No matter what a company does, gamers nor companies can win. When I had first heard a new map and character skin pack was going to be made available for Stranglehold for a whopping 1200 points (that is $15 bucks for those who still remember what normal money is worth and not points) I too was taken back. On the one hand, it’s nice to see Midway pour what is obviously a great deal of effort into adding to the Stranglehold game. On the other, 1200 points…..wow that is sort of a lot of points and many Rock Band DLC songs. So how does this fare you ask?
If you passed up on Stranglehold I suggest you do give the game a try. Kind of like Crackdown the game itself didn’t do anything overly well but was solid in all aspects and most of all is very fun to play. Even after all these years, you cannot shake a game with bullet time. However, I disgress and focus on the multiplayer DLC.
Multiplayer itself in Stranglehold reminds me of Goldeneye. The controls are very loose and feel arcadey which fits the game’s character. Most of the new multiplayer environments are beautiful. My two favorites maps to play are easily Naval Exercise and Wong’s Mansion. The naval exercise is you and your opponents aboard a ship but the inner workings remind of the tanker from Splinter Cell. It allows for a lot of hide and seek game play and strategy. For example, I would store up my tequila time by hiding then pop out when I spotted my opening to take him down. Plus the interactive objects in the level are plentiful and make for some stylish battles. You can be sliding down a rope from the very top of the command deck of the ship to a small region that almost seems to the side of the ship to pick up the golden gun and kill your opponent in one or two shots. Very cool.
Wong’s Mansion is a beautiful level that is made of what you would expect Eastern nobility to live in. However, this level comes with a twist. The only weapons available on the map are the golden gun, rocket launcher, and heavy machine guns. This is the rockets only level and is a lot of fun just like a similar game type in Halo 3. The added ability of all players to slow down time and make an enemy almost stationary while you bombard away with a rocket in his face is quite satisfying. The only downside to the fun factor of these maps is that not that many people play Stranglehold to begin with at this point in time and not even fewer have purchased the pack as of this writing. Despite that, the community surrounding the game I have come into contact with has general been one of the more positive experiences on Xbox live. I’ve even had the ropes shown to me by the guy who is ranked #3 in team death match.
You get 21 new skins, most of which are variations of Tequila. There are a couple skins from characters in the single player game. However, I was not overly impressed by the skins. While 21 skins is a great deal, I sort of felt the skins were 21 skins in the way that DOA volleyball considers bathing suits different. You have white suit tequila, stealth tequila, muscle shirt tequila, etc. None of the skins popped out at me or looked unique. A hundred games have done the same type of multiplayer skins in the past and a hundred more will do the same type of skins in the future. Consumer be warned, do not put all your eggs in the new skins basket. The retail game itself once completed through the main story unlocks an absolute plethora of skins. You are more likely to find something you like there than the added skins.
For 1,200 points any game that is firing that high and fast not named Gears of War or Halo 3 better have somethig very special to offer. Having played with the most die hard Stranglehold fans for the past few days it’s easy to see they thought it was worth every penny. I however cannot help but feel the DLC was overpriced by at the very least 400 points. While it is refreshing to see so much effort poured into a game well beyond release, prospective into what the mass market will pay for is consistently being missed these days. I hope in the future Midway considers dropping the price of this content to something not so sticker shocking like seeing a piece of DLC cost 4 digit points. Because overall, there is fun to be had with these additional maps and I would argue the DLC maps are better than the ones offered in the retail game.
