Sleeping Dogs - Nick

Sleeping Dogs is a new open world crime game from Square Enix London Studios and United Front Games. It is a continuation of the true crime series which often features the other side of the story than most crime games (for example the Grand Theft Auto series where you're always a criminal).

In Sleeping Dogs you play Wei Shen, a cop who has now returned to Hong Kong after living in San Francisco in the United States with his family. He is recruited to become an undercover cop and infiltrate the Triads/Sun On Yee, and due to his dark past and connection with low level thugs in the Sun On Yee, he is a perfect candidate for the job. However as the story progresses he becomes conflicted over where his true loyalty lies as he becomes deeply involved in the lives of those around him, and also deeply attached.

The game has many different control elements to it which has not been seen before in an open world crime game. Grand Theft Auto pioneered the drive and shooting style game. Sleeping dogs has introduced a fighting mechanism (such as from games like Dead or Alive, Tekken, Mortal Kombat), which is prominent in the game with you often finding yourself beating the life out of rival gang members and police, making the combat in Sleeping Dogs quite unique. On top of this there is the use of guns and melee weapons as well, making the combat very action packed. The driving borrows style and mechanics from the Need For Speed series, making the in-game races and overall driving extremely fun.

Sleeping Dogs has received favourable reviews from a variety of different sites and critics. Metacritic collaborates critics and scores from different sites and has produced a score of 80, 82 and 84 out of 100 on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC respectively, giving the impression of a great game.

My thoughts on Sleeping Dogs is that it is an awesome action packed game that keeps you glued to the screen. The driving is superb and the combat is unique and a refreshing change to the open world style of gameplay. The storyline is immersive and the conflictions throughout the story are palpable. Overall this game was excellent and perfect for anyone who wants to spend a weekend at home.