One of the interesting things I learned when I interviewed Dan Sochan of United Front Games at PAX East was that the group had a rich background in racing games to begin with and after playing the game in its entirety it really shows.  The driving and racing in Sleeping Dogs is smooth and is laid out in a way that integrates it seamlessly into the story and side quests.  There are tons of different vehicles available including your sports cars, limos, armored bank cars, and boats.  Couple the driving aspects with shooting out your pursuers tires at high speed or jumping from car to car (Action Hijacking) with the great driving mechanics and you have hours of fun.

The combat is another place where Sleeping Dogs really shines.  The combat system while very simple, really works for the game.  Combos, heavy attacks, and counters are standard in almost any game sporting melee attacks, but it still has a fresh feel to it in Sleeping Dogs.  New moves can be learned by finding various jade statues throughout Hong Kong once they are returned to your martial arts master and you will be breaking arms and legs and using Dim Mak in no time.

The main thing that stands out about the combat system is the use of environmental affects. Once you grab an enemy objects that you are able to interact with will glow red and provide some unique and gruesome ways to finish off your enemy including: throwing them down an elevator shaft, drowning them in a toilet full of piss, smashing their head on a table saw, throwing them onto a meat hook, and countless others.

Everything in Sleeping Dogs screams high production value and while it’s easy to get caught up in the major elements like the combat system and driving, it’s important to notice the subtleties.  The voice acting is phenomenal which adds to the greatness of the story being played out.  The voice acting helps you feel the pain and mental anguish being experienced.  With the subtitles on, you can learn some fun Chinese words to say as well. Even the radio station’s while driving provide a full spectrum of music from classical to Chinese pop music. With all of these elements (and more) combined you get a rich and complete game that leaves little to be desired.

Sleeping Dogs borrows aspects from other games, yet still has a uniqueness to it that sucks you in, leaving you wanting more and more. On the plus side there is DLC already available, on the downside though most of the DLC is worthless to most as it only provides a lazy way out of playing a great game.  For example the Top Dog Gold Pack lets you buy in-game experience and the Red Envelope Pack basically gives you 1 million in-game dollars. The only somewhat decent DLC is the Retro Triad Pack which gives you some 80’s hair, accessories and clothes along with a van. But when all is said and done, what you really want is more out of the game because Sleeping Dogs is that good and additional side quests or missions would really hit the spot.

In case you were having one of those TL:DR (too long didn’t read) moments, Sleeping Dogs is a fantastic game.  The visuals, sounds, combat, street racing, and story bring to life the concept of a cop on the brink of sanity as he is undercover trying to bring down one of the most dangerous gangs in the world. I literally did everything available in the game (because it was so fun) and it took me about 30 hours to do, making it well worth the money. Damn it feels good to be a ghansta Overall 95/100

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