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The Official Stranglehold Thread (behold the power of Blu-Ray!)

GrayFoxPL

Member
AgentOtaku said:
hey Gray

to kick up tables...go up to one and just hit L2

...and as far as "bad sound" is concerned, thats the fault of the actual PS3 demo itself. They essentially released a demo with the sound fucked up....don't expect it to sound muffled and "downsampled" in the final retail

and yeah, I agree with you that alotta aspects of the world should have more "weight" to them, but what can ya do ya know (^__^)

Oh just that? I mashed L2 on everything but somehow I still missed it :lol.

Yeah, I hope the crappy sound is only in demo.

I'm still impressed by the game. The engine can do biggest 'Saigon' I saw on next gen.

Oh and covering behind pillar and Chow's face with grinding teeth - PRICELESS. Just like the real Chow Yun Fat :D.
 
hot damn!

Patrick finally updated his blog

Stranglehold Blog said:
Hi guys,

First off, we are aware of the audio problem in the PS3 demo. The problem appears to only occur if your PS3 is set to use the Digital Out (Optical) setting for audio output. We’re all over the problem, and it will definitely be fixed in the full retail version of the game. And I’m told the audio quality will improve across the board as well.
And to answer Havik and Nick, no the secret in the PS3 demo is not the golden gun. Those were in the 360 version too. But since y’all haven’t found it yet, here’s a hint. The secret is located in the staircase area near the start of the demo. Happy hunting!

Cheers,
Patrick

oh and also, he updated his blog in regards to how Multiplayer works...i'm gonna threw on the main OP as well

Stranglehold Blog said:
Stranglehold Multiplayer: A Whirlwind of Bullets

Ok guys, here’s the long-promised explanation of Stranglehold’s multiplayer.

The most important thing to know is that everything in the singleplayer game is in multiplayer. Dual-wielding, sliding down banisters, Massive Destructibility, diving, swinging on chandeliers, slow-mo, Precision Aim, Barrage, Spin Attack… It’s all there. Of course we had to tweak it all since in multiplayer there are a bunch of super badasses flying around the levels instead of just one, but we did it. We got it all in.

So how does it all work? First off there are two game-modes: deathmatch and team deathmatch. You either try to kill all of the other players in the level, or you work with your teammates to kill all of the players on the other team. Stranglehold is an all out action-fest, and we didn’t want to mess with that basic formula in multiplayer. We let you pick the skins and the teams – so you can do a free-for-all 6 player battle, a classic 3-on-3 cops vs. triads match, or you can go nuts and play a 5-on-1 Tequilas vs. John Woo (yes, Woo is an unlockable skin).

Just like in the singleplayer game, the more stylishly you kill an enemy, the more style points you get – which means the more quickly you fill up the Tequila Bomb Meter. Since it takes a few shots to take out another player, and since someone else can come by and steal your kill, we give you a little bit of style juice each time you damage another player. That way you always get something for slinging bullets at your foes. But the big style points are for kills.

But wait? Wouldn’t that totally unbalance the game, since players who are winning are getting rewarded with the ability to do even more devastating attacks? Well, you’d think that. But we combat that with two simple mechanics. The first is that we have the origami crane pickups in the levels, which are mostly placed in tricky locations you have to use the environment to reach. Each crane gives you 1/4 of your T-Bomb bar, so you grab a couple of those bad-boys and you’re good to go. And secondly, we rebalanced the Tequila Bombs for multiplayer to give each one a really unique personality.

Precision Aim is still a one-shot kill, but unlike singleplayer, you can be damaged when you enter PA. Once you take aim you’re a sitting duck, so you only want to use it when you think no one is looking. Or if you’re super skilled you can attempt the quick-draw Precision Aim shot. But you have to be super fast and super accurate to pull it off. It’s especially unnerving to see someone across the level enter the Precision Aim stance (you know, the one from the end of Hard-Boiled) – it’s the universal sign to dive into cover.

Barrage still gives you unlimited ammo and invulnerability. Barrage is great if you catch someone in a tight corridor. Shotgun barrage is especially devastating, since it lets you project this huge wall of pain out in front of you. But I personally prefer the rocket barrage – where you fire an ungodly number of rockets into a group of otherwise distracted enemies. Welcome to boom-town, population: you.

