I wrapped up Sleeping Dogs last night. Ultimately it was OK, and I really loved some of the ideas on display, but it wound up suffering from the same problems most open world games do.
The combat system is really, really swell, and goes a long way to making the game stand out from GTA et al. There’s hardly any guns until the final leg of the story, and beating triads to bloody pulp with dirty martial arts really goddamn satisfying. I also really enjoyed the ambience of the Hong Kong setting – there’s something calming about barreling a motorbike in the pouring rain down a city street lit up with neon and the wet roads reflecting everything.
Unfortunately, the story just doesn’t go as far as it needed to. Playing as an undercover cop is a nice twist on the genre, and I liked how the writers really wanted to push how stressful that double life can be, but it just kind of flatlines after the first act, and nothing much of interest happens until the big climax.
It’s a fun game to play, but I can’t help but be a little disappointed that it wasn’t more. It felt like it should have been.
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