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This review contains spoilers
Sleeping Dogs is often referred to as a "GTA Clone." While this is true, it doesn't get credit for making a better GTA game than Rockstar. This game takes everything from GTA 4 and improves upon it. It then adds a fun Arkham-style combat system and a fresh setting on top of that. This really makes it a unique experience that differentiates itself from GTA and Saints Row. It has its problems but over time I really started to appreciate and admire it since I forget it's technically a "vintage" game at 12 years old and coming out 1 year before GTA 5.
I initially had problems with the game up to about 25% of the story. I felt it was generic and I was getting bored. Over the years I had tried to get through the game but I would always stop eventually. The story has a fantastic opening and then it really slows down and keeps that pace for 25% of the story. Missions are dull, characters are what you'd expect, combat moves are limited, there are a ton of side missions and activities but they have little depth, the game forces you do lots of racing, story is simple, Wei as a character is a typical undercover cop character, and the area of the map you start in looks the same after awhile.
But once I got through the first area of the game it felt like the story was really starting to ramp up, the new areas of the map were more visually interesting, Wei became more interesting, you get more combat moves, and there were details I started to appreciate more with physics, NPC model variety, and NPC behavior variety (things like NPCs pulling out their phones when you commit a crime and paramedics coming to treat a victim that you hit). I started to forgive some of the games' shortcomings since this game came out in 2012.
I was really happy to see how Wei's character developed over time since he seemed one note in the beginning. I thought he was going to be the typical goody two shoes cop who infiltrates the gang and shies away from doing anything morally reprehensible. He really seemed like that at the beginning to the point of being soo obviously a cop even though he grew up a gangster. Even the characters saw through it easily. But he eventually grows to support his gang and to enjoy the lifestyle. This was refreshing to me because I just played Mafia Definitive Edition and my main criticism was how the main character was just a nice guy the whole time and never evolved/devolved. Wei actually becomes a POS. He's almost so much of a POS that I don't like him. My biggest criticism of the story is that Wei doesn't go through a big evolution/devolution. He just sorta becomes a POS without being fully evil and then the game ends.
I would love to see this game get a remake or a sequel. I know the sequel got cancelled. It's such a shame because it was really ahead of its time and I think it would've succeeded if it was made with the reputation of someone like Rockstar. Games have much better writing since 2012 so I'd love to see a sequel or remake with modern graphics and writing. It's a shame it probably won't happen.
I initially had problems with the game up to about 25% of the story. I felt it was generic and I was getting bored. Over the years I had tried to get through the game but I would always stop eventually. The story has a fantastic opening and then it really slows down and keeps that pace for 25% of the story. Missions are dull, characters are what you'd expect, combat moves are limited, there are a ton of side missions and activities but they have little depth, the game forces you do lots of racing, story is simple, Wei as a character is a typical undercover cop character, and the area of the map you start in looks the same after awhile.
But once I got through the first area of the game it felt like the story was really starting to ramp up, the new areas of the map were more visually interesting, Wei became more interesting, you get more combat moves, and there were details I started to appreciate more with physics, NPC model variety, and NPC behavior variety (things like NPCs pulling out their phones when you commit a crime and paramedics coming to treat a victim that you hit). I started to forgive some of the games' shortcomings since this game came out in 2012.
I was really happy to see how Wei's character developed over time since he seemed one note in the beginning. I thought he was going to be the typical goody two shoes cop who infiltrates the gang and shies away from doing anything morally reprehensible. He really seemed like that at the beginning to the point of being soo obviously a cop even though he grew up a gangster. Even the characters saw through it easily. But he eventually grows to support his gang and to enjoy the lifestyle. This was refreshing to me because I just played Mafia Definitive Edition and my main criticism was how the main character was just a nice guy the whole time and never evolved/devolved. Wei actually becomes a POS. He's almost so much of a POS that I don't like him. My biggest criticism of the story is that Wei doesn't go through a big evolution/devolution. He just sorta becomes a POS without being fully evil and then the game ends.
I would love to see this game get a remake or a sequel. I know the sequel got cancelled. It's such a shame because it was really ahead of its time and I think it would've succeeded if it was made with the reputation of someone like Rockstar. Games have much better writing since 2012 so I'd love to see a sequel or remake with modern graphics and writing. It's a shame it probably won't happen.
The characters, visuals, actor performances, and music were top tier. Almost near Rockstar levels. But it ends up feeling like a good value Rockstar game. The gameplay is egregiously bad for a 2020 game.
The story is a bit cliché and feels a bit flat. It doesn't really feel like the story is evolving as it goes along. Characters start out one way and stay basically the same the entire way except for one character suddenly at the very end. The dialogue and performances are so good that you nearly forget the cliché story. I felt it didn't know exactly where it was going and it felt like it just suddenly ended for me.
The missions play out in a way to elevate Salieri's gang along with your character going from a taxi driver to a high level gangster. Problem is that you don't really see Salieri's gang become more notorious. You're told about it but you're still operating in the same warehouse location the entire game. Tommy seems like he's almost immediately Salieri's right hand guy. You don't get newer outfits as you become more prolific or new weapons. Tommy himself doesn't really act much differently either. Most of the game consists of doing more and more high profile missions until the game just suddenly ends. The missions themselves are relatively fun but the dialogue and characters shine through the missions more than the missions themselves.
Tommy as a character is disappointing. He's down to earth, agreeable, likable, and moral. But he's a bit boring. His voice actor does a good job at trying to keep him interesting. But he's too much of a boy scout for a gangster. Which could work if he gets corrupted over time but he doesn't really. They could've pulled this off if Tommy had the complexity of a Rockstar character.
