Stranglehold

Fun acrobatic gunplay, but potentially shallow. Worth: $15
based on the 360 demo: August 2007
update based on reviews in mags: October 2007

Here's Arth teaching his kids how to clean their rooms. Note the bloody pants, splintering tiles, and dueling pistols, all critical for success. Excellent form!

Based on Hard Boiled (my favorite John Woo movie) this demo captures the feel and psycho-violent world inhabited by Chow-Yun Fat's character, Detective Tequila. I've found three to six ways to complete each area in this demo.The gameplay is awesome, aiming is natural, and the atmospheric violence is captivating. The acrobatics are totally movie-land synthetic, but who cares? You're Chow-Yun Fat! Unstoppable killing machine!

My only hesitation about this game is that it may play out like Black did, where the guns were the star. When it comes to video mayhem, more guns is more, but eventually I'm ready for some storytelling and other gameplay elements (like vehicles). I'll wait for the reviews. I'm definitely buying this game, it's just a question of a little later, or a lot later.

UPDATE: Sep 28, 2007
I'm reading a lot of good user reviews for this game. Too many to just be corporate plants.

Update October 13
Nah, the mags are confirming what I thought. Really repetitive. Still sounds like fun, but only $15 worth.