Sleeping Dogs Review

If you think that all police officers do is eat donuts and watch TV, then you urgently need a fresh dose of Sleeping Dogs. Once you dive into the world of this game, you'll realize that being a cop is dangerous and tough. Shootouts, chases, fistfights with gangsters, and much more await you in Sleeping Dogs.

The game's story reveals the essence of two opposites. On one hand, we experience the daily grind of the valiant police force, and on the other, the shady dealings of Hong Kong's triads. The main character is a police officer named Wei Shen, who serves as a link between the police and the triads. Under orders from his superiors, Wei Shen is forced to infiltrate one of the Hong Kong gangs in order to uncover as much evidence as possible against the leaders of the criminal syndicate, with the goal of eventually arresting each of these bosses.

Of course, no one rolls out the red carpet for us into the world of crime, so our hero will have to pass a couple of trials and answer some tricky questions in order to join the criminal syndicate. Wei Shen handles this task brilliantly, but there are still many more challenges ahead. Let me digress for a moment and say a few words about the hand-to-hand combat in the game. The melee fights in Sleeping Dogs look amazing—Wei Shen throws punches and kicks no worse than Bruce Lee, maybe even better. A small group of thugs is nothing for our hero; they're like a sandcastle that's easy to knock down. During combat, Wei Shen can counterattack, break through enemy blocks, and much more. And at the end of the fight, you can pull off a spectacular Fatality on your foes—of course, you can't tear off arms and legs, but smashing an opponent's head against a crate is always an option. It's also worth noting that you can learn new moves, though not for free. You unlock new combat techniques with points earned by completing in-game missions. The developers have also added realistic enemy screams of pain, the crunch of bones, and so on to the colorful combat moves. In short, the hand-to-hand fighting is a feature that alone makes the game worth buying.

Life in virtual Hong Kong is absolutely bustling. The sheer number of people, the abundance of cars, and the detailed streets of Hong Kong won't leave anyone indifferent. It's a real pleasure to move around the virtual streets—everything is crafted so beautifully that you want to explore every corner and peek into every basement of this digital city. But there are challenges as well. The very first twist the developers have thrown at us is left-hand traffic, which you'll have to get used to. However, adapting to this feature will only take you a few minutes.

Now let’s talk about gunfights. In the game, they’re classic third-person cover shooters, but they still look mesmerizing. During intense shootouts, you won’t be able to stay behind one piece of cover for long—covers can be destroyed, so you’ll constantly have to move from place to place. The bullet hit animations on enemies deserve special praise as well. And as a cherry on top, the developers added the ability to slow down time in the style of Max Payne—of course, what would a game be without bullet time? It’s also worth noting that the main character’s skill progression depends on whose missions he completes. Police skills include things like lockpicking, while Triad skills focus on martial arts and new combat moves.

But there are a few small hiccups. The vehicle controls in the game aren’t very comfortable—it feels like you’re driving on summer tires down a snow-covered road, with vehicles sliding around a bit unnaturally. Because of this, the races in the game don’t look as exciting, and opponents are often left far behind almost right from the start. However, the chases in the game are quite spectacular. Shooting out an enemy car’s tire at full speed or jumping from your car onto another vehicle while driving—these are just ordinary situations in Sleeping Dogs. As for the missions, they’re top-notch. Triad tasks involve shooting someone or teaching some cocky folks a lesson, while police missions include surveillance, planting trackers, and so on. Thanks to the engaging story and unexpected plot twists, you’ll want to keep playing right up to the very end, even though the campaign is fairly long.

Sleeping Dogs turned out to be an excellent game. Good graphics, a big city, an open world, amazing fights, and thrilling shootouts—all this and much more await you in this game. Now I can give my final verdict on this game: "Worth buying!"