Excuse me as I have the biggest fangirl moment you’ve seen in a while…
What could cause such a reaction? Well it’s only a game announced at Sony’s E3 press conference that has been a long time coming. “Oh. All this over a game?”, you might say and I’d be inclined to agree except I. Love. This. Game. What game? It’s none other than Disney’s Kingdom Hearts.
When the first Kingdom Hearts came out in 2002, I only picked it up because I’m a fan of Disney characters. I hadn’t really played much of the Final Fantasy series so that aspect of it meant nothing to me. However, within a couple of hours of gameplay, I was hooked. It’s not often I’ll play through a game more than once, and it is rare that I’ll do it more than twice. I have played through that first Kingdom Hearts game at least ten times. Then 2005 rolled around and Kingdom Hearts 2 came out. Back then I thought I’d waited an eternity for that second game. Little did I know that I’d be halfway to my grave before the third full game was announced. Sure there have been quite a few small games released, mostly for Nintendo handhelds, but they haven’t captured the greatness that is the full-blown console version.
Thankfully, it seems as if my wait is finally over…
That’s right, Kingdom Hearts 3 is finally going to be released! Not only that, but Square Enix is putting together the first few games of Kingdom Hearts and re-releasing them for the PS3 in September. NOT ONLY THAT but if you preorder you will get a limited edition artbook.
[quote]How about 24 pages of behind-the-scenes imagery like character renders, promotional artwork and concept artwork from various Disney worlds from previous KINGDOM HEARTS titles like the original KINGDOM HEARTS, KINGDOM HEARTS Re:Chain of Memories, and KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 Days. — Square Enix[/quote]
I didn’t really need another reason to preorder, but I’m a sucker for behind the scenes stuff and my bookshelf is missing a Kingdom Hearts book.
So if you were looking for a reason to justify purchasing the Playstation4, you’ve got one now. Lest you all think I’m alone in my excitement for this new chapter of a great franchise, the moment people realized what they were actually showing a trailer for, Twitter was one excited Kingdom Hearts tweet after another. It seems there are quite a few of us who’ve been waiting patiently for this day!
Summer is a quiet time for video gamers. With triple-A titles such as Call of Duty and Dishonored not being released until fall, there really isn’t a reason to get excited about summer if you’re a gamer. Of course we have Darksiders 2 which came out earlier this week, but that’s pretty much it.
Or is it?
Sleeping Dogs was also released on Tuesday for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. The game, once went by the name of True Crime: Hong Kong, was under United Front Games’ development before it was dropped by Activision. The publisher of the infamous Call of Duty franchise decided that doing something different and switching things up are not part of their repertoire, and thus gave up on the title after pooling in a couple of years’ worth of resources and time. Six months after the game’s cancellation, Square Enix purchased the publishing rights to the game. And a year later, the game was released.
So, does the game make you put your dogs to sleep? Wait, that’s a horrible attempt on a pun, like “I’m gonna perform seppuku to express my shame” level of horrible. It doesn’t even make sense. What’s wrong with me?
How about this:
So, will you be playing Sleeping Dogs for a long time? Or will you be watching sleeping dogs online instead?
That’s much better.
Story
The game puts you in the shoes of Wei Shen, a detective working for San Francisco Police Department. He was seconded (or “lent”) to the Hong Kong police to help investigate a triad known as Sun On Yee. Wei was born and raised in Hong Kong for most of his childhood, and has some connections to triad members in the city. These factors make him a seemingly perfect candidate for undercover work in the gang. So, Wei is assigned a handler and his journey on the fine line between black and white begins.
Yea, we have all heard that story before.
Plot-wise, the game is fairly predictable. The characters range from the good-guy-who-turns-out-to-be-the-big-bad to the asshole-who-turns-out-to-be-cool-cat. You know, the usual stuff. Of course, there are also the dialogues practically made out of cheese:
Handler: I’m shutting the operation down because you can’t handle the stress Wei: You can’t do it now! They see me as one of them. We’re so close! Handler: That’s what I’m worried about – you’re one of them.
