Sold to 1 million copies for the moment, Sifu is a title that draws its essence from the philosophy of Chinese martial arts, offering a successful transcription of the fundamentals specific to the practice of kung fu in particular. An intelligent resonance with films of the genre, winks abound. Moreover, by being a video game, the experience is intended to be more sensitive, more tangible, unlike the spectator of a film who is ultimately passive. Stranglehold, which interests us here, is also a title which knew how to take source in a philosophy to bring closer to the martial arts. In this case, the films of John Woo. The game appropriates the essence of this cinema to transpose it into its gameplay and thus allow players to be closer to the hero incarnate. In addition, since the release of the title on PC in 2019, sales have ended up reaching one million.
Stranglehold is a third-person shooter created by John Woo himself, developed through Tiger Hill Entertainment and published by Midway. The particularity of the work, beyond the presence of the filmmaker at the helm, is that it is a sequel to the 1992 film directed by Woo, Hard Boiled. A muscular thriller that gives pride of place to supercharged and stylized action, with a lot of Bullet-Time effect and improbable choreography. Action sequences that make up 70% of the entire film. Hard Boiled features actor Chow Yun-fat as cop Tequila Yuen. A legendary actor and customary in the works of John Woo, who will lend his features and his voice here for the needs of the game.
Foolproof
To understand John Woo’s proposal with Stranglehold, you must first briefly recall who the gentleman is. He is an important Hong Kong filmmaker, whose legend was built in 1986 with a film co-directed with Tsui Hark, A Better Tomorrow (Le Syndicat du Crime in French version). A major work, which made Chow Yun-fat known, making him a badass hero figure. A visceral and violent film, but not without a strong dose of cool and style, which will have a definite influence internationally. So much so that the Hong Kong gangsters of the late 80s were strongly inspired by the clothing style of the characters in the film. Dark glasses and long trench coats. A bit like the mafia who took over the language and mannerisms of the figures of the Godfather.
With this work, in addition to others like The Killer, usually starring Chow Yun-fat, John Woo will revolutionize cinema and the way action is filmed. It was during this period that many violent thrillers emerged that would mark several generations. Coupled with his sidekick Chow Yun-fat, the two men would popularize Bullet-Time, Mexican standoffs and the use of two guns in popular culture. Matrix or the cinema of Quentin Tarantino clearly pay homage to it. On the video game side, recently My Friend Pedro seems to reclaim all the codes inaugurated by Woo. But it’s obviously Max Payne who remains the most worthy representative, in addition to being the first. In 2007 it is Stranglehold which, logically, will in turn be inspired by the Remedy license to build its gameplay. The circle is complete.
However, the two works are ultimately quite divergent in their intentions. Stranglehold necessarily bears much more of the filmmaker’s touch, in addition to enjoying the presence of Chow Yun-fat. Having played several characters with all this same martial affiliation in the handling of guns, the actor supports the ambitions of the studios. It is above all a summary of the filmmaker’s filmography. The approach to the action would clearly not have gone wrong in a Devil May Cry. While Max Payne, more narrative, will really use these codes, and many others, to build its own identity, bathed above all in film noir.
The Crime Syndicate
With his technical experience and his mastery of gunfight scenes in Hard Boiled, John Woo apparently wanted to infuse all this craziness and creativity into Stranglehold. Probably with the desire to make the experience more visceral and concrete for spectators who are now players. Any fan has already imagined himself in the skin of Chow Yun-fat on the big screen, now it is possible, all things considered, to embody him, to stage his own action sequences. After the release of Psi-Ops: The Mindgate ConspiracyMidway wanted to set up a title based on an existing license, but not necessarily video game.
A connection with John Woo will be quickly made. It must be said that the latter had co-created Tyger Hill Entertainment studios in 2003. Stranglehold, will then become the studio’s first game, in addition to inaugurating the Unreal Engine 3 for Midway. By choosing to offer a sequel to his film featuring the character of Tequila Yuen, Woo immediately signaled his intentions. To present a supercharged video game capable of providing as much enjoyment in the gameplay as its film could offer visually. The development team of about fifty individuals had to stuff themselves with the filmmaker’s filmography in order to grasp its essence, to understand how to imitate his cinematographic style. This will highlight the need to focus on the precision and fluidity of the hero’s movements, as well as the realization of destructible environments.
