wait, this is the internet, where is my flame war? where is my hitler reference? wtf?
this is bullshit. this review should be taken down.
Tom Chick once played Oscar's lover on a few episodes of The Office. Perhaps that's where his time in the spotlight should have ended.
He awards unnecessarily harsh ratings to games that, yeah, aren't that great, but aren't the bloody pus-spewing antichrists that he makes them out to be. Take this section from his review of Aliens vs. Predator on 1UP a while back, talking about the survivor mode: "...you're all standing in a big room like a bunch of idiots while fast, janky aliens spawn in a few at time. They dart about wildly so you have a chance to shoot them while you run backwards. Your narrowly focused flashlight beam (Seriously, can't I twist the lens counter-clockwise or something to open up the beam on this thing?) gives you glimpses of a tail, a claw, an elongated skull. Shoot, squeal, acid blood, repeat."
Um, yeah Tom. That's what Aliens is all about. It wouldn't make much sense to give the flashlight a wide beam, or else there'd be no frantic panicking as the aliens dart back and forth. Guess the devs should have called you for a consultation before the game went gold. He gave a game that, while certainly undeserving of an A, was above average. It wasn't broken from a mechanics standpoint, and it was far from unplayable. So he farted out a "D," the stench of which has wafted its way over to this site.
Being a critic means pointing out the good and bad parts of a game, movie, book, etc., while offering clear, concise reasons for why you like or dislike a game. Tom Chick is content to be a nitpick. Not all games are going to be life-changing events, Tom. I feel sorry for someone who can't pull the Pretentious Stick out of his ass and enjoy a game for what it is.
I found the game to be better than GTA4 in just about every way, not that that is saying much.
Like it has been said, a cancelled game outdid GTA4.
I will say you make a mistake of using that context with abandon Games must be taken as they are first before being compared chunk for chunk. There are many individual parts of certain immortal games which are technically inferior and play worse than newer games, yet they for some reason are more enjoyable and fun games. Nobody needs to tell me how much better the free-form fighting on Arkham City is than on PoP:Warrior Within, but that didn't make it more fun and satisfying for me.
Whilst I haven't completed Sleeping Dogs, I am playing it, and I think you do it an injustice by not mentioning many of it's strengths.
For example you go to great lengths to chastise the fighting. It's not a Batman fighting scheme firstly, its a PoP fightings scheme and its standard because its good. Secondly, you fail to recognise that there is no other non-superhero based open world game that has so little gunplay and so much hand-to-hand and it should be commended for that. It's not about anti-violence, you just completely dismiss this 'because [they] want the game to be a martial arts action movie'. Erm, I've watched tons of Martial Arts action movies that had plenty of guns.
Driving Physics is debatable, its firmly on the Arcade side. If that's not your cup of tea then say so by all means, but at least describe it as too Arcadey rather than just chastising it. There are people; myself included, who don't mind a bit of arcade.
I guess I'll reserve judgement on guns, progression etc until I finish the game. I just felt to need to comment on this becasue your experience fo the game definitely doesn't match mine.
What a spit in the face of journalism.
Not to mention the fact the reviewer assumes he has made a clever pun in the title, which is obviously the pun in the title of the game.
Might as well let Sleeping Dogs lie
I'm so glad I played this first, and enjoyed the hell out of it, and then read the review. Reviews are subjective, and that's all fine and good - but while I enjoy Tom's podcasts and creative output, I know that we have different taste when it comes to games.
I found the fighting in sleeping dogs to be the star of the show - learning new moves in the game dramatically changes how the fighting works, but I have a feeling Tom never strung together anything more than 5 left clicks in a row, so states that "you'll probably never use" all those extra moves in the game. I guess he just missed out on the fun, then.
