Sleeping Dogs Reviews

Sleeping Dogs is Grand Theft Auto in Hong Kong. What more can I say?  But it doesn't mean that this is just another Grand Theft Auto game, no sir.  Despite it being another opening world sand box game you're allowed to roam free and do whatever you want (kill, kill, kill), Sleeping Dog is unique enough for it to be taken seriously.
The game is about a Chinese-American San Francisco cop named Wei Shen, which means "danger" in Chinese, can you smell the cheese?  

No, it's not "danger" zone.  It's "Wei Shen" zone.  Get it?  ;) wink!

Anyway, for some reason, Wei Shen goes undercover in Hong Kong to infiltrate the triad organization- Sun On Yee.  And yeah, I know I said "for some reason."  I guess I wasn't paying attention, huh?  Anyway, as Wei continues to infiltrate the gang, he begins to grow feelings for them.  He begins to see things differently, and notices that the senior officer who asks him to go undercover might be as guilty as the gangsters.  Okay, the story of the game might not be its strongest suit.  It really is one of the most typical story ever.  A cop infiltrates a gang, notices that the gangsters have heart and cannot bear to bring them down or kill them.  It's undercover cop stories 101.  There're also many moments where characters are introduced like they were in the game already but I have no idea who they are.  Funny though, this doesn't make the story confusing at all.  The story carries on just fine, and you learn who those characters are right away.  I think the story narrates like this to allow the players to feel that a long time have passed, and that's how Wei starting to grow feelings for the gang.
The game play is similar to other open world sandbox games.  Things you are allowed to do in other sandbox games, you're allowed to do in this one.  The fact that this place takes place in Hong Kong adds that one additional flavor to the game that makes it unique.  You can have your character running around, trying to figure out what the heck people are talking about in Cantonese, figuring out what exactly is a curry fish ball, or you can just enjoy the fact that Hong Kong people drive on the other side of the street.  Let me tell you, it is really hard to get used to driving on the wrong side of the streets.  Car accidents happen all the time in Sleeping Dogs.  It's all these little details that suck you into the world of Sleeping Dogs.  There're many times in the game that I just wait behind red light, forgetting that it is just a game and I should just run over the red lights.
Overall, I really like Sleeping Dogs.  I'm about to finish the game soon and I can't wait to see the endings.
8.7/10