The game that almost bankrupted Midway! - Stranglehold

[@Aruges01]

Thanks for this Matt. This was the first game I worked on in the industry and I'm just tickled pink that people still find it fun today. It was a heavy lift to get it out the door, but we were super pumped to make it and I think that showed through in the final product.

[@MattMcMuscles]

Whoooa awesome!

[@grepfermin9353]

Matt's reactions are basically everyone's first time playing this. It boggles my mind that Stranglehold sold poorly.

[@Msoulwing]

For real. This game is just so damn fun :D

[@Nettacki]

Apparently the PC port’s not that great tho

[@Msoulwing]

I dunno about that, I played it on PC and I remember it working fine. Granted, that was years ago.

[@xzs432]

the game is on gog, i have it on my gog account!

[@Manfromthenorth0551]

Man I got the Collector's Edition out of a GameStop bargain bin. It comes with the Hard Boiled movie on the game disk. I watched the movie more than I played the game.

[@WestKatoHardcore]

Inspector Tequila's only movie is Hard Boiled. Chow Yun-Fat plays an assassin in The Killer, and a Triad capo in A Better Tomorrow.

[@MattMcMuscles]

Thank you for the clarification. I watched a bunch of them like 10 years ago, and couldn't remember.

[@WestKatoHardcore]

@@MattMcMuscles No problem. BTW I sure wouldn't mind another episode or two of Stranglehold, this was super entertaining.

[@MBelasko12]

He also plays a Chinese restaurant chef and identical twin in A Better Tomorrow 2.

[@HardboiledBoi]

Ok so this comment is going to get personal, but Matt I hope you read it. For years, you would talk about John Woo movies and even this game specifically and mentioned you were gonna do a one-off of it. Back then teenager me didn't know who John Woo was or what these movies were so I found whatever of his movies I could. Hard Boiled is my favorite movie of all time, so much so that all of my internet handles are HardboiledBoi and it was because years ago you mentioned this game and for years, I was waiting holding onto the hope that someday you'd play this game, and today is that day. Thank you, eternally.

[@Miguel206._]

Finally he plays it 🕊️🕊️🕊️🙌🙌🙌 Also fun fact: The bartender at 13:45 is literally John Woo himself.

[@UrsusDerpus]

Tequila is so hard boiled, he can slide down a zip line with his bare hands.

[@triniborn76]

You didn't get that 13:52 was John Woo serving him the drink! I enjoyed this game but on the PS3! Keeping the Jazz band alive was my most memorable part of the game. 👍👍

[@Haruharuharuko1942]

I’d love to see you cover the disaster that was the development and cancellation of “this is Vegas” which was gonna be midways gta killer

[@ELPMCFlashFrame]

I played through and beat this entire game. was pretty fun. Silly, but fun.

[@triniborn76]

Protecting the Jazz Band is my favorite part of this game. I love this game! The controllers remind me of Jet Li Rise to Honor for PS2!

[@truthbetold9092]

I remember being obsessed when the demo came out.

[@Mr_Boyer]

This game deserved better. It's nothing mind blowing but the destructible environments and the gunplay made for such a fun gameplay loop.

[@BekTrain]

“He’s like a Chinese turret”

[@LexerusColt]

I remember playing the demo for this and liking it quite a bit. Halo 3 came out a few days later.....I assume that's why this didn't sell well. This is why timing is key.

[@DogOfHades]

FYI the bartender guy at 13:52 is John Woo himself

[@TheyCallMeSharkface]

watermelon more like SLAUGHTERmelon

[@edselasencio841]

I owned this on ps3 and it came with the movie on the disc and was an amazing game and I always replayed it or just played it and watched the movie on it lol

[@PretentiousAdonis]

I remember my dad coming home hyped as fuck with this game in hand and forcing me to play it while he watched because he wasn't good at shooters. It's a good game though.

[@Gerbs1913]

This game was so hype, but in a kind of niche that was only appreciated by fans of movies like this. It was one of the more unique shooters I've played and wish games would keep this kind of style instead of trying too hard to copy Call of Duty and other successful shooters. It also came out in 2007 which was a huge year for games with stuff like COD 4 and Halo 3 so other games were pushed aside.

[@cinebst]

I had the demo for this on my 360, but never played the actual game. Put like 30+ hours into that demo though

[@GentlemansCombatives]

I can replay the tea house fight over and over again

[@EagleLeader1]

Man I remember being so sold on this game because of a demo. What was off about it was that it was initially fun & for some reason got old pretty quick. I don't think there was a skills progression scheme in the game so you had all your powers from the start. Maybe that caused boredom.

