Sleeping Dogs

As promised, this weeks review is for United Front Games' open world crime sandbox, Sleeping Dogs. And if you haven't heard alot about it, you aren't the only one. Sleeping Dogs flew under the radar of all but the most news-hungry gamers. Sleeping Dogs began as the third instalment of the True Crime series, but a long series of setbacks and the game changing hands, it eventually fell to Square Enix and United Front Games as Sleeping Dogs. So is it a hidden treasure, or is there a reason for it to be so far off radar? Find out below!

STORY
Sleeping Dogs takes place in crime-ridden Hong Kong, where the police struggle against the triads for order, and the triads struggle with each other for power. Into this struggle, enter Wei Shen, former Hong Kong native, turned American undercover cop. Wei returns home to infiltrate the triads by way of his childhood friends (who all conveniently run with the gang), and rises through the ranks to take down the Red Poles (leaders) of the group.

This may just sound like a unique twist on the same old "go into sandbox, tear shit up as a criminal, win all the shit" story that is Saint's Row or GTA, but the undercover aspect of Wei's adventure is a far more interesting take on the formula than I originall thought. Alot of the game deals with who Wei gets close to, and as the line between enemy and friend blurs, Wei gets deeper into triad territory. There's alot of character development on Wei's side as he deals with the pressures of being undercover in this dangerous situation.

PRESENTATION
First thing's first; while Sleeping Dogs isn't the most graphical pretty game around, I find that it brings an Authentic feel to the sandbox of Hong Kong. On top of that, while the people don't look amazing, the blood and sweat effects (especially when combined) look great, and give Wei the look of having won a hard fought battle.
The colours are bright and vibrant, and it all looks really cool.

The animations (especially during the hand-to-hand combat and free-running) look really cool and fluid, as if they were pulled straight from a kung fu movie. As well as that, when the tyres on vehicles are shot out, they do a sweet barrel roll. It looks great and it feels rewarding as hell.

The soundtrack is great, filled with a whole lot of sweet metal (Thank God for the Roadrunner records channel), and also a lot of classic rock, and some more asian sounding stuff. Sorry I don't have a technical term for that. And the voice acting is pretty fantastic, though it's a shame to see the voices of stars like Lucy Liu and Emma Stone used so little. But, the actor for Wei is so passionate and emotional in his delivery of lines that it's hard not to like him, or at least sympathise with him.

It's not all great though; the occasional texture pop-in, and glitch where people are halfway through the geometry, but they don't occur often enough to be distracting.

GAMEPLAY
Now when you read Open-world crime sandbox at the top, did you immediately think this was going to be a GTA clone? Fair enough, but would you be surprised to hear me say that it's not? Or at least, it isn't completely. Yes, you have an open world. Yes, you drive cars. Yes, you shoot and kill other people. But there are many differences that make it something more than a GTA Clone.

For one, it's hand-to-hand combat is miles better than the last GTA. If anything, it's more reminiscent of Arkham Asylum, where it's simple to use, but deep enough that it takes practice to master. You're able to strike, counter and grab opponents, while also being able to utilize weapons and environmental hotspots (for quick and gruesome executions).

The driving is also a bit more arcade-y than GTA, with a lot more of an action movie feel. While the basic driving mechanics are the same, you're also able to action hijack other cars, while still in motion (a-la Just Cause 2). Your ability to powerslide around turns is much better than GTA, which may be an after effect of UFG's last game, Modnation Racers.

The gunplay takes a backseat to the rest of the action, as guns are surprisingly scarce in Hong Kong. But when Wei does get his hands on firearm, you know shit's about to go down. The aiming feels precise, and surpisingly fast, while the guns themselves sound awesome and look like they pack a punch. The highlight of the gunplay however, is the bullet time mechanic. Not a simple case of switching it off or on, like in Max Payne, Sleeping Dogs triggers slow motion whenever you vault over cover and aim. It's then possible to chain multiple kills to keep the slow motion going until everyone but Wei is dead.

Last of all, the free running feels about as exciting as the car chases. Whenever a chase on foot occurs, you can expect to slide over chest high objects, leap off of tall structures and climb over walls. It all looks fantastic and is really quite simple.

The last real point of interest for Sleeping Dogs is the levelling system. Because of the dual nature of Wei's story, you have multiple Experience trees. One is the cop tree, rewarded for being cautious and careful; while the triad tree rewards players who are vicious and dangerous. It's possible to get all three stars in both trees, but it adds a nice level of challenge to the proceedings. On top of that, with each skill tree, you get new unlocks to change up how Sleeping Dogs plays.
Add to that the Face Exp tree, which allows for better car and clothing purchases.

On the downside, Sleeping Dogs seems to lack the freedom of GTA or Saint's Row. You can't hold more than one weapon at a time, and despite having the ability to go insane and homicidal, the fact that Wei is a cop makes it feel weird. This might just be me, however.

REPLAYABILITY
Like any good sandbox game, Sleeping Dogs has a lot of shit to pass the time. Want to bet on the cockfights? Go ahead. Street Racing? Hell yea! Karaoke?.... I suppose. Sure. On top of all this, there are drug busts (chances to be an actual cop) and face missions (where you get your face out there and help people).
There's also the opportunity to replay story missions and increase your cop/triad rankings.

Add to this the multiplayer-esque score rankings (for most kills in a row or clean driving etc) that compare your scores to the online community, and you have an assload to do in Hong Kong.

OVERVIEW

While Sleeping Dogs isn't the perfect game, it is one of the best I've seen this year. No it doesn't have the best graphics, yes some of the voice acting seems terribly racist, and yea, occasionally some of the controls feel a little awkward. But for the most part, these aren't problems. Despite the graphical quality, Sleeping Dogs is still visually interesting, and the bad voice acting is heavily outweighed by the great voice acting, and 90% of the time, the controls work well.

The game is a lot of fun, the parts that make it up are truly fantastic to play. The story is also a must see. It's far more interesting than the standard sandbox crime game fare. Sleeping Dogs has flown under the radar, but after reading this review, I hope that it appears on most of yours. Because it's the type of game that truly deserves to be played.

Next week, Darksiders 2. Then either Fall of Cybertron or New Super Mario Bros. 2.
See you next time!