A thing of beauty but not without it's flaws
Graphically, John Woo’s Stranglehold is a thing of beauty… in places. Given that we’re seeing the Unreal Engine 3 at work and given the hype we’ve been hearing about it, you’d expect it to look brilliant and, in places, it is. Before a lot of missions get going you often get a fly-by of the level and the amount of detail and sheer size and complexity of some of the levels is bloody impressive.I have to say that graphically, John Woo’s Stranglehold is one of the best looking shooters out right now but at the same time that’s tempered by the fact that it’s not that far ahead of similar games we’ve seen before. Whilst Half Life 2 has had splintering wood that reacts in a physically correct manner, John Woo’s Stranglehold does it a bit better… it’s more believable. And it’s not just bits of wood that can be broken. You can fire on pretty much everything and it’ll break and shatter. Most often in the way you’d expect… but then these realistic reactions only serve to highlight some of the engine’s shortcomings.
Click for larger imageAnd this is where the Unreal Engine 3 suffers somewhat. Because everything else is so good, the textures, the detail, the speed at which the game runs even when all hell is breaking loose… all of that only shows up errors which really shouldn’t be there. The clipping is a big one, with the barrels of guns from hiding enemies poking out through the corner of a wall… Or shadows from enemies on the floor above you being drawn on the same level you’re on… giving you a big clue as to where they’re hiding.
There are other gameplay problems too, which only serve to frustrate, all the more so because if they’d been sorted out you just know you’d be having more fun. Chief amongst these is the context sensitive movement. Approach a table and Tequila will automatically slide over it which is fine if you’re in a fight but if you’re just exploring, looking for hidden extras, it’s a pain.
Click for larger imageWorse, and often life-threatening in the game is the ‘Wall Move’, known as taking cover to the rest of us. The idea here is to hide behind a handy pillar and lean out to take pot-shots at the enemy… with the obligatory ‘Tequila Time’ slow motion kicking in when a baddie is in your crosshairs. The problem is, John Woo’s Stranglehold decides for you where you can take cover and where you can’t and there’s little reasoning that I can see as to why this pillar is ok for cover when the identical one next to it isn’t.
Often, you’ll be in a firefight with enemies coming at you from all directions and here the context sensitive controls can get in the way. You want to dive and shoot to top up your Tequila Juice but you brush past a table and end up sliding over it… fine, you still get the style kill but now you’re on the wrong side of the table from the health kit your were heading for. Or you’ve jumped onto the railing and run along, blazing away in slow motion with bad guys dropping all around you, but now you want to get off and only once you’ve hammered that space bar into mush will John Woo’s Stranglehold let Tequila jump off onto the floor.
Click for larger imageWhat I’m basically saying is that whilst context sensitive controls are all well and good, limiting John Woo’s Stranglehold to just a few keys, especially on the PC where I have dozens of keys in easy reach, has taken away the flexibility of control leaving me slapping myself with the mouse in frustration as I inadvertently run along a rail straight into a murderous crossfire… again.