Welcome to the mean streets of Hong Kong. The city is home to more than 7,000,000 people, and it seems that you have to personally punch every single one of them in order to enact social justice. Does that sounds like a good time? Then you will probably love “Sleeping Dogs,” a new open-world action adventure game by Square Enix. This game arose from the ashes of a cancelled “True Crime” game, and to extend the phoenix metaphor, it burns brightly, if only for a brief time.
Although I joke that the game is only about finding creative ways of Crane-Kicking Hong Kong citizens in the face, “Sleeping Dogs” actually does have a very involved story that will keep players engaged.
You play as Undercover Detective Wei Shen, who returns to the city after 15 years because of his childhood connection to several members of a local Triad, the Sun On Yee. The game then follows Wei Shen as he walks the razor’s edge of danger, infiltrating deeper into the Sun On Yee underworld, while still trying to follow the law and not lose his soul to the violence that permeates the bloody Triad lifestyle.
Square Enix was going for a very Hong Kong action-flick story, and I say they succeeded. The game hits all of the beats you would expect, especially if you are a fan of movies like “Hard Boiled” or “Supercop.” If you are a fan of personal conflict, combined with intrigue, I definitely suggest grabbing this one.
Technically, “Sleeping Dogs” isn’t terribly innovative. While I wouldn’t call this game a GTA clone, the elements are there in mass, so it wouldn’t be surprising if you mistook the game for one at a glance. The city is your playground when you are not on a story specific mission. Steal cars, run around the back alleys parkour-style, attack practically everyone you come across, and deal with the repercussions from both police and Triad forces. However, what changes it up are the things the game focuses on.
There is no Second Amendment in China, so getting your hands on a gun is a much rarer thing. Most enemies have to be dealt with by good ol’ fashion ass-kicking. Good thing Wei Shen is a Kung Fu master, and specializes in wrecking your shit. The control scheme for combat controls very much like “Arkham City,” and though I have heard several people complain that the countering mechanic is clunky, I found it to be quite easy to pull off. Your experience may differ on that point. Also, environmental kills are a big thing in the game, such as throwing people into ice-chippers, or kicking people’s torsos through phone booths. At times, you will pretty much have to resort to repeat environmental kills, as the game will throw a ridiculous amount of bad guys at you sometimes. Combat can also be upgraded through completing enough missions to unlock faction-specific perks, as well as finding collectables for your Kung Fu school. Furthermore, while civilian-owned guns are quite rare in China, there will be a few points in the game where you can find one. These portions of the game are incredibly fast paced, and they break up the monotony of vicious face-punching. Gun battles make you feel incredibly powerful, maybe a little too powerful.
Every gun seemed to blow guys off their feet Robert Rodriguez style, and thus be over quite quickly. And the gun sound is so loud that it is disproportional to the rest of the sound effects. I often found myself turning down the TV only during the few gun-fights. That is only a mild gripe though, because as I said, gun-fights are rare.
Visually, Sleeping Dogs might leave many of you disappointed. While some forgiveness has to be given to any open-world game for the relative simplicity of much of their people and scenery for the sake of smooth transition and load times, this game can look quite dated at times. This is probably because the game was revived by Square Enix after its “True Crime” inception died. This is especially obvious during close-up cut scenes, where the character’s facial animations seem quite wooden, bordering on non-expressive for side characters. The soundtrack fluctuates between a more modern techno-hip hop sound, and classical Chinese orchestral instruments. This sets a nice atmosphere for the game, but it isn’t anything special. This is the weakest portion of the game, but it shouldn’t be that big a deal for those who don’t mind such things.
“Sleeping Dogs” is a fun, action-filled title that brings out the Kung Fu fan in you. However, unless you are a fan of that type of thing, I’d definitely only recommend this game as a strong rental. And despite its graphic weaknesses, it certainly has a charm all its own that cannot be overlooked. If nothing else, check out its combat system, and feel the satisfaction of knuckle-dusting some guy right in the scrotum. You will be surprised how much your day is brightened up. And then stay for the persona conflict of Wei Shen. You will be glad you did.
Final Score: 7/10
Final Thought: The best part about being a loose cannon cop on the edge who doesn’t play by the rules? No paperwork…
