $27.4 million last year. At the same time, however, the company reported losses of $33.5 million, increased from $22.5 million in 2006.

As for highlights, the company said that Xbox 360 and PC title Stranglehold has exceeded 1 million units shipped worldwide across all platforms, and the company anticipates shipping Stranglehold for the PS3 in Europe in the latter part of November.

Midway also highlighted its recent demo of Unreal Tournament 3 in conjunction with developer Epic Games, since a demo of Unreal Tournament 3 for the PC was recently released, and has remained one of the top 2 most downloaded games on FilePlanet.com since it was released on October 12th. However, the PS3 version of the title is still due in 2008, as confirmed earlier last month.

Stranglehold demo on PSN today (News)

Sep 6, 2007

Sept 6, 2007 PS3 owners will be able to blast their way through one level of Stranglehold in a demo hitting the PSN later today. Just like the Xbox 360 demo which went live a month ago, you'll take control of Inspector Tequila (Chow Yun Fat) and his duel-wield guns and go on a killing spree in the massively destructible Hong Kong marketplace ...

Stranglehold is gold on Xbox 360; worldwide release dates confirmed (News)

Aug 31, 2007

Midway just sent out a press release in which the publisher states that the Xbox 360 version of John Woo Presents: Stranglehold is now officially gold. This means development on the game is completely finished, and the only thing left now is printing the game. Midway also revealed the final release dates for all platforms for both the US and Europe.

The Xbox 360 version of Stanglehold is released first, on September 5 in America, followed by Europe on September 14. Next is the PC versions which will hit retail on September 18 in the US followed by Europe on September 21. Last, but certainly not least, is the Playstation 3 version, which will be released on September 25 in the US and 'sometime' in October in Europe.

Midway has high hopes for John Woo's Stranglehold, which is also considered as the sequel to John Woo's Hard Boiled movie. Stranglehold will be available in both a normal and a Special Edition version for both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions. The Xbox 360's Special Edition features a second DVD with lots of extras such as 'Behind the Scenes' material. The Playstation 3's Special Edition will come with the Blu-Ray version of John Woo's Hard Boiled movie.

Stranglehold set to bring FUN back to the shooter? (News)

Aug 17, 2007

While its August 28 release date may see it somewhat eclipsed amid BioShock fallout fever and the fact that Metroid Prime 3 is set to arrive that week too, Midway's Max Payne/Dead to Rights action hybrid looks to bring one singular facet of worth to the gaming table: destructive fun.

Many of us complain that first and third-person shooters simply don't provide enough full-on physical destruction Â¿ especially when subjecting the in-game environments to high explosives and massively powerful weaponry. EA's woefully underrated Black went some way to delivering a game world open to destruction and player influence, but Stranglehold takes the idea to a whole new level.

Click the source for more...

Stranglehold - Action packed gameplay 08-16-07 (Video)

Aug 16, 2007

The spiritual successor to the Hong Kong smash Hard Boiled, Stranglehold aims to blow you away with ridiculous action, amazing physics, and John Woo's matchless style.

Stranglehold multiplayer absent at Midway event (News)

Aug 15, 2007

Aug 15, 2007 Uhh, let's see what we can remember. GamesRadar showed up at the Mezzanine on Thursday night doe-eyed and eager to partake in the world premiere of Stranglehold's multiplayer mode. Can diving gunmen butt heads? Could we make bullets collide in mid-air? If four players activate the slow-mo, Tequila Time mode, simultaneously, would it spawn an alternate reality where the game never existed? The answer is... we don't know. For whatever reason, multiplayer was a depressing no show. ...

Stranglehold - Interns take some tequila time 08-15-07 (Video)

Aug 15, 2007

The spiritual successor to the Hong Kong smash Hard Boiled, Stranglehold aims to blow you away with ridiculous action, amazing physics, and John Woo's matchless style.

