Sleeping Dogs is Amazing

That is all.

I just... I just can't contain my feels for it. I was making fun of it when I started playing and then... and then I don't know what happened. It somehow activated my triad gene and everyone was my brother and I had to avenge their deaths and I just... I REGRET NOTHING!

Beware, this blog post does have a few vague spoilers for Sleeping Dogs. Also, late Merry Christmas and Happy New Years, readers and friends!

I just can't explain how amazing this game is to me. I've always been a fan of those Hong Kong martial arts cop movies. You know, the ones that all have the same story line and a young undercover cop who finds out the law really isn't that cool and some aspects of the triad aren't that bad. I ended up getting so attached to some of the triad guys like Winston and his fiance/wife Peggy, Ricky, Uncle Po and Jackie Ma.

Goddamn it Jackie, why did you have to be so adorable like a puppy. He was so annoying at first but then his loyalty won me over and then... and then...

Ahh... I can't speak of it, it hurts too much still. Sleeping Dogs just hits you hard with feels sometimes. Like, after a big devastating event, you have to get in your car and drive to dispense some sweet, sweet revenge. But it's raining, and you're driving alone at high speeds and this melancholy song is playing and you are remembering everyone who has died by the hands of your enemies. How you won their loyalty and how you went through so much crap together that you actually became brothers. You had each others backs. Now they're gone. And everything just hits you so hard. Then finally, the anger seeps in. That white, hot anger that makes you want to drive a chainsaw through your arch-enemies' head. This is what Sleeping Dogs did to me. This is really what it did. You can ask my boyfriend who has watched me play this game right though.

I was screaming in terror. I was screaming in horror. I was screaming mad. For most of this game I was Wei Shen. I felt what he was feeling, I got angry at the people he got angry with, I felt loyal to who he was loyal with. This game is just amazingly written. All the characters were beautiful. Even the ones you hate- especially the ones you hate. They were written and acted so well that you actually hated them, and it's okay because you're supposed to.

It has been so long since I've played a game and felt that it was complete. Sleeping Dogs starts amazingly and wraps up nicely. If there was no sequel, that's fine. I wouldn't mind if there was one though, if it was just as amazing.

I know that some people were really disappointed with the game, but Sleeping Dogs for me was just amazing. Purely amazing. And every time I hear this song now, I want to sit in a car and just sob for a bit. Is that sad? Maybe that's a little bit sad. Hahaha.

"You were my best friend man. That means more than a boss. you know?"

Dat PS Triple...

So after years and years and years and years and years of contemplation I didn't end up buying a Playstation 3. 

However, under this year's Christmas Tree was indeed a PS3 (or the promise of one materializing soon!) and so soon after, with a touch of anxiety, I began setting up the monolith (in it's slimmer state).

The idea of another console both excited and frightened (well frightened isn't the right word, but hey, drama) me. On one hand we have a brand spanking new console ready for me to explore how the other side lives (Xbox 360 gamer for most of this gen) and on the other hand, I have a brand spanking new console ready for me to collect another pile of games I won't come close to finishing. A common dilemma met by people in my situation (wife, kids, work etc...). I considered at first, simply taking advantage of it's BluRay player and being done with it. But that's not right. That's not fair.

God of War 3

Hopping on eBay any thought of exploiting it purely as a movie player were promptly tossed on the ground, head stomped, arms popped off and discarded viciously within a heartbeat. God of War Saga was staring back at me. I nodded and hit the Buy It Now button. Not only is this a series I had wanted to, and had no way to, play for a long time but it now came all in one pack complete with it's PSP iterations all for well under $50. Looking a little further at other games I was interested in, I was impressed to find these as part of a collection or trilogy pack as well. Buy It Now and PayPal had a good workout that week.

Resistance 3

Now here I am, awaiting the arrival of a fair stack of games that I had been longing for throughout this generation of Playstation for a fraction of the price it would have cost if I had bought it on release. And while I probably won't be able to get through all of them for a good while, I don't quite mind considering the price. I'll just take my time and ride this wave of PS titles I missed out on till the next generation.

