John Woo’s Stranglehold Marketed as Movie Sequel

It seems a while since SPOnG has heard any news on Midway’s action title Stranglehold, which the publisher is developing in association with legendary Hong Kong Cinema director John Woo. The game is also to feature the likeness and voice talent of Hong Kong action film star Chow Yun-Fat, and is to be heavily marketed as a videogame sequel to Woo/Yun-Fat's HK movie classic Hard Boiled.

Strangehold will feature much of the hyperkinetic, choreographed action and freeze-framed sequences that Woo is known for. Speaking to a Midway Games rep this week, SPOnG found out some interesting information on how the publisher intends to position and market this interesting looking title, due for release on next-gen consoles later this year.


Stranglehold is a new Intellectual Property for Midway, and this all seems to SPOnG like an innovative way to approach the marketing of new IP. The game is a third person, action/adventure set in Hong Kong and Chicago, featuring star Chow Yun-Fat’s voice/likeness as the Inspector Tequila character, who was first introduced to audiences in Hard Boiled back in 1992 (the original Cantonese title of the movie being 'Lashou shentan'). Hard Boiled is thought by some HK movie buffs to be one of the greatest action movies of all time.

This commitment to marketing the game as a follow up to Hard Boiled follows on from comments made at the E3 announcement made last year by Steve Allison, Midway’s chief marketing officer, who said at the time: “To have John Woo creatively involved in Stranglehold and Chow Yun-Fat reprising his role as Inspector Tequila is truly a dream come true for fans of Hong Kong action movies. This game is the first pure example of the convergence of entertainment. Stranglehold is an example of what is possible in the next generation of video games as a viable approach to building a new IP as a gaming franchise that speaks to a fan base through its star and director, in the same way a film does.”

Stranglehold is currently in development at Midway’s Chicago studio by the critically acclaimed Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy team, led by industry veteran Brian Eddy, in association with Woo’s own company, Tiger Hill Entertainment.