Those aware of, and concerned with, the desensitising effects of media violence should check themselves at the door of John Woo's Stranglehold. Those concerned with the latest project from a gang of the Psi-Ops developers should step – not leap - in.

The similarities between Psi-Ops and Stranglehold stop after the speedy acquisition of four abilities aimed at making life in slow-motion that little more gratifying. Where Psi-Ops balanced brains with its hefty brawn, Stranglehold is all bulk and no definition. Built around the iconography of Woo's original source material – doves, slow-motion, Chow Yun Fat in shades and more doves – the game pulses with the energy of a John Woo fan's imagination; not that of the auteur himself. It's a shallow love-letter to the director's early (/glory) days bringing with it all the empty-headed cliché and spatterings of red that you'd expect. The difference here is that Woo defined, if not founded, much of those clichés and his presence in a directing role along with Yun-Fat and the respective likeness brings with it a more satisfying locale hopping excursion through the eccentric underworld of Hong Kong even if the script might not be up to any particularly exciting tricks.

It's no secret that John Woo lost his cool when he journeyed stateside, and it's an odd circular motion that has found American developers at Midway help portal the director back to his roots. The third person action genre isn't one regularly topped up with original ideas and Stranglehold doesn't buck the trend though does manage to sit atop the pile of out-and-out shooters for the current generation. It's the second half of the play-through that ups the ante and keeps you coming back with its lavish destruction of the very linear and very functional locales. The basic weapon set, repetitive play, excessive violence and rendition of the iconic Inspector Tequila as an overt sentimentalist will turn many off within a weekend if not an hour, but the high-end difficulty levels and the well engineered dive and survive mechanics will ensure that Stranglehold's stranglehold on Max Payne's old haunts won't soon be weakened.

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