TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Game Review: ‘The Hong Kong Massacre’, as gloriously bloody as its influences

It's surprising that a game like The Hong Kong Massacre hasn't been done before: a bloody, top-down twin-stick homage to violent Hong Kong cinema -- more-specifically the visual-affluence of influential director John Woo. There may have been games that offered the same triad elements, but none of its over-the-top bullet-bathed totality.

Marcel Thee (The Jakarta Post)
Premium
Jakarta
Mon, April 22, 2019

Share This Article

Change Size

Game Review: ‘The Hong Kong Massacre’, as gloriously bloody as its influences Homage: Hong Kong Massacre is a loud and exciting video game that pays tribute to violent Hong Kong cinema. (Courtesy of Vreski/-)

It's surprising that a game like The Hong Kong Massacre hasn't been done before.

It's a bloody, top-down twin-stick homage to violent Hong Kong cinema – more-specifically the visual-affluence of influential director John Woo. There may have been games that offered the same triad elements, but none of its over-the-top bullet-bathed totality.

As such, the game already garners point for originality, although it may have benefited from a more variable game play and it has difficult sections that feel more frustrating than fun to play through.

The game's best elements relate to their Woo-heavy sense of glorious violence. The sense of near-cartoonish chaos is constant, with bullets, enemies, pieces of broken windows and walls endlessly filling the screen alongside decrepit locations ripe for 1990s action acrobatics.

Indeed, the characteristic Woo slow-motion shoot-outs are a major component of the game, literally being one of the main character's powers. 

The closest cousin of the game is the 2012 shooter Hotline Miami, which serves up most of the same mechanics.

Like that game, Massacre basks in the same sense of constant threat, rarely letting players take a breather, similar to the ultra-busy scrolling shooters of the early 1990s arcade scene, such as Raiden.

to Read Full Story

  • Unlimited access to our web and app content
  • e-Post daily digital newspaper
  • No advertisements, no interruptions
  • Privileged access to our events and programs
  • Subscription to our newsletters
or

Purchase access to this article for

We accept

TJP - Visa
TJP - Mastercard
TJP - GoPay

Redirecting you to payment page

Pay per article

Game Review: ‘The Hong Kong Massacre’, as gloriously bloody as its influences

Rp 29,000 / article

1
Create your free account
By proceeding, you consent to the revised Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.
Already have an account?

2
  • Palmerat Barat No. 142-143
  • Central Jakarta
  • DKI Jakarta
  • Indonesia
  • 10270
  • +6283816779933
2
Total Rp 29,000
{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.