Stranglehold's PS3 delay ONLY for Euro version. US version still on track for September 17. (News)

Aug 9, 2007

From GAF

"This is for the Euro version BTW. I received that press release also. As of last night, Midway North America informed us that:

Quote:
The full version of Stranglehold is currently expected to ship on August 27th for the Xbox 360 and PC, and September 17th for the PlayStation 3. PC and PlayStation 3 demos coming soon. "

"To be thorough, I just contacted Midway U.S. and got the following response:

Quote:
I can confirm that Stranglehold is shipping on 8/27 for X360 and PC and 9/17 for PS3 here in the U.S. If you have any questions, please let me know. "

Midway investing $30 million in Stranglehold - Most expensive next-generation game (News)

Aug 3, 2007

Midway's European MD Martin Spiess has told GamesIndustry.biz the publisher is investing USD 30 million in upcoming action game Stranglehold.

Spiess claims the new IP could be the most expensive next-generation game in development, but is confident that come the September release the massive investment will pay off, with retail and consumers already very positive about the title.

Blazing Stranglehold footage burst (News)

Jul 31, 2007

Bam! Drrrrtttt! Ka-pow! Ah, how we love these sounds of destruction. Stranglehold knows this, and - as you can see in this new weaponry-based trailer - the game is an almost non-stop aural orgy of explosive noise, combined with the loss of an alarming amount of ammunition. Brilliantly, though, Stranglehold's fatalities aren't limited to bullet-points. The crumbling scenery that surrounds you can be blasted into shrapnel, used to crush enemies or simply be exploderized with a well placed shot. ...

Stranglehold's multiplayer revealed (News)

Jul 24, 2007

In Stranglehold, you play an unstoppable hero - the kind of big screen icon who can walk alone into a room full of bad guys and not only defeat them all without suffering a scratch, but make the whole affair look ridiculously easy. But what happens when eight action heroes walk into a room? During a recent demo of the John Woo-inspired shoot 'em up, we quizzed our handler about Stranglehold's multiplayer. He confirmed that up to eight players can blast away at each other - and the map's ...

E3 07: Midway puts press in Stranglehold (News)

Jul 12, 2007

Midway talks Unreal Tournament III PS3/PC exclusivity, BlackSite: Area 51 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat also on display.

Midway Announces E3 lineup (News)

Jul 9, 2007

Midway Games Inc., a leading interactive entertainment publisher and developer, today announced its product portfolio to be shown at the E3 Business & Media Summit, July 11-13 in Los Angeles.

Continue to view list.

Stranglehold PS3/PC Versions Delayed (News)

Jul 7, 2007

According to GameStop.com the 360 version comes out on August 6th. The PS3/PC versions come out on August 20th. Previously all versions were slated for an August 6th release.

Stranglehold - good as it looks? (News)

Jul 3, 2007

Everyone knows John Woo and Chow Yun Fat make great action movies together. And, based on Stranglehold's recent blitz of teasers, trailers and carefully choreographed gameplay movies, we know they make good promotional material together, too. But can the actual game - the one you'll play in early August - live up to the cinematic expectations set by the marketing? Check out GamesRadar's custom gameplay footage of two Stranglehold levels and judge for yourself. The first video, showing the ...

Stranglehold Gets Swag-tastic (News)

Jun 26, 2007

What's in the box, you ask? Hit the jump to find out!

Midway Announces All-Star Voice Over Talent for Stranglehold Videogame (News)

Jun 26, 2007

Midway announces all-star voice over talent for the upcoming Stranglehold game for the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. Arnold Vosloo (The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, Blood Diamond) along with Randall Duk Kim (Memoirs of a Geisha, Enter the Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded) join Chow Yun-Fat for the game.

Stranglehold Release Date Confirmed (News)

Jun 1, 2007

The latest release schedule from Australian distributor Red Ant includes release dates for Stranglehold and Two Worlds.

"He's called Tequila. He's a tough cop."

John Woo to deliver Stranglehold film? (News)

May 30, 2007

A movie adaptation of John Woo's Stranglehold is very likely in the cards, if comments from Woo's production partner Terrence Chang are anything to go by. "We would definitely bring Stranglehold to the big screen," Chang told Reuters in a report focusing on John Woo's collaboration with Warren Spector on Ninja Gold, a videogame which is also being adapted for the silver screen. Chang explained that John Woo and crew want to take a "very selective" approach when it comes to producing games, ...

New Stranglehold screens (News)

May 18, 2007

Fresh from Sony's American Gamers' Day come new Stranglehold screens, sadly showing a level that we've already seen but from different ...