In view of the colossal work to be done, knowing in addition that the Unreal Engine 3 was still in development at this time, the developers had to redouble their efforts, to the point of making modifications to the game engine. Massive D, a technology allowing almost complete destruction of decorations. We will also note the use of localized damage, in order to have enemies who react differently depending on the area affected. This crystallizes a signature of the filmmaker who abuses slow motion to accentuate the expression of pain of the victims. Stranglehold also contains advertisements for real products. In question, a partnership between the publisher and an advertising agency. However, this brings the game a little closer to the film it follows. Midway would also be responsible for the multiplayer mode that it would have imposed, encroaching on the working time allocated to the single-player campaign. For information, according to the words of the European marketing director, the production costs would amount to 30 million dollars.
The killer
Shooting game, Stranglehold slips us into the skin of the cop with muscular methods, Tequila Yuen. During the adventure which is divided into seven chapters, you will have to fight gangsters from Hong Kong to Chicago. Linear and basic in its structure, the game maintains an obvious relationship with the Beat’Em All. With levels where you will have to defeat hordes of enemies and some bosses by using your skills and multiplying the stylish deaths. To help you, you have a panel of movements derived from those of the films, based on bouncing on the walls, sliding on railings, slides of all kinds. It is even possible to swing on chandeliers. Of course various weapons will enrich the whole. These situations will systematically trigger a Bullet-Time effect. The importance of the latter is such that the game design was entirely based around this mechanic.
The visual richness of the environments refers to certain iconic places in John Woo’s films, but they shine above all for the number of destructible elements that compose them. What’s more, in addition to your normal skills you will unlock four skills over the course of the adventure. One allows you to heal yourself, another gives access to a precision shot, while the last two are more offensive. The first will serve as fury mode, granting you unlimited ammunition and temporary invisibility in order to explode enemies and scenery at your leisure. The second, a signature movement of the films, the spinning attack. Last resort that will eliminate all nearby enemies.
Although the proposed experience is rather short, with its rating system at the end of the level and its difficulty modes, the software invites replayability. Unfortunately, the desire to return to it is not as present as in other titles structured in the same way. Blame it on a lack of relevant content to unlock and gameplay that could have been even more in-depth. If the experience is truly exhilarating and faithful to the films of John Woo, it is also thanks to the care given to the animations and the legendary class of our hero. But for the time being, from a technical point of view, the possibilities of action in games are much greater, which is why we began to dream of a new opus in the line of Stranglehold.
Why would we want a return?
A return but not necessarily a sequel, let alone a remake. What we want is another game steeped in the style of John Woo, with a Chow Yun-fat as a playable character of course. The software has made it possible to close the circle of influence with Max Payne and in the absence of the latter for a long time, we want a new standard bearer of inflated action in Bullet-Time. We want some kind of Stranglehold who would fully assume his kinship at Beat’Em All. Why not borrow some elements from a DMC in order to guarantee an ambitious experience that is much richer in gameplay possibilities?
On today’s consoles, it is totally possible to have larger environments, even better arranged and which would multiply the interactions with the scenery. Not to mention the destruction part which could take on a whole new dimension. As well as the so marked staging of the game. The graphic evolution over the past 15 years would bring the experience a little closer to that of the cinema. We would like a work calibrated for the time, with deep gameplay mechanics. No doubt, given John Woo’s initial ambitions and intentions, the game came too soon. And this despite a convincing experience at the time.
But like a Max Payne 3, if we compare it to its predecessors, a new game inspired by the cinema of John Woo could take on another dimension and, perhaps, seriously titillate the sensations transmitted by the films. Basically, it’s a cross between Stranglehold, DMC and My Friend Pedro that looms in our heads. In this way the addictive dimension, which is somewhat lacking in the title of Midway, has a way of being present. Even the approach operated by Sifu, by reworking it, could make sense in an experiment of the genre. There are inspirations to be taken here and there. Then, there are technically few games that build their game design around an effect like Bullet-Time. Consequently, the sensations conveyed by this mechanism are difficult to find at present. However, in playful terms, we nevertheless have one of the most enjoyable mechanics.