Obviously, we also have the melodramatic sequences in which the protagonist is not sure of his identity. You know, sound bites of characters from both sides of the law playing in the protagonist’s mind as he drives in the rain to confront a major antagonist and sad music about being lost or something like that playing in the background. It’s pretty much a basic requisite for any form of entertainment that involves police working undercover.
Despite of the story’s predictability and cringe-worthiness, I find it, strangely, enjoyable (though not by any means good). How the journey unfolds feels right, and most of the characters are fairly likable. Characters complement each other very well even though they’re molded straight from the cookie cutters of movies or TV shows dealing with Asian gangs. In this case, they picked the right cookie cutters and baked good cookies. They’re nothing mind-blowing, but they are very solid. The story flows well and is satisfying. Like a well-made sponge cake, it is nothing to be excited about, but you’ll eat it. It’s relatively bland compared to other cakes, but at the very least, it will meet your expectations since there aren’t too many things that could go wrong in a sponge cake. In non-food-analogy terms, the game tells an average story. Since the story is pretty easy to execute, and the writers delivered a solid performance, there aren’t too many flaws to be found in the end product. Your low expectations are easily met.
I still don’t understand the title though. Just thinking about it is wrinkling my brain.
(Note: Per TV Tropes. the title is based on the proverb “Let sleeping dogs lie”. It should be interpreted as “leave something alone as it may cause trouble”. I still don’t get it though. Does that mean the protagonist should have left his past alone? Whatever. I’m done with this.)
7 grizzly paws out of 10.
Gameplay
Throughout the game, you will be completing around 30+ story missions. There aren’t too many varieties among missions. Most of them feature the player getting from point A to point B in a car, kick some asses, chase someone down on foot, and maybe pick up a gun and shoot some people. They’re fun, but not revolutionary. Early story missions introduced side quests. More on that later.
As far gameplay mechanics go, they are pretty well-done. The cars feel grippy, and are fun to drive. The devs did a great job in creating the sense of speed. Driving down the highway has never been more satisfying. Cars have different handlings. You can tell the difference between driving a van and a coupe. I did not like the motorcycles though. Their handling is not agile enough for me to pick them over cars. You can hop from one car to another as you drive, performing a mid-air high jack of sorts. Personally, I didn’t care for this feature. The cars you purchase from merchants are much faster than civilian cars anyways.
The shooting mechanics are so-so. They’re just there because open world games set in modern times need guns. You have a reticle and you shoot people. There are pistols, submachine guns, assault rifles, shotguns and grenade launchers. That’s pretty much it. They don’t feel all that different. You can get into slow motion if you hit X (on the PS3 controller) as you vault over cover. That’s generally how I eliminate the baddies. Bullet time is somewhat over-powering if you ask me. A skilled player can take out quite a number of hostiles in one use.
The fighting mechanics, however, are other-worldly. Picture Batman: Arkham Asylum’s system on steroids. Unlike Arkham Asylum, you can grapple your enemies in this game, and you need to hit a different button to counter enemy attacks. You can’t chain up insane combos in this game like you can in Batman, but I would take the melee combat system in this title over the other. Why? The combat in Sleeping Dogs is very fluid and much more brutal. You have the usual melee weapons as well. Most importantly, you can use the environment to your advantage. Grappling your enemy and hauling his ass into the spinning blades of a fan cannot be more satisfying. Or drop a car engine on him if you feel like it. Hell, you can throw him off a building if given a chance. It has the hands down most awesome hand-to-hand combat in open world games.
The parkour style on-foot chases are decent. Basically, you hold down the X button to run, and when the screen prompts you to vault or climb, hit the X button. It’s not Assassin’s creed though, since you can only climb low walls. It’s not like you can get to the top of a 10-storey building by just climbing up the side of said-building. The pursuits are fun due to the diversity in environments. Running through the crowded night market of Hong Kong chasing after a gangster is pretty mesmerizing.
When it comes to side quests, the game offers a decent amount of those. Obviously, there are the usual street races, which are fun because they’re short and the driving mechanics are great. There are also the random encounters, which are diverse in objectives, though most of them follow a similar structure – the usual get to a certain point, do some stuff, and get paid. You may also pursue a romance if you so desire. Romantic interests appear as contacts on your phone after certain missions. You can invite them out for a date. Afterwards, you’ll receive some sort of reward. Most of them reveal the locations of hidden items on the map. These relationships are incredibly shallow since you won’t be able to contact them anymore after that one date (and in some cases, not see them ever again throughout the story). I have no idea why the devs were bothered enough to include this feature.
