Stranglehold: Game Walkthrough and Guide

Long ago, when StrangleHold was just announced for the press, I surprised me a lot of journalists. The game has hastily dubbed the successor of the case of Max Payne. Casting for an advanced time slowing down, many somehow forgot that John Wu is a lack of clippers in pistols, shootouts with a million Chinese once and absurd, but incredibly beautiful tricks. What can be common between the funny attraction – and the tight noir history Max Payne, where the ball is ruled by despair, pain and all-consuming darkness?

Hong Kong returns

Nothing in common, and no. StrangleHold – a peculiar continuation of the famous movie “Cool Cooked” (Hard Boiled), in which it is narrowing about the difficult fate of the Jena inspector on nicknamed “Tequila”. Having entered the desperate fight with the criminal world of Hong Kong, he is in the company of a hired killer – yes, here is such a unity and struggle of opposites! – Forced to exterminate a couple of hundreds of criminals, in order to good truth over evil.

Despite the naive plot, the film hit the manner of shooting. So no one has shot. Mad shootouts, jumping, acrobatics, flying to the columns. “Cool cooked” made a small coup in cinema. The local picture quickly became popular all over the world, and on the director John Wu and the actor Chow Yun-Fata drew attention to Hollywood. Further history, though interesting, but has a very distant attitude to the topic of our today’s conversation.

Stranglehold plot continues the story of the movie Hard Boiled. 18 years old have passed since the hospital assault, the brave inspector has been noticeably averaged, but still feels confident enough to deal with the bloodthirsty triads alone. This time the trouble came from a distant US. Russian gangsters from Chicago had the negligence to kidnap the daughter and the former Wife of Tequila, thereby signing themselves a death sentence.

True, it was done not in order to pump the chief hero. The former wife of Tequila part-time was from the largest criminal clan Wong, who has many years of ruled by the shadow side of Hong Kong. Thus, Russian gangsters are trying to arrange redistribution of spheres of influence. What to do? Nothing to do. We take guns, conclude a temporary truce with criminals, and go ahead – save your.

The plot, as it should be in the Hong Kong militant, amazes stupid and thousands of inconsistencies. Do not even think to look for a sense in it. The narrative is carried out in such a way that even the connection between the levels is very ghost. But the characters turned out color. Of course, there is no profound study of the characters of speech – the overall style of the game does not allow, – but each villain is distinguished by bright appearance and vile actions. Having met the next scoundrel, you with a sense of moral superiority, jeysfully put on the trigger, to save humanity from someone unworthy.

Shoot to kill

The game process StrangleHold comes down to the following: Shoot everything that moves or feeds at least the slightest signs of life. No tactics and long reflection. Continuous movement and continuous fire on living tariffs. Such a simple formula, the developers decided to present in the form of a show, which are famous for the films of John Wu.

If the enemies – as much as possible and more stupid. A smart enemy will resist for a long time, flatly refuse to die and try to spoil the player in every way. In Stranglehold artificial intelligence, probably missing as a class. Bandits are only able to run and shoot, both of the actions they make quite clumsy. About bidders in shelters and command actions are generally better not to remember. It is clear here.

But how are Russian gangsters and Chinese criminals… Having got a blow to the head on the head, the enemy flies for a couple of meters, pierces the stone tile, rolls over the railing and lands the first floor with a crash. Scorching the fractions below the belt, folds in half and, splashing the red liquid (sorry, but call this substance does not rotate the language), is broken by the aquarium. The machine line into the chest – and the enemy makes a beautiful turn around the axis to measure in an obscene pose.

In general, if someone lacked spectacular deaths in the militants of the last time – the mercy please admire them in Stranglehold. For considerable admissions in the game there is a slowdown in time. When seconds inhibit their run, they become clearly visible to fly by bullets, the suffering of enemies and flying salons of the interior. However, observed the beauty of particularly no time. The energy strip that is responsible for the slowdown is restored over time, but melts indecently quickly. It is worth a little climb, and you will find yourself in a close circle of gangsters, which are just dreaming quickly to deal with the tequila inspector.

Wake up with troubles will have to have seven short levels. Chinese market, full of clutches, flying out vegetables and felling signs. The fishing village with a holey huts occupied by drug dealers (after the visit of Tequila huts will be still thumbnail). Chicago Museum of Arts, with expensive and fragile Exhibits. Mined House of the Russian Bandit and the Residence of the Chinese Chapter of the Triads. Abandoned area with dilapidated houses, where because of the torrential rain it is impossible to consider what is happening ahead. Except for a short but furious shootout on board a helicopter, all the way you will have to do on foot.