And the Spin… well the spin will still clear a room, but it only takes out enemies that you can see and are roughly on the same level as you. So if you’re in a small little room, the only foe you’ll take out with a spin is the one that walks right up to you. But if you venture out into the middle of one of the levels and spin, you have a chance of racking up four or five kills. Of course, the middle of the room is always a dangerous place in Stranglehold, so there’s a nice bit of risk/reward there.

Well what about slow-motion? How did we make Tequila-Time work and be fun in multiplayer? Well, we worked really hard on it. When you start a match everyone’s Tequila-Time bar is empty. It slowly rises, and only when it’s totally full can you enter Tequila-Time. When you die it goes back down to empty, so slow-mo is a reward for players who stay alive for awhile. When you enter Tequila-Time everything in the world slows down – players, bullets, chucks of the environment that you’ve blown up – everything. If you engaged TT, you’re slowed down just a bit, but not quite as much as everyone else. It gives you an advantage over your foes, which you can use to dodge bullets or unload in someone’s face.

When Tequila-Time is engaged it only lasts for a moment. It’s just enough time to pull off a kill or two. If you accidentally engage TT you can cancel out of it, but your bar won’t be full anymore and you’ll have to wait for a bit to engage it again. Also important: we never slow down the camera, so you can still swing your camera around to see who’s shooting at you and pop off a few rounds. And just because you’re the one that entered TT, it doesn’t mean you’re going to win the fire-fight. Plenty of times someone else will come out the victor, just because he used the right weapon at the right time.

We did all this to keep players from spamming slow-mo, which would get really annoying. Instead it’s that trump card you can play right when you need it, making it act a little like a fourth Tequila Bomb.

Ok that’s enough for one blog post. I’m sure you guys will have questions, even those who have been playing it on XBL. :)

Patrick Curry
Senior Game Designer

UPDATE: ...okay nevermind, for some reason I can't edit my own first OP
...is there some sort of limit or time threshold that prevents you from eventually not being to edit posts anymore?....perhaps the OP is just screwed or something...oh well
 

GrayFoxPL

Member
AgentOtaku said:
hot damn!

Patrick finally updated his blog



oh and also, he updated his blog in regards to how Multiplayer works...i'm gonna threw on the main OP as well



UPDATE: ...okay nevermind, for some reason I can't edit my own first OP
...is there some sort of limit or time threshold that prevents you from eventually not being to edit posts anymore?....perhaps the OP is just screwed or something...oh well

Fanfuckingtastic!

Seems they really well thought over multiplayer.

Now I'll have to sell my body and buy the game.

If I wait then later online community will not exist. Well, I hope it will, but I don't believe it.
 

Dorfdad

Gold Member
Man Im not sure where to start seems GAF is all hyped over this game, ut playing the demo for both the PS3 and 360 Im not a fan at all.

From the horrible AI displayed, just standing still while they shoot and I shoot them, to the poor character animations (stiff) to the craptastic sliding over objects I get what they are trying to showcase but the game just does not fill the void from me at all.. Im sure the Gaffers out there will love it as you all tend to like some crazy games that are not mainstream but Ill pass on this addition to the GAF classics list..
 
Finally!

found the secret that the devs were talking about hidden in the demo

...its the M249 SAW, and its located around the first long set of stairs you slide down...specifically a ledge to the right at the base of the stairs... you have to dive to get to it
 

painey

Member
I cannot even fathom the leap in difficulty..its farcical. It started off so easy that you could probably run through the levels without firing, i beat the first two levels with ease, then all of a sudden level 3 kicks you in the arse with much harder enemies, then i finally got past after about 5 retries and boom level 4 is as overpowered as the last half of level 3. Everything seems to be stacked against you.. the cover falls to pieces in seconds as if it was polystyrene, not concrete, your ammo limit is very low, especially as you shoot through entire clips in seconds and tequilla time seems to regenerate so slowly. I dont want to drop to casual difficulty because its no fun, but dying every time you hit a new checkpoint is about as fun as a tumor.
 

Gigglepoo

Member
Wow, this game is ridiculously stupid. I can't believe someone built an entire game around jumping and shooting in slow motion. Seriously, why was this green lighted? Why did Woo and Fat think this would make for a good video game? Fun at times, but exceptionally stupid.
 