[@nurse425]

11:46 Matt: "Shot man through the penis"! Crosses off item on Bucket List! LOL

[@brianmartin6486]

I remember playing this game and enjoying it , but it did get a little repetitive after a while .

[@MrPatalchu]

Time for Tequila Time.

[@OneJamalWonder]

This was the first Xbox 360 game I got with Modern Warfare 1

[@TyGreenGoblin]

Shotgun with unlimited ammo.....the best.

[@GoblinHero]

I remember my local Gamestop back in 2009 having a bargain bin overflowing with copies of this and Too Human

[@flippedoutkyrii]

I watched Hard-Boiled back in high school and thought it was the perfect action movie. And upon hearing that a game was coming out that served as a sequel to that movie I flipped my shit. Honestly, it still holds up today! Imagine the shootouts and carnage you could inflict if it had "Control" level's of destruction and interactivity.

[@InTheMindOfDavid]

I was so entranced with the John Woo-ness that I legit forgot where I was in real life.

[@corwin32]

This is what it sounds like when doves shoot

[@okankyoto]

Dang I really enjoyed this game and even picked it up. Had no idea it sold so poorly it killed Midway!

[@PaddyDukess]

Love this game, it’s such a forgotten classic on the 360

[@Catterjee]

I adore this game. It took me a while, but I tracked down the PS3 collector's edition, which includes Hard Boiled on the disc.

[@Copperhell144]

Glad you gave this game the spotlight, the interactables system was great. The lack of reloads in the game bothered me a lot though. This, Rise to Honor and Total Overdose are pretty much the Bermuda Triangle of third person action/shooter games.

[@ArtenMorningstarr]

I really hope Matt plays the full game eventually, it's amazing and I loved it.

[@TheStainedBarrel]

Loved this video, wish I could have seen your reaction to the tripmine maze in a later level.

[@VersaceJesus]

I feel like the people who made Sleeping Dogs were fans of this game and tried to make its concept work in a different format.

[@Dynaman21]

I remember this game. Found it super cheap at a drugstore of all places. Funny place to find a Hard Boiled sequel.

[@eioo8790]

Man, I really loved this game back in the day.

[@macros247]

My mate was rank 3 in the world online at this game. I know this because he would tell us every day. His name was Silversoldier.

[@crescentfreshsongs]

Loved this game. Only problem with it was how short it was.

[@lastsigil7241]

I lost my lunch at 4:37. I cant tell you a time I was jitterish just for some crates breaking.

[@IndigoPhoenix21]

Brah, I was enthusiastically waiting for you to unlock Precision Aim just so you could pull a Butters and shoot goons in the dick. When I first played this game, that is literally all I did. My friends and I were dying. The industry needs more over-the-top shit like this.

[@chaffXgrenade]

Don't do drugs. *Shoot* drugs.

[@ManimalPatB]

I LOVE THIS GAME!!!!!!!! Got it my sophomore year in College and man, it as sweet just blowing shit up

[@martinjez1]

For some reason this was one of the first games that I had for my Xbox 360 and because I had nothing else to play I acutally finished it a few times. I haven't played it in more than 10 years though, so this brings back memories.

[@jackcristo2346]

This was a great game to play. Beat it twice it was so fun to play.

[@OKNewman]

PAYCHECK WAS JOHN WOO?!? Still haven't seen it.

[@wafflerman]

aaaaaaaah the rare and elusive drug table, found only in it's natural habitat black smoke

[@GenerationWest]

Stranglehold: The John Woo Experience

[@ktitwayne-leeakabane1345]

we never got a sequel to Hard Boiled except this game. in A Better Tomorrow Chow Yun-Fat plays Mark in part one and his twin brother Ken in part two :)

[@Sara.Space.H]

Wait so this game flops but call of duty lives on?... oh, my heart hurts.

[@itsdantaylor]

5:10 you forgot Total Overdose.....although that was probably more influenced by Robert Rodriguez movies like Desperado, oh and Dead to Rights.......Man alot of those games came out within a pretty short time of each other.

[@DrSprigs]

Only reason i know this game is Demo Disk with MrSark lol

[@TheMrboom11]

I love your vids the most when you have a fucking good time as well, this game looks really fun to play

[@Zabasu]

Frankly the game looks pretty good, but are all the cutszenes so dark indoor?

[@codyhallnan9442]

This game was so kickass!

[@nurse425]

Matrix: The Bullet Time Game, LOL

[@DubExp]

(Tequila rolls around) Criminal: What technique is this? I can't hit him!

[@tanngrisnr5076]

I had the demo of this on PS3 and would play it religiously.

[@pokomothe2nd]

Full playthrough when, Matt?

