Cerise Magazine

August 2007 Issue

Features

• From the Editors
• Craft Check: Custom Game Master's Screens
• Gaming in the Media: Much Ado about AO

Interviews

• Miriam Ruiz [Game developer]

Articles

• Gender & Live-Action Role Play: Introduction
  Author: Samara Hayley Steele

Samara kicks off her series looking at LARPing from a feminist perspective.

• Myth Busting: Gaming as Antisocial Behaviour
  Author: Andrea Rubenstein

Andrea takes down the myth that games are inherently antisocial events.

• Women will Love Stranglehold: A Hands-on at E3
  Author: Yvonna Lynn

Yvonna talks about her experiences playing Stranglehold at E3.

Gamer Stories

• Notes from the UnGamer
  by Jewel Faulkner
• 8 a.m. on Saturdays
  by Karen Healey
• I'm a Female Plant Shaman
  by Anna Holt

Reviews

• Jade Empire PC Special Edition
  by Cherie Thomason
• Retro Review: Prince of Persia
by Abby Wilson

Odds 'n Ends

• The Back Page

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Yvonna Lynn attended the E3 Media and Business Summit in Santa Monica in July. Here, she gives our readers a look at upcoming game Stranglehold.

Midway is bringing John Woo’s 3rd-person action adventure shooter Stranglehold to the shelves the First Quarter of 2008. Midway is also the developer on this project, which brings an approachability to the shooter that is often overlooked in favor of appealing to only the hardcore gamers. By playing the demo set up at Barker Hangar, I found myself instantly immersed in the game rather than trying to learn how to play. As readers may know, E3 this year significantly cut down on the number of attendees and I could not bring my own cameraman as I have in years past. Fortunately, the Midway guy lent me a hand. I did not film the video for the cut-scene, but it resumes quickly for some more beautiful in game action.

First impressions

The game is very intuitive and offers the beginner gamer a chance to play a shooter and have fun without feeling overwhelmed. This ease does not leave out the hardcore gamers, though. There are levels of difficulty that the noob may not see the first time through the game, as well as extra bonus points for kills made with particularly special style.

The environments are entirely interactive. I could shoot down a balcony over an enemy to kill him, kick a table into his way to block him from charging or simply bring on the two-fisted fury of my dual guns. My favorite part of the environment is the way Midway allows for seamless gameplay. I also loved the way your character will automatically slide across a bench in his path if strafing while shooting or running. It is aspects like this that make the game fun from the first time it is played. I can imagine that people who are otherwise apprehensive about playing shooters will find Stranglehold much more fun, intriguing and immersive than other games.

Aside from the debris-filled paths (which can be destroyed or moved at will), Stranglehold also heightens the fun with “Tequila Time,” which slows down time during a gun fight for even more fun and gorgeous interaction with enemies and pieces of the environment, such as chandeliers or, as shown in the video above, a railing in the street.

The Unreal 3.0 engine is integrated with the Havok physics engine allowing Midway to make a phenomenally entertaining shooter. The settings not only provide the context for the game, they are an integral part of how to interact in order to achieve your goals. Because the Stranglehold world has so may choices for how to approach your pathway, the game can be different depending on your choices. On top of all of that, the graphics are stunningly realistic, making Inspector “Tequila” Yuen as sexy, entertaining and strong as he is on film.