Grab yourself a shot glass and pull up a stool. It's Tequila Time.
Action game fanatics will definitely tell you of a game that inspired many action games after it, and that would be Max Payne. A major gameplay mechanic of Stranglehold is Tequila Time, which works similar to Max Payne's time-slowing Bullet Time. Stranglehold adds its own take to Bullet Time by allowing Tequila to use it while sliding across tables, riding beverage carts down hallways, running up and down rails, and swinging from lanterns. Tequila Time is also activated every time he dives with an enemy in sight, or it can be toggled manually at any time. Tequila Time is finite, but it regenerates after you stop using it.
Aside from merely slowing down time and shooting enemies, there is also a Style Points system. You get Style Points by shooting enemies in Tequila Time, but they accumulate quicker if you're using the environment around you, such as firing from a zip line. You'll also gain chains by killing multiple enemies one after another. Style Points are essential, because they fuel a critical component of Stranglehold's gameplay: Tequila Bombs.
Tequila Bombs are special actions that Tequila can pull off. There are four tiers of moves, each requiring more energy than the one before it. The starting tier is Heal, which replenishes a bit of his health. Just so you know, this isn't a "hide behind cover until my health generates" game. You'll need to hunt for health packs when your life is low, so using Heal improves the odds of you making it to another health pack. The second tier is Precision Aim, which slows down time and lets you zoom in for a one shot kill. The third tier is Barrage, which makes Tequila momentarily invincible and lets him shoot a continuous stream of unlimited ammo. The final tier is Spin. Once you hit Spin, the game then goes into a cut scene of sorts and shows Tequila spinning around, guns blazing, killing every opponent in the room.
You're going to need to use Tequila Bombs frequently, because the game is unforgiving in some parts. You are thrown so many enemies to fight, and are frequently flanked and surprised by enemies that spawn out of doors right behind you. There are the cliche explosive barrels to send enemies flying, but there are other destructible objects to use, such as shooting down signs and platforms of heavy rocks. In fact, so much in each level is destructible, it also unfortunately includes your cover. Stay behind something for too long, and it will be shot to splinters.
The game has a cool feature called Stand Offs. In these Stand Offs, you're pitted up against a number of enemies and then you'll shoot them one by one in slow motion. When they fire at you, you can use the left stick to dodge left or right, and the right stick to aim the cursor. If there are explosive objects behind the enemies, shoot them for an easy kill. Stand Offs are a great way to clear out a group of enemies before you even engage them in real time.
Where Stranglehold falters is in the controls department
The left trigger is used to make Tequila dive and activate Tequila Time, but it seems to fail when the action really gets hairy. For instance, clicking on the left stick makes him crouch, and he cannot dive from that position. It's far too easy to accidentally make him crouch, thus he won't be able to dive when you really need him to. Also, he can peek around corners and shoot enemies, but the game doesn't allow him to peek all the way around. The same goes for when he's running up or down rails. In such intense action, you really need to be able to shoot anything you can see.
Stranglehold, being a 2007 game, has shown its age when it comes to the visuals. This isn't to say it's an ugly game, but you can definitely tell the textures and character and environmental objects could have used a lot more polish. What the game excels at, though, is portraying all the debris and chaos of a gun fight. Wood splinters everywhere; glass shards are as plentiful as rain drops in a hurricane; concrete pillars are reduced to rubble in seconds. The game also makes excellent use of the Havok physics engine, and applies wonderful rag doll physics to the enemies to make them react realistically as possible to getting shot in different parts of their bodies.
For an action game to really suck you in, the audio has to be top notch, and for the most part, Stranglehold does well. Firearms are constantly ablaze, and you can make out exactly what kind of gun is being fired at you. The concussive blasts from explosive barrels have a very satisfying boom to them. The sound effects of objects being chipped away also heightens the danger around you. The music is great, as it compliments the intense action of the game, but the voice acting unfortunately doesn't hold up well. Chow Yun-Fat of course voices Tequila, but John Woo didn't really seem to coach him very well. Tequila's character is outperformed by the rest of the game's cast just about every time.
Stranglehold is not a deep action game, a refined action game, nor even a long action game. It's just a fun action game that puts its own spin on slow motion gunplay to continue the story of Hard Boiled. Even then, the story isn't all the engrossing, but it serves as a medium to allow you to kill hundreds of enemies in very cool ways. It would difficult to recommend the title at full price back in 2007, and it's impossible to do so today. For what Stranglehold offers, the perfect price would be at about 15 dollars. If you love John Woo and have 15 bucks in your wallet, go out and get Stranglehold.