Sleeping Dogs is that right taste of open world gangster with the inner components of justice. Join me as I review, Sleeping Dogs, available on PS3, Xbox 360, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Welcome to Hong Kong
Sleeping Dogs takes place in Hong Kong and is divided into four sections; North Point, Central, Kennedy Town, and Aberdeen. Each section houses missions with the Triad, police, races, drug busts, etc. There is no “distinct” identity for each area unfortunately, but take that as a neutral perspective moving forward.
Sometimes it’s good to take the road less traveled
This game encourages the player to take sidequests seriously, and boy did I do those sidequests. Want to learn new martial arts? Collect the Zodiac Jade statues across Hong Kong. Want to have lockboxes, cameras, and healing shrines on your mini-map? Go spend time with the females who give you their numbers.
More RPG then you’d expect
There are three different features that you could level up; Triad, Cop, and Face. Each one has its own needs and it goes without saying that in order to progress, you need to show each of them some love. Triad is leveled up during your gang missions through combat, vehicle destruction, etc. Cop is leveled up through case missions, being a safe driver, not harming the innocent. Face can be achieved by completing races, doing favors for others, or even taking the females of the night on dates.
Not everything is black and white
What starts as Wei Shen coming to Hong Kong to infiltrate the Triad and take down the crime syndicate from the inside turns into a question of morals and justice. Throughout the game, you see Shen go from a cop to one of the Triad and crime syndicates that you have to take down. Building bonds, questioning the motives of the police, and questioning what is truly right and wrong will stay with you even as the game ends.
“Another” open world gangster game
Sleeping Dogs is a game that may look like a Grand Theft Auto clone, but when playing it you see things that you wish GTA would inherit in their future installments. One big thing that makes me love Sleeping Dogs more is ramming into vehicles. Instead of just “running away” from police, you can actively knock them off the side of the road. This alone makes the “run away from police” portion of missions feel less tedious.
One final drive through Hong Kong
Sleeping Dogs is a game I wish I didn’t sleep on (pun intended). It doesn’t paint the picture of gang bad, police good. It allows you, the player, to see between the lines and form your own opinions. While there are some things that I did not like about this game, overall it was a fun experience. I wish there would be a sequel or something in the future, however the developers, United Front Games have been closed since October of 2016. This game deserves an 8/10.
