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This thread has been linked to the game 'Sleeping Dogs'.
Originally planned as a sequel in the True Crime series and then canned by Activision for quote “just not good enough” despite being pretty much finished, Sleeping Dogs was then resurrected by Square Enix, given a name change (since not owning the license for the True Crime franchise) and now finally released. However has it been worth the effort saving this title or should this dog been put down long ago?
Sleeping Dogs sees you taking on the role of undercover cop Wei Shen, a Hong Kong native who’s returned after a long stay in the US. Fuelled by the desire to avenge his sister’s death the loose cannon cop accepts the extremely dangerous mission of infiltrating the Sun On Yee triad and helping to take them down from the inside. In typical Grand Theft Auto fashion you find yourself starting off as a mere errand boy following orders from bosses before moving on up and soon running things yourself. The story isn’t entirely fresh, but thanks to some solid voice acting and a tightly formed script, you’ll find yourself caring about the characters as they enter one dangerous scenario after another with plenty of ‘edge of your seat’ moments. As the story progresses, things take a rather interesting turn with the cops fearing Wei’s becoming too attached to his criminal brothers and likewise the triads suspecting his connections to the law.
While this is an open world game, things start off a lot more restricted easing you into the game’s many ideas and gameplay elements. You’ll kick things off literally by learning the game’s fighting system that follows a very Batman-esque path with well timed button presses being key. Wei will also use the environment to his advantage throwing enemies into pools of electric eels, impaling them on swordfish in what has to be the game’s most brutal addition. It’s oddly satisfying stringing along a flurry of punches and kicks before finishing up with a lob off the roof of a building.
Keep playing and soon the city will open up to you, with missions that see you free-running along building tops, driving cars in races and escort missions, leaping from car to car in a very over the top hijack manoeuvre and getting involved in shoot-outs. In fact gunplay doesn’t really play much of a role until around halfway through the game with your fists taking the primary role when it comes to fights. However this is no bad thing as the game manages to build excitement step by step perfectly before reaching a climax that pays off in spades. One such example occurs during a wedding that feels like it could have been taken directly out of a John Woo action flick. You’ ll lift over tables to provide cover, slide over obstacles to knock out and grab an enemy’s gun and finish things off with a slow motion shot to the head of an unsuspecting thug all in a brief few moments. While firing bullets is fun, it’s also refreshing to see an open world game that treats hand to hand combat as importantly as its gunplay and combined the pair create an exciting, often varied experience.
While each gameplay concept is by no means the shining example of its kind, it’s all still great fun and with the game mixing things up from mission to mission things never grow repetitive or tiresome.
Where games like Grand Theft Auto IV and Saint’s Row: The Third took a fairly generic New York-esque setting, Sleeping Dogs excels by offering something unique and much more interesting in the form of its fictional Hong Kong city. The night’s sky is filled with neon lights, the harbour is full of fishing boats, a tranquil temple sits atop the upper side of the city and even it’s more dilapidated areas bring with it so much character and atmosphere that it makes exploring them a lot more interesting than any section of Liberty City or Steelport. Streets feel busy with residents at every turn and the attention to detail in general is surprisingly great. As far as open world locations go, Sleeping Dogs definitely ranks among the best.
As previously mentioned the voice acting is excellent featuring a wide cast of famous names. Will Yun Lee in particular stands out as the game’s lead with Tom Wilkinson, Lucy Liu, Emma Stone and plenty more providing ample support in their lesser roles. While extras can vary from okay to laughably bad, it’s the main cast that shine and it’s quality will keep you plenty invested as the game’s tale unfolds.
Sleeping Dogs does suffer from a few issues though, namely a number of bugs and its character models. When paying a visit to my local massage parlour for example I found myself getting stuck on a wall when the AI took over or during a particular mission that had me watch someone from afar, the person in question would not jump in a car for the mission to progress. Needless to say both times required me to reset my console and its things like this that really should have been ironed out before release. The characters also look strange at times especially close up during cutscenes. Wei and the rest of the cast can appear very doll-like at times and animations too leave a lot to be desired as pedestrians and even some supporting characters move in awkward and weird ways. It can all hurt the sense of immersion as you watch scenes play out in often jolted ways. Collectables can also feel a little too much like padding for what is a fairly short game by open world standards. Mini games also repeat too many times with the security camera hacking game being a prime suspect.
Despite its individual flaws, when looking at the bigger picture for Sleeping Dogs, you’ll find yourself getting caught up in a genuinely exciting story backed up by a great fighting system, nice variety of mission types and an intriguing setting. Had Square Enix not picked up this once cancelled project I think it’s safe to assume that would have been a True Crime in itself.