Jirotrom

Member
Gigglepoo said:
Wow, this game is ridiculously stupid. I can't believe someone built an entire game around jumping and shooting in slow motion. Seriously, why was this green lighted? Why did Woo and Fat think this would make for a good video game? Fun at times, but exceptionally stupid.
it was green-lighted because its fun and actually a good game. It has its flaws but its a fun game.

painey said:
I cannot even fathom the leap in difficulty..its farcical. It started off so easy that you could probably run through the levels without firing, i beat the first two levels with ease, then all of a sudden level 3 kicks you in the arse with much harder enemies, then i finally got past after about 5 retries and boom level 4 is as overpowered as the last half of level 3. Everything seems to be stacked against you.. the cover falls to pieces in seconds as if it was polystyrene, not concrete, your ammo limit is very low, especially as you shoot through entire clips in seconds and tequilla time seems to regenerate so slowly. I dont want to drop to casual difficulty because its no fun, but dying every time you hit a new checkpoint is about as fun as a tumor.
I beat this game on hard but was stuck in the early casino level for about 3 hours :lol :lol :lol
 
you guys hate'n on this game.. this game is your old school shoot'em up type game.. reminds me of house of the dead in some aspects how the enemy just pop's out on ya,etc.. i really am having fun with it.

Everyone has their own tastes..i can see how it may seem repedative and all but i like games like this once in a while. it has that old school arcade high action feel to it and i dig that.. its cheesy..i will admit but i like a game like that where i can just let loose lol
 

Barakov

Member
Gigglepoo said:
Wow, this game is ridiculously stupid. I can't believe someone built an entire game around jumping and shooting in slow motion. Seriously, why was this green lighted? Why did Woo and Fat think this would make for a good video game? Fun at times, but exceptionally stupid.

Sometimes dumb shit is fun. Max Payne 1 and 2 proved that.......those that liked it anyway.
 
Gigglepoo said:
Wow, this game is ridiculously stupid. I can't believe someone built an entire game around jumping and shooting in slow motion. Seriously, why was this green lighted? Why did Woo and Fat think this would make for a good video game? Fun at times, but exceptionally stupid.

wow....your amazing :lol
 

painey

Member
how did this game get so shit so quick?! Level 4 boss fight.. entire level filled with laser trip mines, die and have to start again. Ive hit two now through no fault of my own, im getting really, really pissed off with this game now.
 

dakiparu

Member
painey said:
how did this game get so shit so quick?! Level 4 boss fight.. entire level filled with laser trip mines, die and have to start again. Ive hit two now through no fault of my own, im getting really, really pissed off with this game now.

I have beaten the game at hard difficulty and I can tell you there is always a good strategy for each situation. In the level with the laser mines you have to be careful to destroy the environmental objects since the debris can be moved when you walk into them or shot at them. My strategy was to kill as many enemies as possible even from distance and shoot at debris to move them towards the laser rays. This way you can open your path without having anyone shooting at you. Consider most weapons respawn after a while so do not worry if you finish your ammos.
When you arrive at the boss battle simply go to the first floor to get the heavy machine gun and repeatedly enter barrage mode to finish him quickly!:D
 

Jirotrom

Member
painey said:
how did this game get so shit so quick?! Level 4 boss fight.. entire level filled with laser trip mines, die and have to start again. Ive hit two now through no fault of my own, im getting really, really pissed off with this game now.
I just don't think you have it man, this game aint for you.
 

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
The levels are so horribly designed and the game is unbelievably short. I don't see how I can recommend a purchase to anyone. This game is definite rental.
 

icechai

Member
Barakov said:
Sometimes dumb shit is fun. Max Payne 1 and 2 proved that.......those that liked it anyway.

But Max Payne relied less on slo-mo than this game and it also had the Noir feel (which in my opinion was executed better than the revisit to HK Blood Opera like in this game). Also modding in Max Payne 1 & 2 was ridiculously awesome (kungfu mod anyone?)
 

McBacon

SHOOTY McRAD DICK
The game has a great engine and a sweet skill system, but all it counts for is one or two achievements and a usless grade at the end of the level.

Why not score-attacks, multiplayer HORSE like Tony Hawks and the like, make a big deal of the creativity and style system that is so strong in both Stranglehold AND Hard Boiled; a waste, but a fun game.
 

GameGamer

Member
I really disliked the first half of the game.

But really liked the last half.

Level design was the biggest flaw IMO.

No strategy needed at all, always someone spawning out of few.

I don't mind getting mass rushed, but let me have something other than a pretty box to fight in.

The climbing and running on stuff could have been cut out totally.

I would have rather had a quality cover system like Rainbow Vegas.

I greatly look forward to Stranglehold 2.
 

