"This week Midway has revealed that a number of staff working out of its Austin studio are to be laid off - in what the company refers to as a strictly routine and minor action based on the completion of a project at the Texan studio.

The staff losses follow hot on the heels of Midway parting company with a pair of senior players, namely executive vice president and CFO Thomas Powell, who is moving on to another company, and also senior vice president Steve Allison, who will be stepping dow..."

"Such games include 'Stranglehold', based on John Woo's 'Hard Boiled', and 'Wheelman', a driving game that will 'serve as a prequel to a planned film starring Vin Diesel'."

"Amazon.com will be running video game specials for the next 10 days. Starting today (12/8/07), the promotions kick off with a great deal on the Playstation 3 40 GB Bundle. If you buy a 40GB Playstation 3 console, Amazon.com will give you a PS3 Blu-ray Remote Control (MSRP $19.99) and Stranglehold Collector's Edition (MSRP $69.99) for free. That's a nicely packed entry system, especially with those interested in Blu-ray films.

The 40GB bundle includes Spider-Man 3 Blu-ray film and the Stran..."

"Midway today announced a down loadable map pack for the acclaimed 3rd person action adventure title, Stranglehold, for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game systems. The map pack features 10 additional multi player maps ranging from the Kowloon Market to Wong's Estate Grounds to the Rooftops of Chicago, as well as 21 all-new multi player character skins. The Xbox 360 version will include 10 new achievements worth 250 points. Rated "M" for mature by the ESRB, the Stranglehold down loadable..."

"Xbox 360:

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

Bee Movie

Cars: Mater-National

Naruto: Rise of a Ninja

Chessmaster Grandmaster Edition

Timeshift

The Simpsons Game

Virtua Fighter 5

Viva Pinata: Party Animals

Xbox Live Arcade:

Mutant Storm Empire

PS3:

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

Stranglehold

Cars: Mater-National

The Simpsons Game

Wii:

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

Battalion Wars 2

Manhunt 2

Bee Movie

Barbie Island Princess

Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey

The ...

"

"The 360-degree rotating action can be a little disorienting for the first-time user, but once you start getting in shots on your competition, it's hard to put the controller down.

Battle scenes inside the palaces are thrillingly claustrophobic as players are forced to find cover and react quickly to gunfire from opposing combatants and alien soldiers.

Players can spit cannon fire while zipping through low and high aerial assault sequences. There's even a hovering surfboard. The outdoor ..."

"Stranglehold is meant to be a sequel to Hard Boiled, a critically acclaimed masterpiece by movie critics everywhere. Its charismatic hero, Inspector Tequila is portrayed by Chow Yun Fat, star many Hong Kong action flicks. With these two talents, an interactive medium, filled with a tight story and too many bullets to count, you figure the game would be a no brainer, and for the most part, it is. But there are a few parts that keep it from being a great game."

"And this delay will only hurt sales in the long run as the game has received lukewarm reviews at best on the two platforms it has come out on so far. We are still looking to receive word from Midway about the delay, but no official word has been released yet."

"Stranglehold requires 50GB of free hard disk space during the installation process but, once installed, the setup files can be removed or stored elsewhere. If installing Stranglehold to a secondary drive, your system's primary drive requires 20GB of free hard disk space during the installation process."

"Looking at the highlighted section in the above picture (click on it for a full size window), there is a section of the .ini file where they have some stuff mentioned, like "DeathBySwing", "HardBoiledKiller" and "WinnerTakesAll". Each has a number value next to it, that looks like it could be a point tally."

"Well the demo came out today and it runs really good. Until you start to dig in and you realize that Midway is pulling a fast one on all of us. You have suspicions at first when you notice that there are not graphical options when you start playing. But good for us, the game is built on the Unreal Engine 3.0, which means we can garner a lot of info from the .ini file. And let me tell you, it really irritated me when I found what I found."

"Massive D, eh? Turning pristine environments into battle-scarred war zones… sure sounds like a whole lot of fun to GamerSquad. Let’s see how the critics appraised Midway’s latest offering.

Check below for a cross section of review feedback and some seriously Massive D gameplay clips…"

Though the demo has been available on Xbox Live Marketplace for a few weeks or so, the full release version of Stranglehold will be available September 5, 2007 for the Xbox 360 and PC, and September 17 for the PS3 version.

"Lepizig 2007 Content

* Leipzig PSN Trailer
* PlayStation Eye Trailer
* MGS4 Gameplay Trailer
* Heavenly Sword Trailer
* Snakeball Trailer"

"While its August 28 release date may see it somewhat eclipsed amid BioShock fallout fever and the fact that Metroid Prime 3 is set to arrive that week too, Midway’s Max Payne/Dead to Rights action hybrid looks to bring one singular facet of worth to the gaming table: destructive fun.

Many of us complain that first and third-person shooters simply don’t provide enough full-on physical destruction – especially when subjecting the in-game environments to high explosives and massively powerful..."

"When it comes to Asian action flicks, you can bet your ass that videogame geekboys make up the vast majority of the genre’s Western fans; so in developing a game that picks up where John Woo’s kinetic classic Hard Boiled left off, Midway’s Stranglehold is a stroke of genius and shoo-in for chart-shattering success."

"Our 2007 E3 lineup truly reflects our product strategy to develop top quality titles in a wide range of genres across all major platforms," said David F. Zucker, president and CEO, Midway. "With exciting next generation games such as Stranglehold and proven brands like Mortal Kombat, along with games for the younger market and handhelds, this is Midway's most diverse and strongest line up yet"

"The Killer is set to be joined on the voice cast of Stranglehold by The Mummy and The Keymaker."

Midway may have aready announced an "exclusive" PS3 Collector's Edition for Stranglehold, but Xbox 360 is still getting its own special edition of the game. So how does releasing a collector's edition for 360 make the PS3 exclusive? Well, missing from the Xbox 360's bonus disc "jam-packed with extras" is the 1992 John Woo film Hard Boiled. This is going to be released on the same Blu-Ray disc as the PS3 game if you buy that version.

Xbox 360's slightly undercooked (not hard boiled) featur...

""We are very excited to be offering PS3 owners this exclusive collector's edition of Stranglehold, complete with John Woo's classic film 'Hard Boiled'," said Steve Allison, chief marketing officer, Midway. "Thanks to SCEA, the Blu-ray Disc Association and The Weinstein Company, fans will now be able to fully experience the world of John Woo in one complete and special package."

"The exclusive collector's edition of Stranglehold demonstrates the power of PlayStation 3 Blu-ray disc and the t..."

"You love slow-motion to a fault, train white doves to hang around gunfights, and you own a special edition of Broken Arrow .Yeah, we know the type. You're a John Woo fanatic.

While the wait for Midway's upcoming Stranglehold seems longer than Tom Cruise's hair in Mission Impossible 2, you can shortly get your Woo-fix in a new short film contest, sponsored by Midway and Fox Interactive Media, and judged by the man himself."