Playing Sleeping Dogs kept me on the edge of my seat, but not for the reasons you might expect. Sure, Sleeping Dogs’ melee combat and gunplay provide plenty of thrills, the driving is extraordinarily fun in all of its arcadey glory, and there’s a whole lot to do in the version of Hong Kong Canadian developer United Front Games created. But at the end of my nearly 20-hour experience, none of that mattered to me as much as the story did. It’s that story, coupled with rock-solid mechanics and a task-heavy world that sets Sleeping Dogs apart from its competition.
See, Sleeping Dogs isn’t your typical Grand Theft Auto clone. Unlike recent titans of the genre -- Grand Theft Auto IV, Red Dead Redemption and Saints Row: The Third -- your character, Wei Shen, doesn’t have roguish, violent tendencies just because he’s a criminal looking to make a few bucks. Rather, Shen is a calculated and complicated figure, an undercover cop with plenty of experience in both the United States and Hong Kong who returns to his native land in order to help get the city’s thriving criminal enterprises under control. But as Shen gets sucked further and further into the Triad underworld he initially wants to unravel, his motives – and which side he’ll end up falling in line with – become increasingly blurred.
Sleeping Dogs’ blurred lines come to the fore as soon as you’re introduced to the game’s unique leveling system, which allots Shen experience points in three specific areas: Cop, Triad and Face. The experience points are, in turn, used to unlock new, unique abilities. Cop and Triad points often intermingle with one another as you complete the game’s primary missions, rewarding you for how careful you are with innocents and personal and private property (Cop) while simultaneously challenging you to brutalize your enemies with as much reckless abandon and gore as you can muster (Triad).
Face, on the other hand, has everything to do with how the citizenry of Hong Kong feel about you, making it not only the most abstract of the experience meters, but perhaps the most interesting as well. Doing all kinds of favors for the anonymous masses net you Face experience, so whether you’re assisting a merchant, chasing down some drunks or otherwise generally helping out the working class folk (and the occasional two-bit criminal) of Hong Kong, expect your Face meter to rise steadily.
A unique, multi-faceted experience system like this makes Sleeping Dogs a more deliberate affair than its contemporaries. On most main story missions, for instance, you will be docked police points for ramming into street lights with your car, accidentally striking a civilian or letting stray bullets seep into a storefront. But this is balanced by your brutality with Triad members. Using the game’s array of exceptionally gory kills is a great way to build that Triad meter to its maximum level as quickly as humanly possible. The experience system’s dynamics will keep you on your toes, and because you can replay missions once they’re completed, you could always go back to try things a little differently if you’re unsatisfied with the outcome as it currently stands.
Sleeping Dogs’ version of Hong Kong is purportedly influenced by and designed after the real city. Its four districts are distinct, and the map sprawls considerably, although it’s probably not quite as big as Liberty City or Steelport. What makes it stand out, however, is how alive and well-populated it is. The AI in the game is smart, the passing chatter of NPCs well-executed, and the ebbs and flows of the city as it vacillates between day and night make it a believable setting worthy of exhaustive exploration.
Stellar voice acting simply adds to this emphasis on realism and believability. The game employs a unique mixture of Chinese and English that doesn’t sound corny or ill-executed. Characters openly change things up depending on the nature and cadence of conversation, and you can follow along, when necessary, via subtitles. This approach is bold and risky, but it's also top notch and worth commending. The graphics, on the other hand, are good, but they certainly won’t blow you away. There are definite draw distance problems to be had with the game and some texture loading issues as well.
At its heart, Sleeping Dogs does many of the things its top echelon competition in the genre already does pretty well, but where the game really shines is in the handful of things it does decidedly better. Hand-to-hand combat, for instance, is button-mashy and simple – almost Arkham City-like -- but works really well and makes Grand Theft Auto IV look subpar and archaic by comparison. This is good, as you’ll be relying on hand-to-hand combat with the occasional weapon thrown in – such as a kitchen knife, a pipe or a nightstick – for a majority of the game. Likewise, Sleeping Dog’s driving mechanics are immaculate, outclassing its closest competition as United Front Games invokes some of the spirit that made it so successful with ModNation Racers. In other words, expect to be surprised by how much better Sleeping Dogs does certain things than games you’d, at first glance, think completely outshine it.
Then again, the game’s single biggest issue is with its camera. The camera often repositions itself towards center even when you’re using the analog stick to maneuver it while driving. This can significantly complicate navigating tight quarters or getting a look around your vehicle in open spaces. The camera can also be frustrating in some combat situations, though this is far less pronounced. The camera’s real deficit rests almost solely in conjunction with driving around Hong Kong, but this problem shouldn’t be overblown. You won’t always – or even often – encounter situations where this is a problem, and it generally doesn't detract from how fun it is to drive around. But it’s still worth noting.
As you’re kept engaged by its fascinating story and the general fun you’ll be having driving, shooting, punching and adventuring, you’ll also be kept busy. That’s because Sleeping Dogs is a pretty long game. There are certainly sandbox titles that have more for you to do, but expect to spend somewhere in between 20 and 25 hours to see and do everything, and more of that if you want to chase a Platinum Trophy or a maxed-out Gamerscore. Apart from the main story, expect to stay busy with finding collectibles, engaging in races, singing karaoke, and taking part in all manner of side quests, even ones that bring out the full cop in Shen.
An extra way to get more bang for your buck with Sleeping Dogs – and to keep yourself immersed in the experience – is to also utilize the in-game medals system that keeps track of specific things you do. As your stats buff-out, as you collect more hidden items, and as you do any other number of things, the medal system will give you more bronzes, silvers and golds to add to your collection. In turn, you’ll be compelled to try new and different things that you may not try otherwise, such as breaking bad guys’ bones or completing street races. This could potentially keep you very busy, and I found the system to be an enjoyable distraction, albeit an ancillary one.
Sleeping Dogs also comes packing online functionality, but not in terms of multiplayer or co-op. It’s a decidedly single-player game, but you can still post mission scores to online leaderboards to compete with your friends and share a number of other statistics over the Internet as well. This simply contributes even more to keeping you involved with Sleeping Dogs, one of 2012’s biggest – and most pleasant – gaming surprises.
The Verdict
I’m not sure why more people aren’t paying attention to Sleeping Dogs, but now that the game’s out, hopefully you won't make the same mistake. Sleeping Dogs did things that wowed me from the moment I started playing, and it never really stopped. A few finicky issues aside, Sleeping Dogs has proven itself worthy of joining the top class of open-world sandbox games revolutionized by the likes of Grand Theft Auto IV and currently topped by more recent additions like Saints Row: The Third. But don’t be confused; Sleeping Dogs does some things better than even the cream of the crop, and its story will be what keeps you focused on playing. The fact that the game happens to play well is simply icing on the cake.
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