Stranglehold Demo

[EvilBoris]

Maybe it was just me but i only just found the twin sub machine guns on like my 10th play thru of the demo, lol they rip everything to shreds.

One time when I played through, those were golden SMGs

[MyDogSkip]

Can someone do a Spoiler to say where the SMGs are please? I cant find them

[Dezm0nd]

I didn't it a bad demo at all, it played quite good but i often felt confused getting shot at just so I could run up a banister or something. The areas feel too tight to be running up and down all these rails and jumping on trolleys etc.

I was impressed by the size of the demo though, it gave you a real taster of whats to come, and I even noticed some unlockables in a demo!

I probably wont buy it. just rent it but i was surprised to see there's multiplayer.

[MJ]

Can someone do a Spoiler to say where the SMGs are please? I cant find them

I haven't found gold SMGs but have found the Golden Guns (they look a bit like Desert Eagles). They're in a room with a broken door sometime after you get the shotguns, I just blasted it open with the shottie but never used them.

[crocky-chocky]

This was kinda fun in places, I enjoy shooting flashing bits of scenery for mass goon wasteage.

But I just couldn't get past how ridiculous the animation looked. Sliding down bannisters just looks crap, there's no sense of weight or balance...the environment just moves around Tequila while he squats in the middle of the screen. It looks equally daft when he slides across tables, which is all the bloody time.

The environments were nice, but the characters look duff thanks to billions of conflicting lighting effects giving them some sort of skin disease.

Don't get me wrong, twas fun...just not nearly as next-gen as I figured it would be. Anyone notice John Woo behind the bar at the end?

[Uli]

I played this after getting home from the pub last night, and didn't think much of it. Having to play with one eye closed because I couldn't focus perhaps didn't help. Will try again...

Pete, i just fear that getting rid of alcohol doesn't help you at all with this demo

i still wonder what the devs did the last 12 months because the restaurant shootout demo from last years GC left a much better impression with me.

[EvilBoris]

Can someone do a Spoiler to say where the SMGs are please? I cant find them

In the outside area before you go into the very last cutscene, to the left there are so destroyable fences.
Shame you don't get to use them on anyone.

[Concept]

I think the lighting issues on the characters are UE3 specific. It seems to struggle with flickering self-shadowing. It's also noticeable on Mass Effect, though not quite as in your face as GoW and Stranglehold.

Apart from that, I've been surprised people have been quite critical of Strangehold's graphics. The amount of scenery detail, use of colour and polish is high imo.

[EvilBoris]

I think they sacrificed texture detail, polygon count lighting in favour of the bizillion crates that are on screen at any one time, they could of been a little more skilful in the use of what they did have available to them

[angelx]

I enjoyed the camera use in the game, which kind of made up for the lackluster looks. It was interesting to see a game done with such flair. Kind of harks back to Code Veronica opening scene. I don't think I have seen a game since then do something so thrilling.

[Charlie]

Am I the only person who thought this was distinctly naff? I mean, enter area, kill badguys, more badguys walk in from unlikely places (streets of rage stylee) and you kill them too, rince, reload, repeat. Reminded me of Dead to Rights but not in a good way.

No, you're not the only one. I switched it off and deleted it after 5 minutes play as I found the framerate/animation unacceptable.

[Kotatsu Neko]

I think they sacrificed texture detail, polygon count lighting in favour of the bizillion crates that are on screen at any one time, they could of been a little more skilful in the use of what they did have available to them

It felt way too cluttered to me. I ended up running/sliding over stuff all the time which just looked goofy. The cover system is pretty much useless too, really clunky and fiddly to use.

Midway should have pushed this out a month or two sooner, as it's not going to stand a chance against Bioshock or Metroid 3.

[Ajay1986]

True. I loved it but i certainly wont be paying full price for it when ive Bioshock to play.

[Stuart Smith]

I have to agree with Kotatsu on this one, everything about the demo just felt overly loose and imprecise. But given that the major selling point of a game like this is the ability to shoot people in extremely stylish and precise ways, that's a pretty unforgivable problem. Even more so when you consider that (on PC at the very least), the pair of Max Payne games absolutely nailed this genre 5 years ago...

[Akira]

the most fun i've had with a game in 2007.Took a while to get use to the 'feel' of the game,but once everything starts to gel it's probally one of the best action games i've ever played.The firefights are just second to none.

John woo must be so pleased with this.Completely nailed the tequila character.