*Sleeping Dogs would have been quite the game four or five years ago,
before Saints Row 3, Just Cause 2, Grand Theft Auto IV, Assassin’s
Creed, or Arkham City. As it is, in 2012, it is a thunderless game that
does things that have each been done better in at least two or three
other games*
This is a far more enjoyable game than GTA 4 and Saints Row 3 with many aspects better.. Such as driving. Though the combat system is very similar to Arkham City they made better on it in Sleeping dogs. Your implying that it has taken many aspects from a number of different games like it's a bad thing. The only things that let sleeping dogs down is gltiches and how short the story is. Apart from that I found it excellent. If game engines were the most important part of making games then FF7 would no longer be the best of it's series.
Well, now I know where NOT to come for reviews. On Metacritic, out of the current 47 critic reviews, this is the ONLY negative one. Ever think reviewing games isn't your thing?
shut up
STFU already damn ass kisser
This review is just like I experienced Sleeping Dogs. Very overrated game!!
1. Sleeping Dogs is a great game because what it does HASN'T been done before, and that is specifically offer impressive melee and parkour in the open world crime genre. None of the other games you listed had done this before it, and quite astonishingly, no other game has done it since (not even the TRULY overrated GTA 5).
2. Just Cause 2 was an amazing game and of course had a bigger map than Sleeping Dogs (It had a much bigger map than GTA 5 for crying out loud!), but that shouldn't imply SD's map isn't satisfactorily big, because it is. "Attempt at overseas exotica"? How bout just appreciating having a different setting for this sort of game for a change, instead of yet another version of New York or L.A.?
3. L.A. Noire was another fine game, but you can't do half the stuff in L.A. Noire that you can in Sleeping Dogs. Heck, there's even a ton of things you can do in SD that you can't even do in GTA 5! (I know I'm picking on that one a lot, but it seems reasonable in that this was the latest sandbox crime game released with incredibly generous reviews).
4. I've experienced no frame rate problems, texture pop-ins, or empty streets in my playthroughs. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say maybe these were issues when it first came out (I only bought it a few months ago), but it doesn't seem to be valid criticism anymore.
5. Sleeping Dogs did not begin as part of the True Crime universe. An original project first named "Black Lotus", it began with a new developer - United Front Games, not Luxoflux - and Activision only began to MARKET it as a TC game because they thought it would help it sell. Fortunately for Square Enix, Activision canceled the project and is probably kicking themselves pretty hard for it.
6. I was pleased with the story. It's not the best out there, but since when do we hold sandbox crime games to that standard? At least it made me actually care about a few of the characters, which is enough for me. GTA 5 certainly failed in that regard, after all, and somehow it's a 10 out of 10!
7. There's much more of a twist to the story than your shallow review is wanting to reveal, and that's found partially in the fact that Wei Shen is not just any undercover cop whose been assigned to infiltrate the Triad. He grew up in Hong Kong, knows a few of the characters personally and cares about them as well as their interests vs the cops and other gang members.
8. The killing is not "almost always consequence-free". It's just like in GTA games in that if a cop sees it happening, you get the police on your ass. Further, in missions, there is undeniably a consequence - be it positive or negative - of killing, well, ANYONE. The experience points you get (of which there are three types) is directly influenced by how many people you kill and in what ways... So that's a bit of a BS criticism on your part, because it's less true of this game than it is of other open world crime games, which I feel pretty confident you haven't given this criticism to.
9. Maybe half the jade statues are "dropped in front of you" in missions. But even if they all were, you make it sound as if there is no fun to be had in collecting in general. The rewards for finding the rather sizable number of collectibles in this game are, again, better than in GTA 5. You learn fighting skills, unlock clothing, boost your maximum health, sometimes get a weapon, and of course get loads of cash. IOW, the collectibles are just fine ;)
10. Nope, the girls in the bar are not hookers. Sorry if that disappoints you. Sleeping Dogs just happens to be more woman-friendly than GTA.
11. I thought the karaoke was surprisingly entertaining. I couldn't stop laughing at Wei when I messed something up! But I was also glad to find the scoring system was so forgiving. It WOULD'VE been annoying if they had made it difficult to get a satisfactory score.
