if you can get past the pathological misogyny and the basically reactionary premise then there is a pretty good beat-em-up game here that really interestingly fits into the auteurship of rockstar games' overall oeuvre. an adaptation of one of the quintessential gang films provides perfect fodder for rockstar to explore their morbid fascination with crime and violence, but even beyond this they manage to fit in so many staples which especially cropped up in their games from this generation, like the inexplicable dancing minigame. also, it was interesting to see the origin of read dead redemption 2's hat-wearing mechanic originate here, with you being able to pick up and wear the various hats worn by rival gang members, after you bash it off of their heads of course.

the gangs you beat your way through are colorful and larger-than-life, and really appeals to some part of the brain that appreciates extreme tribal-like delineations. most of this is just a holdover from the great gang designs present in the film, but it is so faithfully maintained here. all the striking and bizarre coordinated outfits communicate everything you need to know about these Othered enemies - they are weird, they want to hurt you, and you need to hurt them before they hurt you first. the moonrunners' logo especially is so cool, like a self-flagellating version of the moon pie logo.

the mechanics are really intuitive and easy to pick up on but despite the game's brief playtime their simplicity inevitably becomes tedious as you work your way through the missions. the secret double dragon-esque bonus game you get for beating the core and flashback levels probably provided me with the most consistent dopamine hits; it was fun, boiled the game down to its most cathartic elements and it didn't outstay its welcome. i also played the main 18 missions twice, once on hardcore soldier mode and then the unlockable unleash the fury, and the spraypainting mechanic especially became incredibly tedious. while it is another mechanic that strangely lines up with and appears in rockstar's previous outings, i still respect them for retaining this facet of new york culture present in the movie and for using the tags of and crediting classic graffito artists in the credits too.

interesting as well for being an adaptation that faithfully recreates the events of the property it is based on while also expanding on the narrative and really fleshing out its world. i really respect it for its attention to detail in recreating the time-appropriate fashion and staying true to the movie's overall distinctly late-70s new yorker aesthetic. do video game adaptations usually expound on the source material so authoritatively like this? it is fascinating and captivating, and the prequel missions feel like the red dead redemption 2 to the movie-based missions' red dead redemption, with both contextualizing and further humanizing members of a gang which you only got a peek into before.

rumble mode also has a surprising amount of gameplay modes that are fun with a friend, but i think every woman in the game has a totally separate moveset that is really pathetic and makes them basically useless in almost all of the gamemodes. interesting subtext there. but this is a game that is just about 9 lumpenproles terrorizing a city, so it is at least congruent with itself.

This is probably a "hot take" but Sleeping Dogs is better than GTA and Saints Row to me. Criminally underrated and unfortunately with no squeal in sight. It was bitter sweet returning to play the definitive edition for the first time. I had just beat GTA V again and wanted another similar experience and when I downloaded this game it just shocked me how much more I enjoyed it than GTA.

Sleeping Dogs is a sleeping giant with incredible hand to hand combat, fun shooting, and an incredible storyline. I can't praise this game enough. Highly recommended.