(Credit:
Midway)
We've seen games based on movies and movies based on games, but less common is a game that serves as a sequel to a movie, bringing together the director and star for a reunion in the digital realm. Director John Woo and actor Chow Yun Fat have both contributed to this pseudo sequel to the 1990 international hit Hard Boiled, which itself inspired pretty much every game where a character leaps through the air with a blazing pistol in each hand.
Similar to games such as Max Payne, Stranglehold follows Chow Yun Fat's police inspector on the trail of bad guys up to some forgettable evil plot. It's really all just an excuse to send the digital version of the actor flying through the air in slow motion, mowing down hundreds of nearly identical enemies over and over again.
(Credit:
Midway)
Deep thinking this is not, but the slo-mo bullet ballet is fun, even repeated ad nauseam, and the next-gen graphics (we played the Xbox 360 version of the game) looked impressive, especially the game's star, whom the development team flew to Hong Kong for a body scan and to record voice-overs.
To further cement the move/game connection, there will be a limited collector's edition of the game for the PlayStation 3, which will include a full Blu-ray version of the original film (the rights for which had to be chased down around the world, before publisher Midway finally found they were recently acquired by the Weinstein brothers). Look for it on PS3 and Xbox 360 in September.
(Credit:
Midway)
It's not the most auspicious start to a game's marketing plan when the publisher tells you that it hopes to get some runoff sales from the 800lb. gorilla that is Halo 3. Still, it's not like there isn't room for another sci-fi-themed first-person shooter, but the Area 51 brand name has been squandered on a series of dated arcade light-gun games and forgettable console shooters over the years; clearly it's not going to pose much of a sales threat to Master Chief and company this September.
And yet, on maybe the second or third hands-on look we had with Midway's BlackSite over the past months, the game suddenly started to fall into place, and Halo comparisons aside, seemed to have the makings of a first-rate action title.
(Credit:
Midway)
It's a stripped-down squad-based shooter, which basically means two other computer-controlled soldiers follow you around for most of the game, and all the genre cliches are there, from abandoned military bases to giant boss-level monsters. But instead of a throwaway story, the plot is surprisingly subversive, mixing in topics from the war in Iraq to unethical government experiments. Some members of the team worked on politically minded games like Deus Ex, and we were pleasantly surprised to find some actual thought and meaning behind the gunplay. Look for it on Xbox 360, PC, and PS3 in September.
The spring thaw has begun, and with that, video game publishers make their annual pilgrimages out to the East Coast to show off the latest builds of upcoming games. We got a chance to get hands-on with several high-profile titles (and some fairly obscure ones) that are sure to eat up many hours of your leisure time later this year.
John Woo's Stranglehold, from Midway, is a buzz-heavy game, bringing together the talents of not just the famed Hong Kong director, but also his action star muse Chow Yun-Fat. It's full of HK-style slow-motion gunfights and is reminiscent, in a good way, of the cult hit action game, Max Payne. The game is coming out for Xbox 360, PC, and PS3 sometime in the second half of 2007.
Unreal Tournament III
(Credit: Midway)Unreal Tournament, also from Midway, is a multiplayer series historically responsible for eating up many hours of productivity in offices around the country. The most recent installments have fallen off the map somewhat, but after playing a few rounds of capture the flag in the upcoming Unreal Tournament III, we could see this catching on as the new workplace time-waster. We liked the updated graphics and weapons--although the game relied a little too heavily on vehicles, instead of traditional first-person-shooter tactics. UT3 hits PC and Xbox 360 later in 2007.
Escape From Bug Island
(Credit: Eidos)We've previously nominated Earth Defense Force 2017 as the most disturbing video game ever, on account of its man-vs.-giant-bugs scenario. There might be a new contender for the top spot now that we've played Escape from Bug Island. The whimsical title almost sounds like a kid game, but this is far from it. Instead, it's a Resident Evil-style horror game for the Wii, pitting the world's most unlucky tourist against an island of killer bugs of all shapes and sizes. Something has definitely been lost in the translation, but it could be campy fun if you're not too creeped out. This Japanese import should be out for the Wii sometime this spring.
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