Speaking of hidden items, there are different types of those. There are health shrines, which boost 10% of your health for every five you find. You can also look for lock boxes, which grant you a generous sum of cash, or clothing items, or even a firearm. You are also asked to keep an eye out for security cameras. These cameras are located all across town and you’re asked to hack them on location. Hacking them will lead to potential drug busts. There are also statues which you can keep an eye out for during missions. These statues, when brought back to the wushu academy, can give you new fighting abilities. The rewards are immediate and adequate enough for you to actively seek out for them.
The critics are in love with the leveling up. To me, it just seems like a no-brainer. You have the cop XP and the thug XP. The former requires you to drive carefully throughout missions and not harm innocent civilians. The latter asks for you to be brutal towards your foes. (Perform an environment attack for example.) They do not contradict each other. There is the face meter as well, which keeps track of your progress on side missions. The more side missions you complete, the more you progress on your face meter. For each level of face you gain, you will unlock perks such as reduced prices of clothes and cars.
Customization options are limited to clothes. Wearing different sets grant you different perks as well. Some increase your XP and some reduce the price of cars. You can also purchase cars from merchants. They are generally faster than the generic civilian transport. Either case, there is nothing too special about them.
Powerups are available in food stalls. Different types of food grant you different temporary abilities. Consuming a can of energy drink will enhance your melee damage whereas eating a bowl of curry fishballs will increase your rate of health regeneration. They are readily available at all times, even during missions.
In conclusion, the gameplay is fine. It will last you somewhere over 20 hours. There is nothing innovative, but there are also little wrongdoings. The game is just fun to play. The complaint will be the devs were playing it a little too safe.
7.5 grizzly paws out of 10.
Presentation
Presentation is where this title shines. Having spent the first 16 years of my life in Hong Kong (which is a shit hole if you ask me), I am glad to report that Sleeping Dogs is a fairly accurate portrayal of Hong Kong. The game covered only one of three major areas of Hong Kong and only four of eighteen districts. Despite of these shortcomings, you can clearly tell the devs did their research. There is a balanced mix of eastern and western architectures across the city. Each district has a distinct feel to it and is a good representation of its real life counterpart. The narrow roads on the slopes of Central and the neon lights in North Point brought me a sense of nostalgia. Certainly, street vendors selling food do not happen anymore and the back alleys are much cleaner in reality, but there is no complaint from me. As a matter of fact, their inclusion gives the city an early-90’s feel, when nasty alleys and food carts were everywhere.
Complementing the city’s sights are the sounds. There are many interesting dialogues going on between pedestrians and they are surprisingly good reflections of the current Hong Kong culture. Some of the swear words / phrases are surprisingly explicit (which is a plus in my book). Well, I’m sure most of you don’t understand Cantonese, so this may not be a point of interest to you. Either case, I must applaud the devs for putting in all that hard work in making the city feel authentic.
I must also compliment the voice acting in Sleeping Dogs. The devs somehow managed to involve big time Hollywood actors in the project. Names such as James Hong, Will Yun Lee, Lucy Liu, Tom Wilkinson, Kelly Hu, and even our beloved Emma Stone appear on the credits. They did a fantastic job in giving lives to the characters they were playing. Sadly, the devs have underused many of these talents. Most of them appeared in no more than a couple of missions only to be ditched and forgotten. For any Emma Stone fans out there, she appeared in only two missions and her character was never mentioned again. Anyways, I must also give credit to the rest of the cast – the ones voicing the nobodies on the streets. They were responsible for making the in-game city alive.
When it comes to soundtrack, the game covered a good number of genres. From Canto pop to Chinese oldies to American hip hop, they have it all. Don’t ask me if I like the Chinese tracks in the game. I listen to English music exclusively. Modern day Canto pop consists of incredibly one-dimensional love songs only. Anyways, the soundtrack doesn’t blow fishes out of water. It’s solid, but it’s also nothing special.