[@qurazy]

My theory: The Xbox 360 demo let you play waaay too much of the game and everyone got their fill by playing that demo over and over, perhaps followed by a weekend rental. That was my experience anyway.

[@jules2581]

I enjoyed this game. Especially being 14 and just been done watching Hardboiled.

[@jaku9329]

My first Xbox 360 game! Ahh memories~

[@vanitymirrorss]

I'd kill for a John Woo game that dials up the late 80s aesthetic with this style of gameplay. Actually yeah A Better Tommorow game would be sick.

[@yahyamusseb]

Every time I see this game I say to myself "and everybody is gun fu fighting"

[@michaelbandada9887]

John Woo made gun battles cool and great. Instead of a straight up shootout, Woo made it into a ballet sequence with guns and he made Mexican standoffs truly cool and intense, something which inspired little Quentin Tarantino when he made Reservoir Dogs. If John Woo can make gun battles cool and hip, he can sure as hell make battles and swordfights cool just like Red Cliff with all the heroes doing crazy flips and attacks, something which would be seen in a Dynasty Warriors game

[@theomegatard]

John Woos Mission Impossible 2 is worth a watch. Especially the music video for it done by a St. Anger era Metallica.

[@SpaceLordLono]

I remember I was a pretty big Max Payne fan, so when this came out I was hyped af for it and I recall enjoying playing it but I also beat it and never played it again.

[@michaelbandada9887]

A Better Tomorrow Starring: Ti Lung, Leslie Cheung, Chow Yun Fat The Killer Starring: Chow Yun Fat, Sally Yeh, Danny Lee Hard Boiled Starring: Chow Yun Fat, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Anthony Wong Red Cliff 1&2 Starring: Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Chang Chen, Zhao Wei and Zhang Fengyi

[@starman1o5]

dude after seeing this i was immediately reminded of jet li: rise of honor on the ps2 my god i completely forgot that game existed

[@Free-JackWolff]

That Dove 😂 love this game and John Woo!

[@nicosamur]

My first PS3 game! It was awesome!

[@SRenshaw]

Have this on PC on disc. Loved it.

[@timmer919hep]

Played this game to the end in the past. It was fun for about 65% of the time and then it just got frustrating.

[@DecentBlizz]

Yep....yeah

[@greg4675]

I swear, this is the most popular bargain bin game of all time lol. I see this game EVERYWHERE.

[@Pinkanator]

How long until he says Face Off

[@dorenjackson1166]

I never knew this game had low sales. I wanted this game so bad back then. I may still order it, depending on how this video goes

[@theheromans]

Watch Replacement Killers.

[@samihanski4086]

This game was great fun. I had to get it in release after trying demo on 360.

[@Watheverable]

Yo Matt why won't you do some more hotline miami videos? The one you did got me to buy the collection on PS4.

[@Anomaliayt]

Damn dude, you didn’t clock Woo’s cameo at 13:54 :((

[@vegetaelite1]

This game right here! I had this on PS3 and LOVED it. Too bad it didn't do too well!

[@HighlandHijack]

I loved this game as a kid

[@tacticalgengar420]

This game was awesome

[@serendipity_hunter3974]

I really enjoyed this game lol. It reminds me of Jet Li ‘s rose of honor which is just like this game in many forms

[@tvdkhfan]

I remember watching my dad play this game. I think it was a really good game. Super bummer it sold poorly.

[@Stillcurs3d]

Time for a walkthrough

[@gustavod.4795]

Think I played the demo for this game a hundred times. Only the demo though.

[@benmoreau6899]

i remember wanting this game sooooooo bad back in the day. It doesn't look that bad actually.

[@jaku9329]

13:53 It’s John Woo

[@seeingred1409]

Did you honestly just say Chow Yun Fat was best known for playing Master Roshi?! most people try to forget he was in that movie

[@UrsusDerpus]

Seeing Red he did that specifically to get this reaction

[@chandlerisded]

wow, the nostalgia

[@chdmckone]

I played the demo of this game like 5 times, and got super hype. But when the game came out i did'nt pick it up.

[@benrogers9082]

this is the most fun I've seen him have in basically any game ever.

[@chichislover]

After watching this video, I remembered wasnt there a Jet Li video game too?

[@Nettacki]

Yup. It was called Rise to Honor on PS2 and it too was pretty fun, if also kinda frustrating at times.

[@fearnloathingingeneral]

One of the first games I got on PS3. It came with a copy of Hard-boiled. I had this and uncharted as well and definitely played this and ended it over and over. I waa so upset when I realized this tanked and destroyed a beloved company.

[@pablovonpablo2590]

I remember Paycheck