Uncle AJ

Member
Stranglehold Blog said:
First off, we are aware of the audio problem in the PS3 demo. The problem appears to only occur if your PS3 is set to use the Digital Out (Optical) setting for audio output.

Erm... mine has been set to "Audio Input Connector / SCART / AV MULTI" this whole time, and the demo still sounds muffled as hell.

This totally blows... can't get the 360 version now because mine red-ringed, and I need to wait to see if the audio issues will be fixed or not before pre-ordering the collector's edition on PS3 (since those will be in short quantity apparently).
 

Gigglepoo

Member
Jirotrom said:
it was green-lighted because its fun and actually a good game. It has its flaws but its a fun game.

Well, yeah, games are fun though. But this is a pretty lousy game. Cluttered level design, poor implementation of the sliding technique, repetitve battles, stupid AI, uncontrollable cinemas in the middle of combat and pointless "find and destroy" quests. Fun? Sure, it's a video game and stuff blows up. Good game? Not even close.

Granted, I should have expected this from the Psi Ops team. I loved that game, but it has the same problems as Stranglehold. Its saving grace was a fantastic combat mechanic. Shooting in slo motion is not as fun as picking people up with the power of your mind. Therefore, the other problems are much more pressing.

AgentOtaku said:
wow....your amazing :lol

I have no idea what this is in reference to but... thanks!
 

Erebus

Member
Just a quick question:

I have a PAL/EU PS3 and I'm thinking of importing the Special Edition of Stranglehold from US (the one that comes with the Hard-Boiled movie).

The question is will the movie play with my PS3? (games are region free but Blu-Ray movies aren't as far as I know)
 

bounchfx

Member
beat the first three levels.. (out of 7), it's fun, but it is extremely repetitive and gets old pretty fast... the destructible environments are cool.. but the online multiplayer is terrible. It was hard just even finding a match.. then the match itself.. just not very fun.
 

Deacan

9/10 NeoGAFfers don't understand statistics. The other 3/10 don't care.
Got the game today and they gave me a free copy of Hard Boiled on DVD.

Gonna give the game a whirl soon.
 

Darji

Banned
DarkUSS said:
Just a quick question:

I have a PAL/EU PS3 and I'm thinking of importing the Special Edition of Stranglehold from US (the one that comes with the Hard-Boiled movie).

The question is will the movie play with my PS3? (games are region free but Blu-Ray movies aren't as far as I know)
Dont worry. The Blu-Ray disc (with game and Movie) are totally region free. ^^
 

Meier

Member
Fairly fun little game -- beat it in an extended session which is great for me these days. I'm a bit surprised and disappointed there wasn't a subtitles option.. truly bizarre. Time to go back to GameFly in hopes of getting skate. I'm glad that beating it on Normal gives you the Casual achievement too.
 
Zanboo said:
It's upres'd, the original film sure as hell wasn't shot in HD.

Nearly all theatrical films are shot on film, it's practically "HD" by default, in fact to equate film detail in a pure film master in pixel resolution comparisons you would likely need even more than 1080p.

The main issue is if the master was a decent transfer to make copies from, why do you think so many older movies not shot in this decade can still get HD transfers?
 

mosaic

go eat paint
Played some multi tonight... lord, that interface is balls... sit at load screen, wait, wait, see game is no longer available, another load screen, wait, wait, back to search screen.... repeat 10 times until success!

In the game itself... lag jitters... people teleporting... never actually saw animations for the tequila bombs, although definitely felt the effects. Killed a guy with a barrage once... that was nice. Laggy movements, flickering models, and lagging audio kinda sucked all the fun out. *scratches head*

And then the game ended at 10 kills because dude didn't tweak settings. Figured I'd open my own room, up the kills... only goes to 20... and nobody joined in 5 mins anyway.

I'd say we should get a GAF room going, but I'm not even sure you can keep a group together... or that anybody has the patience to acquire those achievements. 1,000 kills as Woo? That's at least 50 matches... more like 100 on average... jeez.
 

vpance

Member
Forgot that the PS3 version was delayed. If the movie turns out looking good then i'll be pleasantly surprised. The source film was known to be in pretty bad shape.
 

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
The multiplayer is amazingly bad, wow. So, so bad.

Just beat it on Hard Boiled..I think I'm done with this game. This game joins The Darkness as one of my most disappointing games this year.
 
vpance said:
Forgot that the PS3 version was delayed. If the movie turns out looking good then i'll be pleasantly surprised. The source film was known to be in pretty bad shape.

