PS3 Fanboy

Over at amazon.com, the price for Stranglehold Collector's Edition has been lower down to a measly $29.99. That's a savings of ten bucks from the last price drop. Oddly enough, the regular version of Stranglehold is still priced at the loftier $39.99. Doesn't really make much sense, but who cares? It's a deal!

Stranglehold has seen an almost countless number of price drops since its release. Who wants to bet when this baby'll drop down to $20. At that point, you're paying for a movie and getting a game for free.

[Via CAG]

Even though Wal*Mart just had a snafu with their pricing on a couple of other games, it seems they're still giving the green light to some pretty impressive deals. The PS3 version of Stranglehold -- the Collector's Edition, no less -- is on sale for $39.82. If you haven't played the game, this is a good chance to get it on the cheap as well as the Blu-ray of Hard Boiled. So, take advantage of it while you can. Or don't. It's your choice because we all know the heart of Wal*Mart is the consumer -- you.

We love DLC, but we're afraid to admit that this may be quite pointless. Midway has just announced that it plans on delivering a ten map update to Stranglehold. The John Woo-inspired shooter earned average reviews throughout, and failed to capture a significant online presence. We wonder: will anyone actually bother to download additional multiplayer maps to a game no one plays online? Hmm.

Best Buy is offering the Collector's Edition of Stranglehold for $20 less than its MSRP. At $50, you get a decent (but not great) game, and a decent (but not great) transfer of a terrific movie. The inclusion of Hard Boiled makes this a must for any John Woo fan, and the discounted price certainly makes it easier to swallow.

[Via CAG]

[Update: amazon.com is price matching Best Buy.]

Though Midway's Stranglehold has been out on the Xbox 360 and PC for quite some time, due to the well publicized problems with adapting the Unreal Engine to the PlayStation 3, our version has only just come out. And while it is frustrating to have such a long delay between releases, it's not all bad for once. Midway has used the time to tighten up the performance of Stranglehold on the PS3 to a very solid framerate as well as add on one of the coolest video game bonuses of all time -- a high-def re-mastering of Hard Boiled, the fantastic John Woo Hong Kong shoot-em-up that serves as the primary inspiration to the game itself.

While only the Collector's Edition of Stranglehold includes an HD copy of Hardboiled, this is one of those unusual bonuses that actually makes the game itself better. Taken on its own, Stranglehold is "just" another shooter with a story of revenge and the ability to blow the hell out of pretty much everything in the environment. Taken with the movie as well, you see a continuation of one of the greatest stories to come out of the Hong Kong action genre from the early 90s, as well as a continuation of the style and cinematography of the movie. Characters that seem flat or unnecessary suddenly become interesting and special effects that seem like simple next-gen window dressing gain added meaning.

Movies like Hard Boiled are what started the whole concept of tough guys with dual Berettas who can dive through the air backwards while taking out half a platoon of villains. It's hard to remember sometimes, but the action in games like Max Payne (as well as the bullet time in The Matrix) are direct homages to John Woo's early movies. Slow motion shooting, dive-shots, and heavily stylized combat were all traits of movies like Hard Boiled, Bullet in the Head, and The Killer, so in some ways it's surprising that it's taken this long for John Woo to just come out and make his own video game.

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This weekend, we're focusing on Midway's upcoming PS3 title Stranglehold.

Sony set a dangerous precedent with last week's PSN update (and also, a tragic mistake). We'll be expecting similar amounts of content for the US PSN and a much greater amount for the EU PSN (alright, alright -- enough moaning about the EU PSN, but honestly: we're bitter). So far this week is shaping up quite nicely now that we have confirmation of Motorstorm's Coyote Revenge update and, now, a Stranglehold demo. That's right. A demo for a game that doesn't involve balls or wheels. We're excited!

The announcement was made on the official Midway forums by the moderator "Echo77." Where do we recognise that name from? Oh yeah, he's the same fellow that started the Stranglehold region free nonsense a couple of months ago. Regardless, we're going to remain cautiously optimistic and hope for the best come Thursday.

This is coming from a long line of "is it, is it not" scenarios for John Woo's action title Stranglehold. First it was held back, then region locked, then region free, then delayed for the PS3 indefinitely (but not really). So forgive us if another delay announcement doesn't exactly spark a very violent reaction with us -- we've run this course before. This time, though, both the PC and PS3 versions of the game get held back.

While the 360 gets their white dove action on September 5th (in Europe, 14th), the PS3 has to wait until the end of September, slated now for the 25th with a vague October listing for Europe. Still, we should be getting a demo of the title over the PS Store soon, right? With all these delays, it'd be silly not to have that demo up before the game hits. Otherwise, we just might lose interest. Probably not, though, since this game looks pretty slick.

[via Joystiq]

Midway has been showing off a bunch more of their Tequila-infused shooter, Stranglehold, and GameVideos has three of the videos showing previously unseen levels. Embedded above is a video of the Garden level, showing off more wide-open environment than we've seen in previous vids. The gameplay doesn't seem to work as well in the open area as it does in the more closed off places, but still looks pretty solid. Just a little too reminiscent of Max Payne.