8.5/10
Sleeping Dogs sees you taking on the role of undercover cop Wei Shen, a Hong Kong native who’s returned after a long stay in the US. Fuelled by the desire to avenge his sister’s death the loose cannon cop accepts the extremely dangerous mission of infiltrating the Sun On Yee triad and helping to take them down from the inside. In typical Grand Theft Auto fashion you find yourself starting off as a mere errand boy following orders from bosses before moving on up and soon running things yourself. The story isn’t entirely fresh, but thanks to some solid voice acting and a tightly formed script, you’ll find yourself caring about the characters as they enter one dangerous scenario after another with plenty of ‘edge of your seat’ moments. As the story progresses, things take a rather interesting turn with the cops fearing Wei’s becoming too attached to his criminal brothers and likewise the triads suspecting his connections to the law.
While this is an open world game, things start off a lot more restricted easing you into the game’s many ideas and gameplay elements. You’ll kick things off literally by learning the game’s fighting system that follows a very Batman-esque path with well timed button presses being key. Wei will also use the environment to his advantage throwing enemies into pools of electric eels, impaling them on swordfish in what has to be the game’s most brutal addition. It’s oddly satisfying stringing along a flurry of punches and kicks before finishing up with a lob off the roof of a building.
Keep playing and soon the city will open up to you, with missions that see you free-running along building tops, driving cars in races and escort missions, leaping from car to car in a very over the top hijack manoeuvre and getting involved in shoot-outs. In fact gunplay doesn’t really play much of a role until around halfway through the game with your fists taking the primary role when it comes to fights. However this is no bad thing as the game manages to build excitement step by step perfectly before reaching a climax that pays off in spades. One such example occurs during a wedding that feels like it could have been taken directly out of a John Woo action flick. You’ ll lift over tables to provide cover, slide over obstacles to knock out and grab an enemy’s gun and finish things off with a slow motion shot to the head of an unsuspecting thug all in a brief few moments. While firing bullets is fun, it’s also refreshing to see an open world game that treats hand to hand combat as importantly as its gunplay and combined the pair create an exciting, often varied experience.
While each gameplay concept is by no means the shining example of its kind, it’s all still great fun and with the game mixing things up from mission to mission things never grow repetitive or tiresome.
Where games like Grand Theft Auto IV and Saint’s Row: The Third took a fairly generic New York-esque setting, Sleeping Dogs excels by offering something unique and much more interesting in the form of its fictional Hong Kong city. The night’s sky is filled with neon lights, the harbour is full of fishing boats, a tranquil temple sits atop the upper side of the city and even it’s more dilapidated areas bring with it so much character and atmosphere that it makes exploring them a lot more interesting than any section of Liberty City or Steelport. Streets feel busy with residents at every turn and the attention to detail in general is surprisingly great. As far as open world locations go, Sleeping Dogs definitely ranks among the best.
As previously mentioned the voice acting is excellent featuring a wide cast of famous names. Will Yun Lee in particular stands out as the game’s lead with Tom Wilkinson, Lucy Liu, Emma Stone and plenty more providing ample support in their lesser roles. While extras can vary from okay to laughably bad, it’s the main cast that shine and it’s quality will keep you plenty invested as the game’s tale unfolds.
Sleeping Dogs does suffer from a few issues though, namely a number of bugs and its character models. When paying a visit to my local massage parlour for example I found myself getting stuck on a wall when the AI took over or during a particular mission that had me watch someone from afar, the person in question would not jump in a car for the mission to progress. Needless to say both times required me to reset my console and its things like this that really should have been ironed out before release. The characters also look strange at times especially close up during cutscenes. Wei and the rest of the cast can appear very doll-like at times and animations too leave a lot to be desired as pedestrians and even some supporting characters move in awkward and weird ways. It can all hurt the sense of immersion as you watch scenes play out in often jolted ways. Collectables can also feel a little too much like padding for what is a fairly short game by open world standards. Mini games also repeat too many times with the security camera hacking game being a prime suspect.
Despite its individual flaws, when looking at the bigger picture for Sleeping Dogs, you’ll find yourself getting caught up in a genuinely exciting story backed up by a great fighting system, nice variety of mission types and an intriguing setting. Had Square Enix not picked up this once cancelled project I think it’s safe to assume that would have been a True Crime in itself.
8.5/10
Yeah, I saw that. Got a copy coming in the post hopefully. Seems like a lot of shops weren't expecting it to sell quite so well and have sold out.