I heard that they weren't going back to the negative and doing a new transfer. I was told that they were just going to use the old transfer that they did for the Criterion Collection of "Hard Boiled".
 

itsinmyveins

Gets to pilot the crappy patrol labors
Gigglepoo said:
Well, yeah, games are fun though. But this is a pretty lousy game. Cluttered level design, poor implementation of the sliding technique, repetitve battles, stupid AI, uncontrollable cinemas in the middle of combat and pointless "find and destroy" quests. Fun? Sure, it's a video game and stuff blows up. Good game? Not even close.

Wait, what do you mean? Are you saying it's crap right through, but becomes "fun" just because it's a videogame? Ô_o
 
I really have lost the patience to playthrough it on Hard. It's very enjoyable on the easier difficulties, but Hard is just a fucking joke. I hate how you think you've cleared a room, then suddenly several other guys spawn right behind you, and then you die because you couldn't see them or react fast enough. Lame.

I'm also shocked at the complete lack of a score attack mode. And the multiplayer is terrible - I don't know why Midway even bothered with it.
 

bosx2

Banned
the demo sucks
graphics are not impressive
levels are extremely boring
movent is lame
I dont get a boner



and my biggest complain is the sound
Holy fucking shit fuck... its so horribly downsampled on ps3, that it sounds like freakn game boys sound effects
and the dev behind the 5.1 mix sucks big time, my rear speakers are way to overused
 
... I swear Sony is really starting ( I know) to piss me off with these delays. Since this morning, StrangleHold ps3 got delayed another week. Why the fuck do all these Sony gaming delays happen a day or two before their deadlines.
 

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
KingOfAllChaos said:
I really have lost the patience to playthrough it on Hard. It's very enjoyable on the easier difficulties, but Hard is just a fucking joke. I hate how you think you've cleared a room, then suddenly several other guys spawn right behind you, and then you die because you couldn't see them or react fast enough. Lame.

I'm also shocked at the complete lack of a score attack mode. And the multiplayer is terrible - I don't know why Midway even bothered with it.

Heh, don't even think about trying Hard Boiled. The last boss sequence, I died way too many times because some guy respawned behind me and I couldn't turn around fast enough to kill him. One melee hit = death.


Score attack mode would have been great. I enjoyed the time trial sessions in Max Payne 2 a lot. I remember my highest record was something like 40 minutes. That was nuts
 

chubigans

y'all should be ashamed
crazyscreenwriter said:
I heard that they weren't going back to the negative and doing a new transfer. I was told that they were just going to use the old transfer that they did for the Criterion Collection of "Hard Boiled".

I hear they did do a new HD transfer of the movie, obviously not retouched or reshapen but indeed a new 1080p transfer.
 
This game is alot of fun. Short but fun. It can be a bitch to complete some parts but overall a very well done action packed game.
 

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
HomShaBom said:
The commercial for this game make me want to punch someone in the face.

I hate how commercials are still using CG video. Even Bioshock was CG too. I guess they can't get called on it like the last gen Call of Duty commercials since graphics this gen have improved a lot. But it's still deceiving.
 
Wario64 said:
I hate how commercials are still using CG video. Even Bioshock was CG too. I guess they can't get called on it like the last gen Call of Duty commercials since graphics this gen have improved a lot. But it's still deceiving.
The Wow commercials I used to see in theaters annoyed me the most. Msde it looks like some Pixar movie
 

akihara

Member
BobTheFork said:
... I swear Sony is really starting ( I know) to piss me off with these delays. Since this morning, StrangleHold ps3 got delayed another week. Why the fuck do all these Sony gaming delays happen a day or two before their deadlines.

Wait, has it been pushed back from the 25th? that would make it Oct 2nd. Is this correct?
 

itsinmyveins

Gets to pilot the crappy patrol labors
I'm kind of enjoying this game.

There are parts which are awesome, mainly when you move forward through a bunch of corridors and can fight head on. Then you usually arrive in a larger room and have to fend of a wave of enemies. That's fine, pretty cool -- stuff gets blown away and you run on rails such.

Then three more waves of enemies arrive in that large room, shooting from every god damn direction at the same time, just pummeling you with bullets until you die without knowing what the fuck happened. That's not cool.

The boss with all those laser trip wires was some annoying shit. The shoot out scenes (those matrixish things) were fun at first, but now they're getting really hard. I have to replay them at least four or five times.

Fighting the guys in helicopters was really neat though.
 
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