I love Hong Kong cinema. Movies like John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow, Alan Mak’s Infernal Affairs, and Jackie Chan’s Police Story are the kind of
films I grew up with.
Hong Kong cinema is unmatched in delivering imaginative fight choreography and
exhilarating action sequences. Last time I visited China’s immersive scenery in a video
game was in John Woo’s Stranglehold.
It was a fantastic third-person shooter, but it was short, linear and left
me craving for more. Back in 2009,
Activision announced a reboot of the True Crime franchise with True Crime: Hong
Kong - originally developed as a new IP under the title Black Lotus. When the game was dropped due to
budgeting issues and who knows what, I was devastated. Luckily, Square Enix saw potential in it
and brought it back under the new name Sleeping Dogs. And I'm glad they did, because Sleeping Dogs is absolutely brilliant. It doesn’t particularly re-invent the
sandbox genre, nor is it bug-free, but the gameplay is superb, the voice acting
and story are fantastic and there’s a massive amount of content that’ll keep
you busy for a very long time.
The talented Will Yun Lee, who’s been
in movies like Elektra, Die Another Day, and the recent Total Recall, plays the
protagonist Wei Shen.Byron Mann, the guy who played Ryu in
the 1994 Street Fighter movie, plays your handling officer, Raymond Mak. And remember Liu Kang from the 95 and
97 Mortal Kombat movies? Well,
Robin Shou plays one of the Sun On Yee
Triad thugs - c’mon, this is great!
To mix things up, we have the great Tom Wilkinson as Inspector Pendrew and
even Emma Stone and Lucy Liu lend their talents to the game. The list goes on and all of the performances,
minus some of the bystanders and side characters, are first-class.
"It doesn’t particularly re-invent the sandbox genre, nor is it bug-free, but the gameplay is superb, the voice acting and story are fantastic and there’s a massive amount of content that’ll keep you busy for a very long time."
The game begins in a Hong Kong harbor where undercover cop
Wei Shen, a San Francisco police officer who was seconded to the Hong Kong
police force, is in the middle of a drug deal. Of course, things go bad, guns go off, people die, and the
next thing you know Wei is behind bars.
While in jail, Wei meets his old buddy Jackie Mah, played by
actor/musician Edison Chen, who’s now a member of the Sun On Yee Triad. And
you guessed it, Jackie asks Wei to pay the gang a visit after he gets out. This is a perfect opportunity
for Wei to go undercover and infiltrate the Triad.
Things are tough for Wei as he struggles between committing
crimes to prove his worth to the Triad and completing missions as a police
officer. Some of the Triad members
are people he’s known since childhood; so personal attachment soon becomes an
issue. He’s haunted by night
terrors and feels torn between the two sides. The story is not necessarily original, but it’s superbly
executed. There is a definite
Martin Scorsese vibe, especially in the later half of the game. Will Yun Lee does a fantastic job as Wei
Shen and you feel closely attached to his character throughout.
"The Batman games have extremely precise and responsive controls that react to your every twitch, but Sleeping Dogs is a bit looser, which actually feels more realistic."
The gameplay in Sleeping Dogs is exemplary. There’s a heavy focus on martial arts,
which is the game’s bread and butter, and there are plenty of shooting
sequences that spice up the mission structure. You’re presented with a combat system similar to the recent
Batman games. Thugs glow when attacking and you have
a split second to block or counter with the “Y” button. Tapping “X” performs combos and you can
vary them by holding the button down during specific combinations. The combat is more about getting into
the flow and catching rhythm, rather
than just quick reflexes. The
Batman games have extremely precise and responsive controls that react to your
every twitch, but Sleeping Dogs is a bit looser, which actually feels more
realistic. Interactive
environments make the brawling even more fierce and enjoyable. When grappling enemies, certain objects
glow red and let you perform special moves or instant kills. These can be as subtle as tossing a guy
into the dumpster or as bloody as shredding his head on the propeller of an A/C
unit.
You learn new moves by upgrading a skill tree that consists
of Cop, Triad, Melee and Face upgrades.
Points are earned by completing missions, but Melee upgrades are acquired
by collecting jade statues for your martial arts master. Towards the end of the game, you'll chain Bruce Lee-like combos while surrounded by waves of thugs. It’s totally badass!
"Some of the talents behind the Need For Speed games have bestowed their skills to the driving physics, and it shows."
Driving in most sandbox games typically feels like an
afterthought; it’s generally the weakest and most unrefined element. Not in this case. Some of the talents behind the Need For
Speed games have bestowed their skills to the driving physics, and it shows. Sleeping Dogs has some of the most
satisfying and precise driving controls in an open world game. Racing mini-games feel like something
straight out of Burnout. You can
smash other vehicles, shoot while driving at high speeds in slow motion, and
even perform stunt car jacking, similar to Square Enix’s Just Cause 2.