The gameplay is horrible. You're often using the default pistol that the game gives you for every mission. The reticle for the pistols is massive and hard to be precise with. Checkpoints could set you back a bit farther than I'd like. Stealth takedowns on enemies could be inconsistent and find you accidentally meleeing them instead. They don't give you enough ammo. I didn't like the non regenerative health in this game. The enemy AI was surprisingly good. They'd often try to advance on you and they were a force to be reckoned with when police AI were chasing you in vehicles. They might've been a little too good.
The driving in the game kinda sucks. But it's the 1930s so I understand why they made the cars a big sluggish. I felt It made it hard to outrun cops when your cars are so slow. I played most of it in the simulation mode which was a little fun.
There is one notorious racing mission that I heard about being awful and where a lot of people stopped playing the game. It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. It took me something like 4 tries even with simulation mode on.
Overall the characters, story, setting, performances and visuals make it worth picking up the game on Game Pass or on sale.
The story is a bit cliché and feels a bit flat. It doesn't really feel like the story is evolving as it goes along. Characters start out one way and stay basically the same the entire way except for one character suddenly at the very end. The dialogue and performances are so good that you nearly forget the cliché story. I felt it didn't know exactly where it was going and it felt like it just suddenly ended for me.
The missions play out in a way to elevate Salieri's gang along with your character going from a taxi driver to a high level gangster. Problem is that you don't really see Salieri's gang become more notorious. You're told about it but you're still operating in the same warehouse location the entire game. Tommy seems like he's almost immediately Salieri's right hand guy. You don't get newer outfits as you become more prolific or new weapons. Tommy himself doesn't really act much differently either. Most of the game consists of doing more and more high profile missions until the game just suddenly ends. The missions themselves are relatively fun but the dialogue and characters shine through the missions more than the missions themselves.
Tommy as a character is disappointing. He's down to earth, agreeable, likable, and moral. But he's a bit boring. His voice actor does a good job at trying to keep him interesting. But he's too much of a boy scout for a gangster. Which could work if he gets corrupted over time but he doesn't really. They could've pulled this off if Tommy had the complexity of a Rockstar character.
The gameplay is horrible. You're often using the default pistol that the game gives you for every mission. The reticle for the pistols is massive and hard to be precise with. Checkpoints could set you back a bit farther than I'd like. Stealth takedowns on enemies could be inconsistent and find you accidentally meleeing them instead. They don't give you enough ammo. I didn't like the non regenerative health in this game. The enemy AI was surprisingly good. They'd often try to advance on you and they were a force to be reckoned with when police AI were chasing you in vehicles. They might've been a little too good.
The driving in the game kinda sucks. But it's the 1930s so I understand why they made the cars a big sluggish. I felt It made it hard to outrun cops when your cars are so slow. I played most of it in the simulation mode which was a little fun.
There is one notorious racing mission that I heard about being awful and where a lot of people stopped playing the game. It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. It took me something like 4 tries even with simulation mode on.
Overall the characters, story, setting, performances and visuals make it worth picking up the game on Game Pass or on sale.
The narrative and atmosphere/tension are 5/5 at times. Alan's sections are amazing. The shadows that you're unsure of being enemies or not are genius. I like there being two different story-lines that you can switch between from. I think one or the other could've gotten boring if the entire game was just one of those story-lines. I like the RE2 style of gameplay for a more tense gameplay experience. The meta style of storytelling is really fun especially if you're a fan of remedy games.
There is little gameplay. The gameplay that is there is decent. But the dodging mechanic is questionable and the running speed is slow enough to make running back to areas slightly annoying. The game does tension and horror brilliantly but severely overuses jumpscares to the point of irritation. The narrative has some elements that are a little confusing for me. I don't completely understand Alex Casey or Thomas Zane.
Saga's sections are great but not as innovative. She is also unfortunately part of the industry trend in movies, shows, and games of underwritten boring female protagonists. She is more interesting than the protagonist in Remdy's last game (Control). But being more charismatic than Plank from Ed, Edd n Eddy is not much of an achievement. Replacing Saga with Casey or similar to Casey could've brought this narrative to a 5/5.
Xbox Series X Version: This game is being hailed as a graphical showcase. Especially on PC. But I feel the grainy ray tracing in this version is really distracting and bad looking. I would've rather had no ray tracing.
There's quite a bit that bothered me but didn't completely ruin my experience to lower the rating from a 4.5
There is little gameplay. The gameplay that is there is decent. But the dodging mechanic is questionable and the running speed is slow enough to make running back to areas slightly annoying. The game does tension and horror brilliantly but severely overuses jumpscares to the point of irritation. The narrative has some elements that are a little confusing for me. I don't completely understand Alex Casey or Thomas Zane.
Saga's sections are great but not as innovative. She is also unfortunately part of the industry trend in movies, shows, and games of underwritten boring female protagonists. She is more interesting than the protagonist in Remdy's last game (Control). But being more charismatic than Plank from Ed, Edd n Eddy is not much of an achievement. Replacing Saga with Casey or similar to Casey could've brought this narrative to a 5/5.
Xbox Series X Version: This game is being hailed as a graphical showcase. Especially on PC. But I feel the grainy ray tracing in this version is really distracting and bad looking. I would've rather had no ray tracing.
There's quite a bit that bothered me but didn't completely ruin my experience to lower the rating from a 4.5