Played this originally on Xbox 360 back in 2012, as a pre-Grand Theft Auto 5 it was pretty damn impressive and fun as hell, but not something I was absolutely over the moon for (despite loving the premise, setting, and Arkham-style combat). It was easy to feel burn out from open world games around that time.
Fast forward 11 years later and I got a hankering to revisit this after ingesting so much great Hong Kong action films lately, and coming back to this (and the DLC that I didn't play the first time), wow has it ever aged well! Seriously, the gameplay, controls and variety of missions still feels so fresh and modern, as well as a callback to fun arcade-y gameplay of the Gamecube/PS2/etc era. Obviously this was supposed to be a True Crime game so that's clearly why, but the developers nailed making it feel old and familiar but modern and fresh.
The plot is a classic morality tale of revenge and loyalty, and the side characters range between memorable and likable, to forgettable and bland, but that's essentially a given in big open world games. And this one isn't even that big, as the map is a perfect size to zip around (especially in the insanely fast sports cars and bikes) and it never feels like you'll get lost or stranded in the middle of nowhere.
I got the Platinum trophy as the collectibles are all pretty easy to find using your main map and mini map, and not challenging or annoying to reach at all. The biggest challenge was getting all of the gold medals, and while maybe a few were a bit grind-y, mostly all were achieved by just playing the game, doing all the side content, missions, races, etc., and just being aware of what challenges you were aiming for and how many requirements were needed for each. You will most likely get a majority of these without even trying, so absolutely a fun and worth getting Platinum trophy.
In a world where we're still lacking a sequel or follow up to Max Payne 3, John Woo's Stranglehold and Jet Li's Rise To Honor, there are some modern games to scratch that itch like Sifu and the Arkham games (combat wise), but if you really want the true Hong Kong action experience on modern consoles, go for Sleeping Dogs!
Fast forward 11 years later and I got a hankering to revisit this after ingesting so much great Hong Kong action films lately, and coming back to this (and the DLC that I didn't play the first time), wow has it ever aged well! Seriously, the gameplay, controls and variety of missions still feels so fresh and modern, as well as a callback to fun arcade-y gameplay of the Gamecube/PS2/etc era. Obviously this was supposed to be a True Crime game so that's clearly why, but the developers nailed making it feel old and familiar but modern and fresh.
The plot is a classic morality tale of revenge and loyalty, and the side characters range between memorable and likable, to forgettable and bland, but that's essentially a given in big open world games. And this one isn't even that big, as the map is a perfect size to zip around (especially in the insanely fast sports cars and bikes) and it never feels like you'll get lost or stranded in the middle of nowhere.
I got the Platinum trophy as the collectibles are all pretty easy to find using your main map and mini map, and not challenging or annoying to reach at all. The biggest challenge was getting all of the gold medals, and while maybe a few were a bit grind-y, mostly all were achieved by just playing the game, doing all the side content, missions, races, etc., and just being aware of what challenges you were aiming for and how many requirements were needed for each. You will most likely get a majority of these without even trying, so absolutely a fun and worth getting Platinum trophy.
In a world where we're still lacking a sequel or follow up to Max Payne 3, John Woo's Stranglehold and Jet Li's Rise To Honor, there are some modern games to scratch that itch like Sifu and the Arkham games (combat wise), but if you really want the true Hong Kong action experience on modern consoles, go for Sleeping Dogs!
Reviewed on Mar 28, 2023