And it doesn’t stop there. The shooting in the game feels effortless and tight. Shootouts occur sparingly, mainly during
key missions and car chases, but when they do, they’re spectacular. Sliding out of cover temporarily slows
down time (like in Max Payne or Stranglehold), allowing you to pick off nearby
baddies - and you can even quick-disarm them if they’re close by. Sleeping Dogs raises the bar in the
open-world gameplay department to new
heights. It’s not as realistic as
the Grand Theft Auto series, nor is it as cartoony as Saints Row, but it
strikes a perfect balance.
Everything you do in the game is fun,
and ultimately, that’s all that matters.
Rockstar better take notice.
The world of Sleeping Dogs is colossal. You’re not getting an exact replica of
Hong Kong, but a more liberal interpretation that takes inspiration from the
city’s iconic landmarks and combines them into a meticulously detailed, neon
lit, playground. The streets feel
alive, with a surprising amount of pedestrians and vehicles filling the screen. At nightfall, you’re treated to a
spectrum of neon signs escalating to immeasurable heights, and it’s then when
the visuals are at their best.
Character models look spectacular, but the same can’t be said for the
city’s inhabitants. They look
noticeably less detailed, even outright flat - but it’s understandable since
the streets are crowded throughout the entire city. It’s only in the repetitive street thugs that the design
really falters. You’re fighting
groups of enemies around every corner, ranging from heavy attackers, grapplers,
and fast strikers, but you’re getting very few visual variations. Sometimes it feels like you’re fighting
the same crowd over and over.
Nevertheless, the game boasts some of the most impressive open world
visuals and the minor hiccups don’t distract from the overall beauty of the game.
"Sleeping Dogs is one of the best action games of the year - and arguably one of the strongest sandbox titles out there."
There is a ton to do in Sleeping Dogs. If you’re just gunning for the ending,
the game might take you 10-12 hours, but you’d be missing out on the best
parts. There are pedestrians
calling out for your help around every corner and there’s a meaty amount of street
races scattered throughout the city.
Hidden collectibles are actually worth pursuing as they unlock health
upgrades, money, guns, and additional outfits. There are drug-bust mini games where you’re required to hack
into cameras and spy on triad activity from your home.
On the other hand, unnecessary filler activities, like
cockfighting and karaoke, are a letdown.
They feel thrown together and aren’t fun at all. Some of the side missions could also
use more variety and they’re over too quickly. But it’s really in the story levels where the game outshines
the competition. Every mission is
exciting and diverse. This not
only helps the game’s pacing, but it makes the story more immersive. The narrative advances with every
objective and it never feels like it’s dragging…ehm, Saints Row The Third…ehm. The game does a fantastic job of making
you feel like an undercover cop. You sense Wei’s tension as he becomes
more defensive of his Triad colleagues, especially with the police playing
dirty in order to solve the case.
Sleeping Dogs is one of the best action games of the year -
and arguably one of the strongest sandbox titles out there. With its combination of realistic and
arcade-like gameplay, a strong narrative that’s supported by excellent voice
acting, and a beautifully crafted interpretation of Hong Kong, it raises the standards
for a genre that’s desperate for creativity. And if you’re like me and you’ve watched Jackie Chan’s Crime
Story over 20 times, then this might be the best thing that’s happened to
gaming in years.
Review by: Tin Salamunic | Reviewed on: Xbox 360
9.5
This game is soooooo awesome! Love it!
ReplyDeleteBest game this year so far!
ReplyDeleteWei Shen is the new Jet Li! :)
ReplyDeleteThe free running/parkour in this game was so much fun. Too bad there wasn't more of it. Great game!!!
ReplyDeleteGive us DLC NOW!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad this game was picked up by Sqaure Enix. Awesome game!
ReplyDeleteThey better not end the series here. I'm crossing my fingers for a sequel. With a few tweaks here and there this could possibly be one of the greatest sandox games out there.
ReplyDeleteYou can even unlock the outfit from Just Cause 2. hehe, It'd be cool if a future Just Cause 3 has a Wei Shen Easter Egg in it. :)
ReplyDeleteAfter playing the demo and seeing this review over at a co-workers house from Dish, I decided I couldn’t go wrong by adding it to my queue using Blockbuster@Home. The graphics are awesome and the cutscenes are great! The texture quality is fantastic, and the stories and game mechanics are what get me more interested than anything else. Can’t wait to play it all the way throgh! I don’t always have the option to buy all the great games out there I want due to lack of funds, so the most economical way for me to play games is by renting them. Can’t wait!
ReplyDelete@ Bob, This game is definitely worth every dime. The gameplay is superb and will keep you busy for quite a long time and there's great replay value due to a crazy amount of collectibles.
ReplyDelete