Killzone 3

So, in the end I am glad that Sony punch was packed under that tree. Grabbing a console at the end of the development cycle for your current main console may feel like you've gone to the 'dark' side if you've been a fanboy of the other console (which I wasn't btw, totally wasn't... I just love the Halos!!! argh...), but damned if it isn't tasty reaping the benefits of holding out.

Games I purchased include:

- Killzone Trilogy

- God of War Saga

- Resistance Trilogy

- Silent Hill: Downpour (I know, I know... but I'm a Silent Hill fan, need to check it out)

- Heavy Rain

I have a couple in mind if I ever get through these (including Uncharted), but if you have any other PS3 exclusives that you think I should grab, drop me a line in the comments. Appreciate it!

Idiotcat and Tekken Tag Tournament 2

Hello!

I haven't done a blog post for Gameolio yet, so here I am. Phuong/Idiotcat/Kitty here. I'm not too sure what to post as my first post here, but it will be game related! I guess we can start with what I've been playing recently. The most interesting is probably Tekken Tag Tournament 2.

As I mentioned in the latest podcast/video cast of Gameolio, I recently bought a Qanba RAF 4 arcade stick so I could finally play fighting games on PS3. I already have a TE arcade stick, but it only works for XboX (which I don't have funnily enough) and PC. I was using it to play Street Fighter on PC at the time, but I wanted to be able to play Tekken Tag 2 with my boyfriend so I bought a new one. I am no way a hardcore fighting game enthusiast, I just love fighting games but hate playing them on pad. There are some pro players who can do it and I just do not know how. I got the edition of Tekken Tag 2 with the artbook and soundtracks and stuff and ugh... both are just so amazing! The soundtrack freaking rocks so hard. I'll link a couple of good tracks, but my favourite tracks have to be the school stage and the end stages of the arcade mode. Such good remixes!

I would also like to mention I suck at playing fighting games and get super salty, but I still love them to bits. I get super self conscious playing fighting games and I am really intimidated by the community. I think it's less about it being a male dominated community and more the fact that it's a huge trash talking community. I know most of the time it's all in good fun, but it gets serious and horrible sometimes. I just don't like that kind of thing. I know it s a huge part of online/multiplayer games, but trash talking is just annoying to me. Really, you're winning and you have add insult to injury? You're losing so you have to make it worse by insulting the other player? Really? Come on.

Guess I'm just not that kind of person. I like fighting games and would love to get good at them, but I just want to be good at them for me. I don't want to get good so I can beat other people, but it's seems like the community is all about that, at least the majority is. Although I guess this is coming from someone who kind of observes from the outside. I watch streams and stuff and know some big players, but that's about it.

I think I also get really self conscious about doing well because I'm a girl. I get hyper aware that I'm a girl playing games the girls don't usually play and feel this weird pressure that I have to do well just because I'm a girl and I have to prove myself. Which is stupid because I'm a person who thinks you can love and play whatever type of game however you want regardless of gender. But when I start up a fighting game and hold the arcade stick in my hand and get ready to attempt combos this huge pressure presses down on me and crushes my confidence. Hmm... I might have just described the feeling players get in tournaments. Except I get that feeling normally when I'm playing at home or at the arcades. Argh.

Anyways, that's enough from me for now. If anyone is involved with the fighting game community I'd love to hear from you- feel free correct me or whatever. Hah. Oh yes, I play Jaycee and Zafina, if anyone was wondering!

- Kitty

Celebrating Eight Years of World of Warcraft

While I have only been celebrating about 4 years of World of Warcraft (and at times, cursing) it has certainly had a huge impact on my gaming life. It has brought with it just about every emotion (tears of pain!) one can experience in a game and then some, but has been coupled with an immense amount of fun and challenge. And while there seem to be many people waiting for WoW to go free to play or just flat-out end, the subscription base still appears very (ridiculously) strong and doesn't look to be dipping too far anytime soon. So here's to you World of Warcraft and let's all take a trip through time with Blizzard's latest WoW video celebrating 8 years of the biggest MMORPG thus far.

Dan Plays Guild Wars 2 - Head Start

Dan, from Gameolio, finally gets to load into the world of Guild Wars 2. Surprise, surprise he  chose to play as a warrior.