Gone by explosion

But one slowdown time is not limited to. Encouraged the spectacular violence. Barrel blew up, swaying in the corners of careless gangsters? Honor and praise! The queue on the advertising sign will wrap it on the heads of enemies and will surprise the surrounding. Interactive objects in StrangleHold abuse. Throughout the game, we will arrange local rocks, disassembled on the components of wooden houses, carbon black and fruit, cut off gold fish together with aquariums and destroy the works of archaeologists.

In the game you can break almost all. The column under the machine-gun fire is falling apart in pieces, the barricades will fly into pieces from the explosion of grenades, the machines are having fun with fire. Tequila constantly gives enemies to verify the full program. Carting on trolleys, running along the railing, jumping with a rebound from the wall, swing on the chandelier, shooting due to shelter and rolling on the ground. Than entertainment and sophisticated murder, the more you get points that intendrate into energy to perform special techniques.

Such in the game got four pieces. Mobile first aid kit that allows partially to restore life right during battle. Accurate and, which is important, the long-range shot eliminates the annoying snipers, demonstrating excellent animation (I advise the experiment to shine in hand). The monstrous rage that makes tequila almost invulnerable and allows you to shoot with an incredible speed. Final Accord – Circular Attack. Around the inspector begin to fly it is not clear from where the studies of the pigeons, tequila theatrically breed hands and opens fire. Enemies, regardless of their location, cake bullets and dramatically die in terrible flour.

At times, the shootout dilute duels. Tequila freezes as the inspected, time slows down, and opponents open fire. You can only move the case to shy away from the bullets and lead the fire. Such fun will take a lot of time, for which you should thank the curve management, because of which the sight is constantly twitching. Share and press the trigger for the allotted time, simultaneously spinning, – the task is not simple.

Culture shock

But in StrangleHold annoys not control. Suddenly, a cunning blow causes boredom. By the third level, we will receive all special techniques, with more thank you bitterness of duels, we will pursue with tricks and move to the interactive environment. All designers finds and interesting game situations will be tried, and repeatedly.

What awaits us further? Unfortunately, monotony. We will again and again in a slower time shoot tens of bandits, in desperate moments to use special techniques, arrange a duel. Battle with bosses could save the situation, but, alas, the main rascals are allocated only to thick skin and fierce attacks.

Levels, so different with the form, with a close view, are surprisingly similar. More than half of the battles will be held in the two-tier halls, where in the middle is worth something beautiful breaking. The rest of the time will have to go through direct corridors or wander in small labyrinths from partitions or huts.

Designers, taking a wake-up start, posted all their finds in front of the player and… Apparently, they did not decide to come up with something new. The atmosphere of Hong Kong militants, of course, is excellent, but when it is poured by a continuous flow, not diluted, it is… Tires.

Arms Arsenal does not give reasons for admiration: gun, automatic, shotgun, assault rifles and grenade launcher. Standard militant set. Only prize paper birds delight, which make it possible to drink drawings, videos and models for the network game. Unfortunately, trying to try their strength against players at the time of writing the article it was impossible due to the lack of rivals on servers.

It remains to look for consolation in the chart. The developers with the mind used the Unreal Engine Graphic Engine 3.0, and the picture looks excellent. The main thing is not to pay attention to sprites and a very strange way of running – Tequila Inspector moves somehow too smart. Optimization, by the way, at the proper level, on the middle Stranglehold system in high resolution goes almost without problems.

Chinese poultry

When the automotive queues and the Yen Inspector Family will be safe, will remain to be drawing and draw conclusions. Game process incredibly entertainment. Mad shootouts with dozens of opponents, jumping with a coup from the walls, riding a trolley, the destruction of everything and all that scatter in dust columns, the collapsed dinosaurs skeletons… The developers managed to transfer the atmosphere of John Wu films on monitors. Yes, this is the same Tequila inspector.

But it cannot boast of anything else. Yes, tricks Tekyla inspectors, total destruction and shootouts in slow motion look great. But the level of level fails, the scenery changes, and we like crazy shooting hundreds of enemies – and nothing happens. Maps, despite the different entourage, on the design suspiciously the same – the hall, two tiers, dinosaur / nephite dragon / something else in the middle.

Bosses are killed by monotonous shooting. No ingenious tactics, such as, for example, was in Lost Planet – only an incessant pallet for ten minutes. Somewhere to the middle of the game you start to get tired, it becomes boring. There are no new tricks, game situations are repeated, only the Chinese are becoming more and more.

Still, it is interesting that the budget of twenty-five million dollars was spent? GEARS OF WAR with the same engine, better graphics and interesting game mechanics, with an aggressive advertising campaign cost a much more modest amount.
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