It is great fun. Surprised it managed to hold the top spot against Darksiders 2 in this weeks chart as well.
Good review. I'm looking forward to playing this at some point in the next few weeks. Maybe they'll have even patched it by then?
Originally planned as a sequel in the True Crime series and then canned by Activision for quote “just not good enough” despite being pretty much finished, Sleeping Dogs was then resurrected by Square Enix, given a name change (since not owning the license for the True Crime franchise) and now finally released. However has it been worth the effort saving this title or should this dog been put down long ago?
Sleeping Dogs sees you taking on the role of undercover cop Wei Shen, a Hong Kong native who’s returned after a long stay in the US. Fuelled by the desire to avenge his sister’s death the loose cannon cop accepts the extremely dangerous mission of infiltrating the Sun On Yee triad and helping to take them down from the inside. In typical Grand Theft Auto fashion you find yourself starting off as a mere errand boy following orders from bosses before moving on up and soon running things yourself. The story isn’t entirely fresh, but thanks to some solid voice acting and a tightly formed script, you’ll find yourself caring about the characters as they enter one dangerous scenario after another with plenty of ‘edge of your seat’ moments. As the story progresses, things take a rather interesting turn with the cops fearing Wei’s becoming too attached to his criminal brothers and likewise the triads suspecting his connections to the law.
While this is an open world game, things start off a lot more restricted easing you into the game’s many ideas and gameplay elements. You’ll kick things off literally by learning the game’s fighting system that follows a very Batman-esque path with well timed button presses being key. Wei will also use the environment to his advantage throwing enemies into pools of electric eels, impaling them on swordfish in what has to be the game’s most brutal addition. It’s oddly satisfying stringing along a flurry of punches and kicks before finishing up with a lob off the roof of a building.
Keep playing and soon the city will open up to you, with missions that see you free-running along building tops, driving cars in races and escort missions, leaping from car to car in a very over the top hijack manoeuvre and getting involved in shoot-outs. In fact gunplay doesn’t really play much of a role until around halfway through the game with your fists taking the primary role when it comes to fights. However this is no bad thing as the game manages to build excitement step by step perfectly before reaching a climax that pays off in spades. One such example occurs during a wedding that feels like it could have been taken directly out of a John Woo action flick. You’ ll lift over tables to provide cover, slide over obstacles to knock out and grab an enemy’s gun and finish things off with a slow motion shot to the head of an unsuspecting thug all in a brief few moments. While firing bullets is fun, it’s also refreshing to see an open world game that treats hand to hand combat as importantly as its gunplay and combined the pair create an exciting, often varied experience.
While each gameplay concept is by no means the shining example of its kind, it’s all still great fun and with the game mixing things up from mission to mission things never grow repetitive or tiresome.
Where games like Grand Theft Auto IV and Saint’s Row: The Third took a fairly generic New York-esque setting, Sleeping Dogs excels by offering something unique and much more interesting in the form of its fictional Hong Kong city. The night’s sky is filled with neon lights, the harbour is full of fishing boats, a tranquil temple sits atop the upper side of the city and even it’s more dilapidated areas bring with it so much character and atmosphere that it makes exploring them a lot more interesting than any section of Liberty City or Steelport. Streets feel busy with residents at every turn and the attention to detail in general is surprisingly great. As far as open world locations go, Sleeping Dogs definitely ranks among the best.
As previously mentioned the voice acting is excellent featuring a wide cast of famous names. Will Yun Lee in particular stands out as the game’s lead with Tom Wilkinson, Lucy Liu, Emma Stone and plenty more providing ample support in their lesser roles. While extras can vary from okay to laughably bad, it’s the main cast that shine and it’s quality will keep you plenty invested as the game’s tale unfolds.
Sleeping Dogs does suffer from a few issues though, namely a number of bugs and its character models. When paying a visit to my local massage parlour for example I found myself getting stuck on a wall when the AI took over or during a particular mission that had me watch someone from afar, the person in question would not jump in a car for the mission to progress. Needless to say both times required me to reset my console and its things like this that really should have been ironed out before release. The characters also look strange at times especially close up during cutscenes. Wei and the rest of the cast can appear very doll-like at times and animations too leave a lot to be desired as pedestrians and even some supporting characters move in awkward and weird ways. It can all hurt the sense of immersion as you watch scenes play out in often jolted ways. Collectables can also feel a little too much like padding for what is a fairly short game by open world standards. Mini games also repeat too many times with the security camera hacking game being a prime suspect.
