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This game by Square Enix, will be the sleeper game that nobody has heard about and may slip under your radar. It's the spiritual successor to the True Crime series and is a Far East take on the GTA series.
The game, unlike the GTA series starts off with a big bang and also attempt to streamline some of the GTA elements by keeping you focused mostly on the missions at hand. So far from what I have experienced, the game itself has great writing as well as great voice talent as it tells a not so common story of an undercover cop trying to infiltrate the Triads in Hong Kong.
One of the big aspects that I like in this game is the ability to incorporate some RPG elements in the game a'la SWKOTOR style. You get XP in 3 areas: Face XP (general public opinion), Triad XP (Triad devotion) and Cop (Cop devotion). You earn these in varying degrees based on how much or how little damage you do as you rampage through the streets of HK on your missions as well as your side missions.
Another aspect that some may enjoy is the combat style which was lifted from the Batman: Arkham series. You earn points by the number of combos and counters you pull off and while its nice on paper, occasionally it doesn't always work in game as sometimes you almost have to wait for enemies to attack to pull your moves. Another aspect to these attacks are enviromental bonuses you get for things like throwing enemies into dumpsters, electrocution and other sick moves and these moves can be leveled as you rpogress in the game.
One of the best ways that Sleeping Dogs has taken at trimming the fat from the game is that within a few hours of playing you can earn a lot of cash for things like wardrobe, cars and other items to get your gangsta on as opposed to the GTA series where earning certain perks takes a lot longer to get.
As far as the environement itself, it's very lifelike and you will hear English mixed with Cantonese and the city feels alive and spawling. Even the passersby have a somewhat more lifelike feel than what I have seen in GTA.
Graphically, in some areas, the game does feel a bit dated as if this was done a few years ago, this would have been a great answer to GTA and Saint's Row but for what it is with tight story telling and action, this game really is what Stranglehold (another great Far East crime game) from 2007 should have been.
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I remember, when True Crime: Streets of Hong Kong was gonna come out, but the devs decided to gut it, last year. Then, I heard nothing else about the game. Several months ago, I saw some vids on this game called "Sleeping Dogs". Found out that Square Enix took over publishing rights to original True Crime game, renamed it and tweaked it. I must say, I am glad that Square Enix decided to take what was supposed to be the next True Crime game, and make it similar, but better. This game is probably the most fun and underrated games of 2012.In the game, you play as undercover police officer, Wei Shen. He is a Chinese-American detective from San Francisco, who has been called to his native Hong Kong to help infiltrate a Triad gang, called "Sun On Yee". The game takes place in the streets of Hong Kong.
GAMEPLAY: The game is an open-world game ala Grand Theft Auto IV and Saint's Row: The Third, but it seems a little more immersive because of the fighting, interactions, and the cinematic essence in the game. The player can roam free and outside of car-jacking, the player can bet on cockfights and street races, join fight clubs, and do karaoke. Of course, the player can buy various things, such as vehicles, apartments, clothes, and upgrades.
By playing the role as an undercover cop, primary missions will be done on the police side and the Triad side. Also, there are side missions on both, such as drug bust for the police side and "helping" or doing "favors" for residences on the Triad side. "Helping" or doing "favors" can be interesting, but I'm not going to spoil many of the task you are asked to do.
Fighting is a LARGE part of the game. In fact, the fighting would be similar to what is in the Batman Arkham series. It is very addictive and immersive. Sometimes, I don't even feel like I am playing an open-world game. The hits are very hard and brutal. In addition, blocking and making counter attacks will make the player feel like a real kung-fu master. I never felt like such a bad-a** on a fighting game. I must say, it is no easy task, when fighting, especially when fighting seven or more opponents at the same time.
While fighting, a finishing move can be performed. When this happens, the game goes into slo-mo. At that time, seeing the character landing finishing punches or kicks in the opponent's face shows a nice amount of blood coming. It's quite satisfying. What's even better is many other attacks can be learned by finding statues around the city and going to the Do-jo to practice newly acquired attacks on the students.
The coolest part about fighting is using environmental attacks to take out opponents. The player can grapple opponents and throw them at walls, through boxes, phone booths, and electric panels. There are some other parts of the environment that can be used to take out opponents, but won't spoil those.
Driving has similarities to GTAIV, but is a little different. I would say that the driving is not as responsive and the camera angles takes getting used to, especially when going into reverse. Still, it is not much to complain about. It is cool to hear the Hong Kong-based radio stations. I get the feel that I'm actually there.
Shooting on this game is similar to that of Stranglehold, which means it is very animated. Not to mention, the game goes in slo-mo, when the player vaults, while shooting.
GRAPHICS: The graphics in this game are vivid, but not outstanding. I would say that the graphics are sort of dated, but the gameplay outshines that shortcoming, if you want to call it that.
VERDICT: Many people might not want to give this game a chance because they believe it is a knock-off of GTAIV. However, it is its own kind of game. Not to mention, what it lacks in graphics, it is a lot more fun, in my opinion. This game is definitely worth buying, especially since it has gone down in price.I recently finished playing sleeping dogs, and to be honest...I didn't want it to end! This doesn't happen a lot with me, but this one was actually a great game to just have fun with. The story was Awesome and i can't wait for a second or some DLC (hopefully)! If your on the fence about this game, take it from me. Ive got 15 or 20 games preordered, so i play a bunch, and when i say that "I don't want this game to end"! Its probably worth a try! Great Job Square Enix on this one!
Read Best Reviews of Sleeping Dogs Here
I've never reviewed anything on Amazon before, but when I saw that Sleeping Dogs sales figures were trailing other recent games, I thought I'd give it some love. I haven't had this much fun with a game since InFamous 2. It's kind of in that vein: open-world yet story driven with lots of side-quests sprinkled in. The story is great, the characters are memorable and actually have personalities. The voice cast is top-shelf (especially the guy who plays Wei). I've seen a lot of game mags and sites knocking the graphics, but these 33 year old eyes think it looks great! The controls are tight for both hand-to-hand and gun fights. And I LOVE the driving/racing in this game; it's all on the wrong side of the road, being in Hong Kong, but that's part of the fun! You can feel the culture of Hong Kong bleed through, but you won't feel like you don't belong there when you're playing it. This is the kind of game that makes me want to do nothing else, but find every last collectable and complete every side quest, yet I don't feel overwhelmed by the amount of them (*ahem* Batman Arkham City). A perfectly balanced game in every sense and if you enjoyed games like the InFamous series and/or GTA, this is for you. Thank you Square Enix for saving this from development limbo and putting out a great game well worth the steep opening price-tag.If your a fan of the previous true crime games/series, you'll love this game. The hand to hand combat is fluid and almost reminiscent of batman arkham city. Though it's a sandbox game like GTA; it plays in its own style and isn't second to that at all.
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