Many games struggle to show real life in environments where people (not Americans) live. Sleeping Dogs is a rare positive example, it shows the true looks of Hong Kong, it can remind of Yakuza sometimes (even though it's nonsensical to compare the two). Activision bought copyrights for a project called True Crime: Hong Kong, as they wanted to continue the, to me, anonymous franchise True Crime. After a few years in development under Activision's watch, TC: HK was left to rot, Activision wasn't really in a mood for publishing that game anymore, they didn't see potential. After a few months, the franchise is bought by Square Enix (Eidos studios, the guys behind Kane and Lynch, Just Cause 2, Tomb Raider). Square Enix pumped up the engine, the graphics, the movement, the style of the game and they also renamed the project into 'Sleeping Dogs'. Not really sure what that name means, but it sure has a metaphorical meaning.
PRESENTATION
You are Wei Shen, a police cop who, not so long ago, arrived in Hong Kong from San Francisco, after his mother had died. Desperate for cash, he turns to some of his old buddies for work. At first, the situation is calm, a guy called Dogeyes isn't so dangerous, but after a few missions, you'll get what's actually going on. One of the best things about this game is parkour. The 'hit and chase' missions are the best ones in the game, they involve mostly linear paths that you have to go through, no choices, just running after your enemy until a cutscene cuts in. It doesn't really sound interesting, but it is. Running away from the cops is extremely easy, even when you play on the hardest difficulty. The point is too ram their cars when they get to the side. That, and one more feature that was taken out of Vin Diesel's Wheelman (a game known for its attribute to bore people, but still was fun for me), action hijack. Action hijack is an ability of Wei's to jump from car to car and not fall of. It's made out of small quick time events, and if you don't press the designated button shown on your screen, you fall off. Vaulting over obstacles while aiming a gun gives you slow motion action, and it kind of reminds me of John Woo's Stranglehold (also a game from the Chinese world, created by Midway, the guys behind Wheelman). Seeing blood splatter and fly gives an awesome feeling. The choice of weapons is small, but the intense and well done fist fights make it all up into one amazing combat system.
GRAPHICS
No DX10? No game. The game looks awesome, even on the lowest settings, basically, the texture settings aren't even present, but other settings definitely are. The blood stains, the world reflections, the cars, the beauty of slow motion... Yes, it's all there, even on low settings! However, graphics cards under ATI Radeon HD4xxx most likely will not give you great experiences, even though the ones under meet the minimum system reqs. My ATI Radeon HD3600 could run the game very smoothly (30-40 FPS), but the UI was missing, so i had to skip some missions in order to get to the end, as they were impossible to finish. (Hwcking cameras, picklocking etc).
THE VERDICT
Sleeping Dogs is a combination of the best, from the best. The sandbox may be small, but it will sure give you more than 20-30 hours of fun. I give this beast a 9/10. For more reviews, check out my blog. Laters.
PRESENTATION
You are Wei Shen, a police cop who, not so long ago, arrived in Hong Kong from San Francisco, after his mother had died. Desperate for cash, he turns to some of his old buddies for work. At first, the situation is calm, a guy called Dogeyes isn't so dangerous, but after a few missions, you'll get what's actually going on. One of the best things about this game is parkour. The 'hit and chase' missions are the best ones in the game, they involve mostly linear paths that you have to go through, no choices, just running after your enemy until a cutscene cuts in. It doesn't really sound interesting, but it is. Running away from the cops is extremely easy, even when you play on the hardest difficulty. The point is too ram their cars when they get to the side. That, and one more feature that was taken out of Vin Diesel's Wheelman (a game known for its attribute to bore people, but still was fun for me), action hijack. Action hijack is an ability of Wei's to jump from car to car and not fall of. It's made out of small quick time events, and if you don't press the designated button shown on your screen, you fall off. Vaulting over obstacles while aiming a gun gives you slow motion action, and it kind of reminds me of John Woo's Stranglehold (also a game from the Chinese world, created by Midway, the guys behind Wheelman). Seeing blood splatter and fly gives an awesome feeling. The choice of weapons is small, but the intense and well done fist fights make it all up into one amazing combat system.
GRAPHICS
No DX10? No game. The game looks awesome, even on the lowest settings, basically, the texture settings aren't even present, but other settings definitely are. The blood stains, the world reflections, the cars, the beauty of slow motion... Yes, it's all there, even on low settings! However, graphics cards under ATI Radeon HD4xxx most likely will not give you great experiences, even though the ones under meet the minimum system reqs. My ATI Radeon HD3600 could run the game very smoothly (30-40 FPS), but the UI was missing, so i had to skip some missions in order to get to the end, as they were impossible to finish. (Hwcking cameras, picklocking etc).
THE VERDICT
Sleeping Dogs is a combination of the best, from the best. The sandbox may be small, but it will sure give you more than 20-30 hours of fun. I give this beast a 9/10. For more reviews, check out my blog. Laters.
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