No matter its title — originally codenamed Black Lotus, then rebilled as a True Crime reboot after Activision stepped in, and now dubbed Sleeping Dogs under the Square Enix banner — United Front Games’ Xbox debut (they've previously done the PS3-exclusive ModNation Racers) has all the makings of a memorable open-world romp. We’re especially confident in saying this after finally playing it for ourselves…even if it borrows a bit from other games along the way.
For the uninitiated, you play Wei Shen, an undercover cop infiltrating the darkest corners of the Triad gang’s criminal empire. You’ll have to earn their trust in order to gain the deepest access, liberally bending the law along the way. We were set loose in the game’s pseudo-accurate Hong Kong, free to go anywhere and do anything — giving us a great look at the on-foot, driving, and combat mechanics.
Hong Kong is a densely populated place, and many of the cars are compact hatchbacks, boxy delivery trucks, or motorcycles. High-octane sports cars are a rare treat, so when you find one, don’t pass it up. We got stuck in a slooooow shuttle bus during a mission we played, in which our low-level Triad boss rewarded us for doing well on the previous quest by giving us the most lucrative shuttle route in the city. As we began the route, things naturally went haywire, and we ended up having to ram a number of pursuing cars off the road by shunting them, Burnout-style — accomplished using a very arcade-y right thumbstick move that subtly strafes your car in the direction you press.
Equally unrealistic — but infinitely cooler — is the action hijacking that allows you to leap from the moving vehicle you’re in (hold A to lean out) to steal the also-in-motion desired car (a gray arrow will turn green, signaling that you’re clear to make the jump). On a big enough ride you’ll have to shimmy around from the back to the cabin, necessitating a quicktime-event button press in order to hang onto the truck, lest you be thrown off.
If you are on foot and approached by thugs, melee combat operates exactly (and we mean exactly) as it does in the Batman: Arkham games. Press Y to counter, and use the X button to attack. Contextual spots in the environment let you spice things up by slamming guys into car doors or tossing them into Dumpsters. It’s familiar, but it works.
Other than driving on the wrong side of the road (it’s Hong Kong, remember?), nearly everything about Sleeping Dogs feels right.
PUBLISHER: Square Enix • DEVELOPER: United Front Games • MULTIPLAYER: No • RELEASE DATE: August 14, 2012 • FOR FANS OF: Infernal Affairs, John Woo films, open-world games