12. I have to quote this next one, just so people know what your (insanely ludicrous) argument is:
"Sleeping Dogs plays it under the top enough that its occasional dalliances with supergore seem out of place. You’re mostly a nice conscientious protagonist agonizing over how best to fight crime viz a viz loyalty, honor, and various other protagonist values. But look, now you’re a psychopath impaling people on giant fish hooks, shoving their heads into incinerators, or slashing them with a power saw! Mostly you only break an arm or leg when it’s necessary to defend yourself. Oops, sorry pedestrians. I’m trying to do this achievement here."
So basically, it's an open world crime game as they have been this entire time. Only with the introduction of Trevor in GTA 5 has the character's personality truly matched the stereotypical player's behavior (killing people on a whim, running people over left and right, etc.) and quite frankly, the new concept SUCKS. Oh, it's not that I mind playing a protagonist who's a psychotic asshole; but it was never a necessity that his personality in cut scenes sync up with whatever I might want to do "in the sandbox". Freedom. It's not just the nature of sandbox crime games, mind you, but video games in general! What consistency were we seeing in making Mario jump on a turtle's head even after he had already gotten past the thing? I mean, how can he be an OK superdude when he's going out of his way to hurt animals that are simply walking by? I'll tell you how - IT'S A FRICKIN' VIDEO GAME! You're SUPPOSED to be able to do whatever you want, despite how it fits in with the precious little story and characters the devs spent so much time and effort creating.
And your equating this idea with newer games and comparing it to older games doesn't help your case. Despite the debate over where Sleeping Dogs ranks in the open world crime genre, GTA: San Andreas is IMMENSELY better than GTA 5, and that's specifically because you weren't limited in ANY way for the sake of the storyline or characters. Once more, that is exactly how video games should be, IMO. Freedom and gameplay over story and graphics.
But if it helps you, Wei is a badass with an increasingly understandable vendetta against specific people (and naturally that means their subordinates). That's why you are required to do horrible things to them IN MISSIONS. Move on.
13. The melee is not quite as polished as in the Batman game, but again considering the genre, SD wins hands-down in this department. Plus, you can use objects in your immediate surroundings with which to kill/hurt your enemies, and you can throw enemies in your trunk and drive around too which is pretty cool.
14. I found the driving to be just fine. As with any game, you have to get used to controls. It's arcadey, same as GTA 5 and all the others before GTA 4. Plus you can make the GPS put arrows on the road so you don't have to "play the mini-map" as you do in all the GTAs. Plus, you can slow-motion drive AND slow-motion shoot as the same time which is frickin' amazing - another thing I don't think has been done before... in ANY genre... But this is what you're calling "basic"?
15. I use the free-running system all the time, what are you talking about? Parkour is one of the best features of the game!
16. Optional activities are "built into the world" just fine, but I would've agreed that there should be more - if you had have offered that criticism.
17. Found the missions everything BUT forgettable. There are lots of memorable moments, both during and after the cut scenes. What's more, unlike with GTA 5, some of the memorable moments are actually PLEASANT (rather than disturbing).
18. Races were actually pretty fun for me. Not too difficult, not too easy. Just right, and it was fun using the ramming feature to knock some opponents off the road ;)
19. Chases are preset, no denying that. But at least the parkour makes it FUN rather than frustrating.
20. "Unrewarding side activities". Well like I said, the collectibles give you GREAT rewards, and like YOU said earlier the missions (many of which are what you would call "side activities") give you different types of experience points or money. So this is a rather confusing criticism, never minding the fact that not everything in video games has to have a "reward" for them to be fun/enjoyable. The fun itself IS your reward, bro.
21. The mini-games for cracking safes, hacking cameras and planting bugs were pretty cool; the tracing calls, not so much, but then it was quite rare that you had to do this. And what was your criticism again, about the lock-picking? I'm sorry, I couldn't find an actual point in the midst of all your attitude there.
22. Also can't say I had much problem with the "temporary buffs". By the time you get annoyed with them (instead of grateful FOR them), you're skilled enough to take on missions WITHOUT them for the added challenge. It's a non-issue.
