Sleeping Dogs: When to Let a Game Lie

Sleeping Dogs

As I talked about last week, I’ve been doing a remarkable job when it comes to my gaming backlog. The most recent casualty on my seemingly ever-growing list (seriously: I just added Ni No Kuni to it this weekend) is Sleeping Dogs, Square Enix’s Hong Kong crime drama.

I’m generally down on open-world GTA style games, but Sleeping Dogs was a welcome treat, providing fun hand-to-hand combat, some nice diversions, exhilarating driving and a well-told story to boot. But one of the things I loved most about Sleeping Dogs? It knew when to call the game quits.

While I hear lots of criticisms about games being too short, I honestly am really relieved when a game ends at just the right moment: leaving me wanting a little bit more of it while also satisfied with the amount I got to play. Too many video games seem to battle a perceived “problem” of not enough game play by padding the final act of their games with scenarios that get so ridiculous, and stay at such a climactic height for so long that all the intensity just feels jettisoned out of the airlock like a xenomorph queen. There are so many games that while I play them, I keep saying to myself, “for the love of all things unholy, just END.”

Some recent examples of games that overstayed their welcome: Assassin’s Creed 3, whose number of final assaults on the antagonist stacked up too high to even recount. Far Cry 3, since Hoyt’s island just felt unnecessary. Heck, GTA IV is one prime example, as that final boat sequence had me throwing my controller in apoplectic fits.

So what are some games that you guys have played recently that overstayed their welcome, going on for far too long? What games have you played recently that end at just the right time? Go!

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I write about samurai girls and space marines. Writer for Smooth Few Films. Rooster Teeth Freelancer. Author of Red vs. Blue, The Ultimate Fan Guide, out NOW!

2 thoughts on “Sleeping Dogs: When to Let a Game Lie”

  1. Agree with Anthony.
    There’s a reason I could play that game through so many times and still get a thrill out of it. To this day I can’t think of a single game more intense throughout the playthrough. The ending is almost a relief when you see it. I would know i played through it (runs to check Gamecube save) over 26 times.

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