Ah, that happy moment when a Triple A games has been out long enough to hit the bargain bin! if you missed the chance to play this title when it was released in 2012, or played it on a previous console generation wand fancied a replay, the price is low and it should be picked up.
The True Crime series was one of the first to hitch their wagon to the Grand Theft Auto III blockbuster, and wound up being misguided. Characters in the game would poke fun at GTA, which was odd because they were so desperately re-using their mechanics, and their one sellable angle of being more ‘realistic’ went out the window when you started kung-fuing ancient Chinese spirits. Now the series in new hands it has changed the title and become it’s own beast, and it’s all the better for it.
In terms of pure technology, gameplay and overall quality GTAV is still the top dog. It’s like a Scorsese film. Sleeping Dogs is more like The Raid: lesser performances and cinematography but arguably more fun. As an undercover cop in Hong Kong you can parkor your way around the city, leap from car to car in the middle of a high speed chase and unlock a range of awesome martial arts moves in an Arkham Asylum style combat system. It’s bright, crazy and heaps of fun to play.
The story is engaging enough to carry the player through, with larger than life characters competing for dominance on both sides of the law. Although it’s paced slowly towards the end, it’s solid. As the protagonist you get plenty of options for costumes, cars and upgrades, with a range of special ability ones (dressing up as many famous video game characters like Agent 47) in this complete set. One thing the game was praised for on release is the recreation of Hong Kong. The game successfully captures the tone of the city, even if the AI seems a bit zombielike in the modern age.
If you’re looking for a fun, action packed adventure to fill in the 2 weeks before Arkham Knight, this is spot on.