23. If you personally choose not to use the new skills Wei learns as you go along, or if you personally cannot figure out how to get guns from police cars (which is incredibly simple, BTW), that cannot be blamed on the game. There is no lack of a sense of progression in Sleeping Dogs. Almost everything you do helps you in some way. You just have to know how to put that help to good use.
24. The inaccessibility of guns in this game is actually a valid criticism. Way to go! Goes to show you, even shots in the dark find their target eventually.
*SPOILER ALERT*
25. Only issue I had with the dating was that none of the relationships "worked out". I really wanted to see more of that first girl he met. The moments were either fun or pleasant. You not appreciating the free-running race and the photo shoots for what they were is no one's problem but your own. Again, not all games want to include women only as strippers and prostitutes.
*END OF SPOILERS*
And if you "fondly recall bowling with Roman", that might imply a good explanation for why you didn't enjoy these brilliant scenes with women in them. Just saying.
Well said! I sure wish GTA 5 would've borrowed more from other games (like Sleeping Dogs). It doesn't seem like Rockstar will ever fix their melee and parkour on their own.
Agreed. What better way to be clever than simply copy someone else's cleverness ;)
I don't think it should be taken down or anything (Free speech and aldat), but I do agree it's bullshit, and I find it hilarious that two people saw fit to downvote your comment but couldn't find the words to explain WHY :)
"It is quite true that this game has nothing new to offer."
You have to consider the genre. No one's claiming that most of these things are entirely new concepts (though I can't think of a single game in any genre that lets you slow-motion drive AND slow-motion shoot at the same time). But it is the first and STILL the only to let you do all these great things in an open world crime game. It deserves a good deal of praise for that, IMO.
"The combat is straight from batman."
Lots of great games have ideas taken straight from another. And again, this is the first in its genre to do melee so well. Plus, you can use objects in your general surroundings to hurt/kill enemies, which wasn't even in Batman.
"The abilities o unlock are nothing to look forward to. I have to remind myself to use the the various combos and its really easier to fight while just ignoring them."
But it's more FUN (remember, point of playing games?) to use the combos and every other skill you acquire.
I personally enjoyed the mini-games (including karaoke). That's all subjective. There could've been more mini-games, though.
"Texture popping is indeed rampant"
I haven't experienced any of that, sorry.
"and the storyline is indeed trite and uninspired."
Not to me. It's not at such a grand scale as some games out there, but then who says it has to be? Games are about gameplay, with everything else coming second. That's my view on it anyway.
And your reward for proper timing while free-running is that you maintain your momentum. That's enough. You shouldn't need a "reward" for every little thing you do in a video game.
"It is quite true that this game has nothing new to offer."
You have to consider the genre. No one's claiming that most of these things are entirely new concepts (though I can't think of a single game in any genre that lets you slow-motion drive AND slow-motion shoot at the same time). But it is the first and STILL the only to let you do all these great things in an open world crime game. It deserves a good deal of praise for that, IMO.
"The combat is straight from batman."
Lots of great games have ideas taken straight from another. And again, this is the first in its genre to do melee so well. Plus, you can use objects in your general surroundings to hurt/kill enemies, which wasn't even in Batman.
"The abilities o unlock are nothing to look forward to. I have to remind myself to use the the various combos and its really easier to fight while just ignoring them."
But it's more FUN (remember, point of playing games?) to use the combos and every other skill you acquire.
I personally enjoyed the mini-games (including karaoke). That's all subjective. There could've been more mini-games, though.
"Texture popping is indeed rampant"
I haven't experienced any of that, sorry.
"and the storyline is indeed trite and uninspired."
Not to me. It's not at such a grand scale as some games out there, but then who says it has to be? Games are about gameplay, with everything else coming second. That's my view on it anyway.
And your reward for proper timing while free-running is that you maintain your momentum. That's enough. You shouldn't need a "reward" for every little thing you do in a video game.
I don't think it should be taken down or anything (Free speech and aldat), but I do agree the review is way off, and I find it hilarious that three people saw fit to downvote your comment but couldn't find the words to explain WHY :)
Missions are widely varied, I don't know what you're smoking.