Game: "Stranglehold."

Console: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3. (This review is based on the Xbox 360 version.)

Developer/publisher: Midway.

Genre: Action adventure.

Number of players: Offline, one; online, six.

Rated: M (mature), for blood, drugs, intense violence.

The premise: The Russian mob has kidnapped Inspector Tequila's family, and someone is going around killing cops to send a message to our good inspector. This game follows the files of Inspector Tequila from John Woo's Hong Kong movie "Hard Boiled."

Game play: "Stranglehold" plays a lot like the "Max Payne" and "Dead to Rights" series. These games were third-person-perspective games and used a system of slowdown, in which time seems to slow down, making it easier to take out enemies. In this game, for every stylish kill you achieve, you get stars, which fill up your Tequila Meter. You then gain special moves such as healing and sniper firing.

The good/bad: The game has a fun fighting system that never seems to get old. No matter how many times you pull off a slowmotion kill, it still feels like the first time.

Unlike "Dead to Rights" or "Max Payne," you are able to have only two types of weaponry in your arsenal.

No matter how many bullets are flying and enemies occupy the screen, there is a minimal slowdown.

It would have been nice to have the option to play the game with the characters speaking in Chinese. This would've added more to the cinematic atmosphere. The Xbox 360 version did not include a copy of "Hard Boiled" like the PS3 version did.

Tips: Pick up the origami cranes that you find because they will fill up part of your Tequila Meter.

When surrounded by multiple enemies, try to find some sort of cover.

Take advantage of the slowdown feature when dealing with multiple enemies.

My take: Very few games promise a movielike experience and actually deliver it. This game looks and feels like a Hong Kong action movie. With guns blazing, this is everything the "Matrix" games should have been. The problem seems to be that games with famous licenses attached to them seem not to be up to snuff.

I was very glad to be able to play the demo off Xbox Live. Unfortunately, I encountered a glitch, which indicated beta testing was not done properly. Luckily, I encountered a bug only once.

This game is a good deal for your money if you like nonstop action.

Jeffrey Davis, of Honolulu, is a video-game enthusiast.