Preview: 10 Reasons To Jump On The "Sleeping Dogs" Bandwagon

Image via Complex Original

Like the Yakuza in their native Japan, the Triads in Hong Kong aren’t necessarily “bad guys,” but are simply part of everyday society. As in Sega’s series, Sleeping Dogs looks to explore the complex relationship between Triad groups, the police and the public. I wouldn’t expect as many random street thugs looking for a fight, though.

Sleeping Dogs’ combat has clearly been influenced by Rocksteady’s Arkham series of Batman titles. The transition from attacks is smooth, with fluid shots when you pummel multiple assailants. It feels good.

Melee strikes pack a punch and the combat system feels refined and polished, with plenty of graphic environmental kill opportunities. It also reflects the nature of the Triads (read: they’re prone to using meat cleavers). The jury is still out on gunplay, but we’ll see.

File this under subtle, but the chase scene I played through a crowded marketplace was filled with contextual animations: your avatar pushes people out of the way, adjusting his body as needed to avoid obstacles. Crowd reactions are just as spot-on, so there’s nothing to break the pacing.

Free running has been a big deal since Assassin’s Creed but like the subtle animations of interacting with crowds, it’s all in the details. In Sleeping Dogs however, the vaulting here feels smoother and more natural.

It turns out that Square-Enix London also has some ex-EA Black Box guys…who made a few Need For Speed games. The driving segments are what you’d from a team that obsessed with steering wheel skills.

Square Enix is known for making polished games in Japan but in the past few years it’s been more and more apparent how much effort they’re putting into their Western projects, too. Two years of extra development time have made a lot of difference in aesthetic, presentation and voice acting—at least from what I’ve seen.

The team went to Hong Kong to research the game and get a better idea of how the Triads operate as well as get a feel for the city itself. The result is an intricate digital representation of the real thing.

Aside from former EA Black Box devs, Square Enix London has staff that worked on Arkham Asylum and Just Cause 2. Coupled with United Front's larger core team (also from a diverse background), hopefully we'll see a balance of good open-world design and other surprises.

When it was still True Crime: Hong Kong, Sleeping Dogs admittedly looked like it was shying away from the attitude of previous True Crime games. That doesn’t mean it didn’t still have that stigma. Fortunately, those who don't care for True Crime can walk into these seedy streets with an open mind.