Stranglehold is a sequel to John Woo's 1992 Hong Kong action film Hard Boiled and stars Chow Yun-fat in a reprisal of his role as hard-boiled cop Inspector "Tequila" Yuen.

In Hong Kong, three Triad crime syndicates fight for territory: Dragon Claw, the Imperial 9s (I9s) based in Tai O, and Golden Kane.

Disobeying orders from police chief Lee, Inspector Tequila Yuen heads to a Kowloon market alone to save the officer, but finds evidence that he is dead.

Additionally, they partnered with the Zakarovs, a Ukrainian mafia from Chicago, to kidnap and hold Billie and Teko ransom in exchange for part of Wong's territory.

When Golden Kane attacks Dragon Claw's Tai O base, Tequila promises Wong that he will find his family, and helps the crime boss escape.

Impressed by the Zakarovs' philanthropy and social standing, Yung heads to Chicago to see how the Ukrainians run their organization, as well as to facilitate ransom negotiations.

Yung refuses to let Teko go, so Tequila shows him text messages between Wong and Jerry that prove Dragon Claw will betray the gangster during the exchange.

Stranglehold attempts to translate the gun ballet aesthetic popularized by director John Woo, used in films such as Hard Boiled and The Killer, to an interactive media format.

Jumping in any direction or interacting with any object while aiming at an opponent (or pressing a certain button) will slow time, creating a short window during which Tequila can shoot at targets.

The player gains energy by defeating enemies (equal to the Stars obtained) and by collecting paper cranes hidden about each level.

[16] According to Eddy, this research resulted in the team focusing on making player movement feel smooth and fluid, and building in-game environments that were destructible.

[11]: 34  Once the gameplay had been prototyped, the development team began porting their work over to Unreal Engine, modifying its source code to build in the missing systems.

[22] Also, while targets took time to recover from flesh wounds, they will eventually revive (even if unable to stand) and continue to fire until passing out from simulated blood loss.

The environments that were eventually used in the game came from the thematic goal of creating a fusion of Western and Eastern elements that was present in Woo's films.

As recalled by Eddy and Kaehler, the film director stepped in a couple of times to steer its direction: once to object to a potential story idea involving the export of body parts,[9] and once to suggest that enemy designs should have more Western clothing.

[16] According to Eddy, Woo "made us understand that he prefers poetic violence over gore-fests", which helped the development team retain their focus on the director's vision.

Driving and boating scenes that were initially planned for the single-player campaign were not implemented, and the team had to stop iterating on the game's multiplayer mode in order to make the deadline.

[25] To capture his likeness, Midway met with Chow in Hong Kong to digitally scan his face and body,[12] as well as have him record voice lines.

As part of the game's promotions, a contest for amateur filmmakers to make the best John Woo-inspired short film was held from April 30 to June 25, 2007.

[32] The PlayStation 3 Collector's Edition includes Hard Boiled fully remastered in high-definition and on the same Blu-ray with all the additional game extras and features.

[36][37][38] IGN praised the cinematic flair and melodrama in the storyline true to the style of John Woo, enjoyable battles, and slick presentation.

[43] Eduardo Zacarias of GameZone gave the Xbox 360 version eight out of ten, saying, "Sure, the action can get repetitive in places and many of the moves seen here have been done before many times, but the cinematic feel is pure Woo and that's definitely worth a look.

"[62] However, Brock Smith gave the PC version 7.6 out of 10, saying, "If you are a fan of third-person action or Jon Woo, this game will deliver a fun and exciting ride.

"[63] Nick Valentino later gave the PlayStation 3 version 8.2 out of 10, saying, "Like a true action-packed cinematic spectacle, Stranglehold delivers a number of spectacular moments that will not fail to dazzle hardcore fans of the genre.

"[64] GamePro gave the Xbox 360 version four out of five, saying, "Stranglehold might stumble occasionally under its own ambitious weight, and might not quite deliver on all its promises and potential, but it's still a unique and absorbing 8-hour tour through a legendary action director's potent unfilmable dreams.

"[65] Edge gave the same Xbox 360 version a score of seven out of ten, saying, "The chemistry of control, animation, AI and environmental damage systems is absolutely spot on, both in finding Hard Boiled's groove and providing coherent, rhythmic and unpredictable action.

A video game sequel to Stranglehold, entitled Gun Runner, was in the works prior to Midway's financial demise but was ultimately cancelled.