9 grizzly paws out of 10.
With that said…
The game is good. It is nicely executed but lacks in innovation. Without a doubt, it’s much better than its predecessor, True Crime: New York.
7.5 grizzly high fives out of 10
I don’t do round-ups.
Should you buy it?
Not now. As good as the game is, it is not on the level where Square Enix can command 60 bucks. Grand Theft Auto IV was perfection in presentation and Saints Row The Third was creativity at its finest. Certainly, the presentation of Sleeping Dogs is almost on a phenomenal level, but it is not enough to overcome the shortcomings in gameplay.
It’s a good, clean punch but not a knock out.
Rent the game or wait till a price drop (to somewhere under 40 bucks).
Before we get to anything Tomb Raider, I wanna take a second to apologize for not giving you a sneak peek of this article two hours before putting it up. It’s completely on me. In order to atone for my mistake, I shall perform a Japanese ritualistic suicide known as seppuku to myself. No, I won’t post pictures; I can, however, describe the scene. Imagine a fat ass teenager cutting his stomach open with all of his intestines oozing out, dying a slow, painful death. Yea, let’s just pretend that actually happened and get this over with. Let’s move on to what you clicked on the article for – my impressions. Here’s the trailer, in case you haven’t seen it yet.
First and foremost, we’re finally getting a release date for this game. This game will hit store shelves in March, 2013. That is a good 8 months away from now. Given how many blockbusters are coming out in fall (such as Hitman, or the 9 millionth Call of Duty game), it seems to be a logical move for Square Enix to push this game to the next fiscal quarter and give Crystal Dynamics more time to polish this game.
Assuming the world doesn’t end in 2012
As I mentioned last time, the game is looking great. This time, we get to see a greater variety of environments and weathers, ranging from dark, gloomy caves, to large, open forests.
This time round, we finally get to watch some more gameplay. Lara Croft can be seen wielding a bow in the picture above, which she would use to kill the deer.
Pictured above: A non-PETA member doing something very anti-PETA
Soon after, Lara can be seen cooking what I would presume to be deer meat. This leads me to wonder if there will be some sort of hunting feature in the game, similar to Metal Gear Solid 3.
Pictured above: A non-PETA member cooking some very anti-PETA food
We also get to see a bunch of cutscenes which I would assume to have incoporated a series of quick time events. The first of such occassion is the wolf attack, and the second being the rape attempt. Personally, I’m not digging these button-smashing features. They cause frustrations, and lead to a decrease in intellectual levels. Furthermore, you know it’s an overused gimmick when you see it in a racing game.
Pictured above: A non-PETA member protecting herself from a PETA-endorsed individual
Men think with their dicks. FACT!
In one of the cutscenes, Lara Croft communicates with some of her allies. This begs a question: will there be a companion system of some sort? It makes sense for Lara to stick with her pals since they are in the wild, fighting off some people with guns while waiting for help. Interesting…
There is also a sequence later in the trailer which shows Lara sneaking around a burning site (until a guy tries to rape her, as mentioned above). Stealth seems to play a role in the game, and staying quiet and unseen might be important in the game. After all, Lara is stranded on a deserted island, where ammunition sources should be scarce. Plus, it doesn’t help that she’s going up against trained mercenaries.
In addition to the bow and arrows, Lara can also use pistols. The sequence shows her drawing her sidearm in slow-mo and fire a few rounds into the bad guys.
There are also melee combats, but we could only catch a glimpse of them. I actually feel there is a good amount of potential in this aspect of the combat system, since she is in the wild and should be able to use whatever nature throws at her. For example, she could try combining a huge rock and a tree branch to make a hammer. I can’t tell if there will be such a mechanic in place from this still.
Last, but not least, we also get to see some platformer action. Nothing much can be told at this moment, except that they seem to require some reflexes. Duh.
I’m disappointed with the complete lack of puzzle-solving in the trailer. I sincerely hope we can see more of that in E3. From what I’ve seen so far, the game is capturing that “fight for survival” tone pretty well. This is certainly looking promising thus far. And before you ask, yes, Tomb Raider will totally piss PETA off, which is a major plus in my book.