Stranglehold gets Hard Boiled (News)

May 18, 2007

Midway has given details of a $70 collector's edition of its upcoming PS3 title Stranglehold that includes the Hard Boiled movie. John Woo's Stranglehold will also feature a full-length remastered high-def version of the 1992 film Hard Boiled, the Hong Kong action film directed by ...

Stranglehold (Screenshots)

May 18, 2007

Stranglehold Hurtling Towards Alpha (News)

Apr 1, 2007

The last week or so has been a bit of a blur in the Stranglehall. We're all super busy getting ready for alpha. Alpha is a mythical time in a game's life where everything is done, it's just not done all the way quite yet. You can play the entire game from front to back, and it's especially satisfying to take down a boss, bask in the glory of your victory, and then arrive at the next level full of baddies and stuff ready to get blown up.

-Patrick Curry
Senior Game Designer

Stranglehold's Creative Director speaks (Feature)

Feb 20, 2007

What was it like working with John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat? Offerman: Chow Yun-Fat is doing the voiceover for his character (Detective Tequila) and hes mostly in Hong Kong, so we sent an audio guy out there to work with him. They had someone to help him with his pronunciation, a voice coach, because English is only his second language. We took scans of his face and body and, even though it wasnt contractually required, we asked him whether itd be OK to take shots of him with different facial ...

Blast action hero (Feature)

Feb 16, 2007

Were behind a pillar. Sorry - Hollywood action hero Chow Yun-Fat is behind a pillar, face grim, eyes narrowed and hands gripping dual Beretta pistols. As moonlight bathes the museum, gloomily illuminating the looming dinosaur skeleton above, we hear the muffle of incoming footsteps. Hopelessly outnumbered, desperately low on health, we swing into the open and - in a few violent stabs of PS3s Sixaxis pad - erupt into a spiraling slow-motion weave of bullets and trace-lines, spinning and firing ...

Stranglehold (Preview)

Feb 5, 2007

John Woo may have made some recent big-screen stinkers (Windtalkers and Paycheck anyone?), but Stranglehold looks like a spectacular return to form - even roping in Chow Yun Fat to reprise his role as Inspector Tequila from cult movie Hard Boiled. Theres little to the game other than blasting enemies in the most inventive ways you can think of, and it just so happens that you get to look amazingly cool while doing so. We can live with ...

Stranglehold features, PC screens, and some packshots (News)

Feb 1, 2007

We have here some packshots, screens and more info about the multi-platform, third person game from Midway Games, Strangleholdfor the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

Stranglehold - hands-on (Preview)

Jan 30, 2007

Videogame makers have been ripping off John Woo for years. A longtime master of Hong Kong action films, the accomplished director's distinct style has been imitated in dozens of games. And Midway is helping Woo "take it back" with Stranglehold. The spiritual successor to the 1992 film Hard Boiled (directed by Woo and starring Chow Yun-Fat), Stranglehold is an attempt to faithfully recreate Woo's style in an interactive medium. The brief portions of the game we were able to play left us ...

Tequila gets out of the kitchen (News)

Jan 26, 2007

Saturday 27 January 2007 We've seen plenty of Inspector Tequila leaping about, both barrels blazing in Stranglehold's made-for-a-shootout Hong Kong restaurant and kitchen level, but now we've managed to prise some new shots from publisher Midway's grip that give us a glimpse of the John Woo directed game's museum location. Move your mouse in dramatic slo-mo style to the images tab above (release some white doves while you're at it for the full effect) to see the entire priceless collection and ...

Stranglehold trailer blazer (News)

Jan 22, 2007

The 40-cigarettes-a-day voiceover man says about Stranglehold: "One hard boiled cop is caught between upholding the law and doing what's right..." and, as this spanking new trailer for the game shows, that means blasting seven bells of sweet and sour out of anything within a 30 foot radius of Inspector Tequila. Kung-fu slap the Movies tab, launch the video player and select the film enititled "Stranglehold - trailer 01-22-07" to revel in the ballet of ...

Stranglehold tea party (News)

Oct 16, 2006

Monday 16 October 2006 Arriving fashionably late from August's Leipzig Game Convention, there's a whole seven minutes of Stranglehold gameplay waiting for you in the movies tab above - demonstrating a run-and-gun-through of the Tea House level. While the developer commentary is a little dry - we ask you, how can a man sound so unenthused when he's just slow-mo shot some poor thug in the family jewels? - the action speaks for itself, with the restaurant left looking like a war zone by the time ...