Hit the jump for two more videos showing off the Restaurant and Garage levels.

No, not the sort of "delayed indefinitely" that really means it's been cancelled. The PC and Xbox 360 versions are still due out for the 27th of August but a PS3 release date was suspiciously absent from the press release. Dutch site PS3Only.com contacted Midway for a statement. They replied saying that Stranglehold is "definitely out this year" but it has "no confirmed street date as yet."

We're a bit confused about why this would happen, but we're not as disheartened as you might expect. The estimated release date before the delay was September 17th. We'll still be incredibly busy with Lair and Heavenly Sword at that point. Still, it's not a good precedent to set. This sort of thing had better not become a trend.

[Via N4G]

With its $30 million budget, Stranglehold may be one of the most expensive games ever made. Ever since we played the game at E3, we've been somewhat enamored by this John Woo-inspired effort. The PS3 Collector's Edition, which includes a Blu-ray version of "Hard Boiled," is what we're keeping our eye on.

After upsetting some of its fan base by announcing the game would be region protected, Midway has listened to the consumer and has removed region protection from the PS3 version of the game -- even the version with the movie on it! "Please be clear that the Collector's Edition with the movie is only available in North America, so if you live elsewhere, you'll have to buy it as an import. I guess the higher ups do listen to you guys on the forums!"

[Via NeoGAF]

As if Sony needed any other publisher's concern, Midway spoke out the other day about the up-take (or up-doc, if you want some tomfoolery) of the PS3. Midway's CEO David Zucker did the talking, but his words strike home and we're concerned about the same things he is: we want the good PS3 titles to sell very well. He's also concerned about console sales, feeling the price cut will deliver a nice, temporary boost to sales, but it might not be enough.

If you're wondering why Midway is so concerned, it's because for once, they're not trying to sell a Mortal Kombat title. They've got the special edition of Stranglehold and Unreal Tournament 3 coming out over the next few months and those are pretty important titles to get sales for. Midway wonders if another price cut will come in the future, if it's enough, and if their big titles will make a splash on the PS3, or bellyflop. Everybody knows that getting a pink belly is not a very fun way to start your day at the lake.

As we've mentioned before, the Collector's Edition of Stranglehold on the PS3 will ship with a remastered 1080p version of Hard Boiled on the same disc. While having the first ever HD version of Hard Boiled is a fantastic addition to an already hot looking game, it's easy to overlook the real significance of this addition. No game has ever come packaged with the movie it was based on, let alone putting them both on the same disk. To find out Midway's reasoning behind this precedent setting move - Newsweek's videogame guru N'Gai sat down to chat with Midway's vice-president of marketing, Steve Allison.

During the interview, Steve said that the Weinstein Brothers (one of the few HD-DVD exclusive companies) were willing to agree to let the movie come out for the PS3 because they're not currently releasing an HD version of it and the movie can only be played on the PS3 -- not a standalone Blu-ray player. This helps protect the Weinstein Brothers from cannibalizing their own normal DVD release that just came out last week (which is also why the X360 version will not come with a DVD version of the movie). Midway and the Weinsteins are also doing cross promotions for the DVD on the X360 version, and for Strangehold on the just released DVD of Hard Boiled, creating a business deal that allows them to offer a full HD version of the movie on the PS3 for only 10 dollars more. It's a win-win-win all around.

Also, during the interview he really emphasized the freedom that Blu-ray gives to developers and publishers when it comes to including additional content. He explained that, "It's really the storage capacity of Blu-Ray that makes this pairing possible, and it's still a compelling product." Hopefully more companies will follow Midway's example of really utilizing the storage of Blu-ray discs, since right now it's rare for people to even use 50% of the available capacity. Bring on more HD-movie packins!

A moderator on the official Midway forums has confirmed that Stranglehold will not be region free for the PS3. This is understandable for the collector's edition, as it also includes a copy of the film Hardboiled on the disc. There are licensing issues that are far more strict and complicated when it comes to movies, rather than games. Which is why Blu-Ray discs aren't region free either.

However, the standard edition, which does not include Hardboiled on the disc, will also be region locked. There is no explanation for this as of yet. This whole issue does bring up an interesting point for discussion, though. With the capacity of Blu-Ray discs allowing for extra content. Would you rather sacrifice the region free nature of games for more movie pack-ins? We expect to hear a resounding "no" from the European gaming community.

[Via PS3Forums]

(Sorry for the cheesy headline pun.)

Tiger Hill's impressive Stranglehold appears to have caught a few snags on PS3. Although the Xbox 360 and PC versions will ship on August 27th, the PS3 version has been delayed three weeks. Reasons for the new September 17th release date are unclear -- could it be Unreal Engine issues?

We'll tolerate the wait, if only because Stranglehold was one of the best action games we've played at E3. The over-the-top action will certainly bring a smile to any hardcore gamer. And, we''d rather get the PS3 version, if only because the Collector's Edition will include an HD version of "Hard Boiled" on the same disc, making it the clear choice for consumers looking for the best value.

[Via Joystiq]