*Just in case, I'm just going to add a spoiler warning*

This blog post ins't going to be some review but somewhere behind that, I just don't know what to call it. Anyway, I just beat Sleeping Dogs and while it isn't a perfect game, it is quite fun. There are things it does right. The story is interesting and keeps you entertained. And the fact that it is slightly based off of real life, it brings you into a new world. It kind of felt like like The Departed, but rather than being in the mob, you're a Triad gangster. Combat was fairly iffy, on the other hand. It's nowhere near as good as what it could have been. When it worked, it was great, but when it didn't it got frustrating. That isn't to say that fighting wasn't hard, because honestly, "boss" fights were just as easy as normal fights against your average thug.

My biggest dislike though of the entire game is the whole relationship system. Now I get that it isn't for everybody, but in the case of Sleeping Dogs, it felt like an after thought. It didn't add anything to the game, so why even bother? Don't get me wrong, it was nice having shrines, cameras, lock boxes, and statues show up on the map for easy retrieval, but doesn't that sort of take away from the whole finding hidden (emphasis on hidden) collectibles? Now GTA4 also had a relationship system. You could hang out with girlfriends and friends, do random activities on top of doing storyline missions. I'm also not saying hanging out with virtual friends in a video game is for everyone, but every now and again, playing pool against Little Jacob, going to a strip club with Brucie, or having "hot coffee" with Michelle/Karen was a little fun if not interesting.

In Sleeping Dogs, relationships are one-off's. Once you hang out with Emma Stone, that's it. She never appears again. Now I'm all for making Wei look like a badass who can get with anyone, but it would have been nice having there be someone there who is trying to understand his struggle, but can't because he can't tell them what he is going through. Rather than having Wei go through random bits of auditory flashbacks after going to sleep after key missions, they could have given him a meaningful relationship with one of the many girls they had him hook-up with. It adds a little more depth to a character who is a bad-ass (which is up for argument).

So if you haven't read in-between the lines yet, this blog post is pretty much how I want to have a relationship with Emma Stone since I can't have one with her in real life.