Despite its individual flaws, when looking at the bigger picture for Sleeping Dogs, you’ll find yourself getting caught up in a genuinely exciting story backed up by a great fighting system, nice variety of mission types and an intriguing setting. Had Square Enix not picked up this once cancelled project I think it’s safe to assume that would have been a True Crime in itself.
8.5/10
Sleeping Dogs sees you taking on the role of undercover cop Wei Shen, a Hong Kong native who’s returned after a long stay in the US. Fuelled by the desire to avenge his sister’s death the loose cannon cop accepts the extremely dangerous mission of infiltrating the Sun On Yee triad and helping to take them down from the inside. In typical Grand Theft Auto fashion you find yourself starting off as a mere errand boy following orders from bosses before moving on up and soon running things yourself. The story isn’t entirely fresh, but thanks to some solid voice acting and a tightly formed script, you’ll find yourself caring about the characters as they enter one dangerous scenario after another with plenty of ‘edge of your seat’ moments. As the story progresses, things take a rather interesting turn with the cops fearing Wei’s becoming too attached to his criminal brothers and likewise the triads suspecting his connections to the law.
While this is an open world game, things start off a lot more restricted easing you into the game’s many ideas and gameplay elements. You’ll kick things off literally by learning the game’s fighting system that follows a very Batman-esque path with well timed button presses being key. Wei will also use the environment to his advantage throwing enemies into pools of electric eels, impaling them on swordfish in what has to be the game’s most brutal addition. It’s oddly satisfying stringing along a flurry of punches and kicks before finishing up with a lob off the roof of a building.
Keep playing and soon the city will open up to you, with missions that see you free-running along building tops, driving cars in races and escort missions, leaping from car to car in a very over the top hijack manoeuvre and getting involved in shoot-outs. In fact gunplay doesn’t really play much of a role until around halfway through the game with your fists taking the primary role when it comes to fights. However this is no bad thing as the game manages to build excitement step by step perfectly before reaching a climax that pays off in spades. One such example occurs during a wedding that feels like it could have been taken directly out of a John Woo action flick. You’ ll lift over tables to provide cover, slide over obstacles to knock out and grab an enemy’s gun and finish things off with a slow motion shot to the head of an unsuspecting thug all in a brief few moments. While firing bullets is fun, it’s also refreshing to see an open world game that treats hand to hand combat as importantly as its gunplay and combined the pair create an exciting, often varied experience.
While each gameplay concept is by no means the shining example of its kind, it’s all still great fun and with the game mixing things up from mission to mission things never grow repetitive or tiresome.
Where games like Grand Theft Auto IV and Saint’s Row: The Third took a fairly generic New York-esque setting, Sleeping Dogs excels by offering something unique and much more interesting in the form of its fictional Hong Kong city. The night’s sky is filled with neon lights, the harbour is full of fishing boats, a tranquil temple sits atop the upper side of the city and even it’s more dilapidated areas bring with it so much character and atmosphere that it makes exploring them a lot more interesting than any section of Liberty City or Steelport. Streets feel busy with residents at every turn and the attention to detail in general is surprisingly great. As far as open world locations go, Sleeping Dogs definitely ranks among the best.
As previously mentioned the voice acting is excellent featuring a wide cast of famous names. Will Yun Lee in particular stands out as the game’s lead with Tom Wilkinson, Lucy Liu, Emma Stone and plenty more providing ample support in their lesser roles. While extras can vary from okay to laughably bad, it’s the main cast that shine and it’s quality will keep you plenty invested as the game’s tale unfolds.
Sleeping Dogs does suffer from a few issues though, namely a number of bugs and its character models. When paying a visit to my local massage parlour for example I found myself getting stuck on a wall when the AI took over or during a particular mission that had me watch someone from afar, the person in question would not jump in a car for the mission to progress. Needless to say both times required me to reset my console and its things like this that really should have been ironed out before release. The characters also look strange at times especially close up during cutscenes. Wei and the rest of the cast can appear very doll-like at times and animations too leave a lot to be desired as pedestrians and even some supporting characters move in awkward and weird ways. It can all hurt the sense of immersion as you watch scenes play out in often jolted ways. Collectables can also feel a little too much like padding for what is a fairly short game by open world standards. Mini games also repeat too many times with the security camera hacking game being a prime suspect.
Despite its individual flaws, when looking at the bigger picture for Sleeping Dogs, you’ll find yourself getting caught up in a genuinely exciting story backed up by a great fighting system, nice variety of mission types and an intriguing setting. Had Square Enix not picked up this once cancelled project I think it’s safe to assume that would have been a True Crime in itself.
8.5/10