Stranglehold unloads new trailer (News)

Sep 29, 2006

Our latest trailer spot for Stranglehold focuses on shooting up the environments as much as the baddies, with all the game's levels waiting to explode in a shower of sparks and plaster dust when riddled with bullets. As we'd expected from the developer of the physics-crazy Psi-Ops, it's not all for effect. Instead of applying force to objects with telekinetic power, Inspector Tequila (Chow Yun-Fat) can do it the old-fashioned way with both barrels of a shotgun, toppling scenery on to ...

Stranglehold tightens its grip (News)

Aug 28, 2006

If there was a way to deliver the latest trailer for next-gen and PC shooter Stranglehold to you by somersaulting over a table in slow motion through a flock of doves, we would, but thankfully you need only click the Movies tab above. Showing off new areas - including a natural history museum (with scaleable dinosaur skeleton!), a Chinese food market stocked with fruit just waiting to erupt in gunfire and a rapidly disintegrating casino floor - it's not hard to see how this game carries John ...

Stranglehold delayed until 2007 (News)

Aug 4, 2006

Midway has today announced that Stranglehold will now launch in 2007. The game was due to arrive at the launch of the PS3 as-well as the Xbox 360 and PC.

Three shots to the head (News)

Aug 3, 2006

Ever since our tantalizing encounter with Stranglehold at E3, we've been hounding publisher Midway for more details on John Woo's shooter. Midway finally responded with three new screens that you can view by clicking that Images tab above. The best estimate for when we can expect this game to hit stores is still Spring 2007, so it'll be awhile before we actually get to touch it, ...

Straight-shootin' Stranglehold trailer (News)

May 24, 2006

We came away from E3 more impressed with John Woo Presents Stranglehold than we expected to be. This fresh trailer (just click the Movies tab above) should give you a pretty good indication as to why we were so giddy. An interactive sequel to John Woo's classic action film Hard Boiled, Stranglehold picks up the story of Inspector Tequila; Chow-Yun Fat reprises his role as the twin-pistol firing, banister-running, chandelier-swinging cop declaring war on the criminal underworld. Woo's moves ...

New Stranglehold trailer (News)

May 19, 2006

• Stranglehold (WMV, 17.4MB) Friday 19 May 2006 As his cinematic style has influenced so many action games from Max Payne to Hitman, it seems only right that movie director John Woo should take the lead in taking action games into the next generation with the Midway-developed game for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, Stranglehold. The third-person blaster is based on the world and characters that first appeared in Woo's Hard Boiled which saw Chow Yun-Fat star as all-action cop Inspector ...

E3 06: Stranglehold (Preview)

May 12, 2006

We got to play a short level in John Woo Presents Stranglehold and we can't remember another game that made it so easy to feel like an action hero. While plenty of other games have complex controls and twin-gun, slow-mo shooter action, but film director John Woo literally invented the trick - and to slide across a table while firing two pistols non-stop in his game, all you need to do is bump into it and glide. Swinging from lanterns and running up staircase railings requires little more ...

Stranglehold (Preview)

Mar 3, 2006

“I've been trying to develop a sequel to Hard Boiled, but didn't know how,” said action movie helmer John Woo in a video interview shown at Midway's Pulse media event in late February. Looks like he found one: John Woo Presents Stranglehold, is an upcoming action/adventure game that reunites Woo with his frequent star Chow Yun-Fat in a return to the world of Inspector Tequila. Better to call it a “spiritual sequel,” though; the game won't pick up where the film left ...

Stranglehold screens grab our attention (News)

Mar 2, 2006

We've been hit by a salvo of eye-burstingly good images from Stranglehold, Midway's John Woo-inspired bullet festival for PS3, PC and Xbox 360. The game stars a digital version of Hong Kong cinema hero Chow Yun-Fat, and features the sort of high-action gun battles that he's famous for - complete with twin pistols, restaurant shootouts and dodging acrobatics. As a bonus, we've also got some footage of the game in full flow - just click the movie tab on the right to treat your eyes to the ...