Don't let Sleeping Dogs lie

There’s much to be said for originality, especially during a summer starved for great games. In a market flooded with cookie-cutter, North Americanized action games, one set in Hong Kong rippling with authentic Chinese culture is a breath of fresh air. Sleeping Dogs is not only the best action game of the summer, but easily one of the best open-world games of the year.

In Sleeping Dogs, undercover cop Wei Shen is seconded to Hong Kong from San Francisco, charged with infiltrating the Triads crime syndicate. Underlying the myriad of Triad tasks and undercover missions for the HKPD is the question of Wei’s true motivation, that of avenging his family. These various sides strike a delicate, tantalizing balance of internal conflict – like a modern Donnie Brasco – throughout much of Wei’s adventures in the grand city.

Hong Kong is by far the greatest achievement of Sleeping Dogs. The city has been brought to life with care and precision, pulsing with rich details that allow its unique culture and idiosyncrasies to flourish. Streets are crowded with people and lights, markets and music, traffic and traditions. Sounds of seafood sizzling, firecrackers firing and people partying all add the city’s liveliness.

Main characters are rendered in best-of-the-genre detail, complete with stubble, skin blemishes and unique tattoos defining each character. Vibrant voice acting and well-written dialogue further add to the realism. Supporting characters and people on the street aren’t quite as realistic, looking blank and wooden in their design and movement, but this is a minor blip.

There’s plenty here to keep you going, with vehicles, attacks, weapons to unlock and a barrage of side quests sprinkled throughout the city to keep you sated. The action is enhanced with a super-smooth menu and upgrading system as well as slick navigation through the massive city. Exploring the highs and lows of the open city – you climb with almost Assassin’s Creed agility – will yield lockboxes and sacred jade statues, adding much-needed funds and even upgrades. With GTA-style rewards for certain crimes, combined with smaller hacking elements and personal best trackers, it’s clear that Sleeping Dogs was built from the ground up to be an all-out thrill-ride, a showcase for all that the third-person sandbox action genre has to offer.

If there is a drawback, it’s in movement. With everything else being so fluid and natural, I was surprised how stiff movement felt at times, most notably in combat. Similar to the group-fighting, combo-mashing, counter-friendly feel of Batman: Arkham City, the fighting isn’t as quick as you’d expect. A perceptible lag yields a slightly sluggish style to the fighting. I was hoping for a crisp, elegant, Jet Li style; I was left with the slightly slower, rougher rumblings of Jason Statham.

Despite this, the combat is frequent and thrilling, with plenty of moves to unlock. You can enhance your abilities temporarily by eating certain food, or permanently by wearing certain clothes. Performing a variety of moves, takedowns, combos and environmental attacks will yield points, either to boost your cop score or your Triad score, depending on how cleanly you choose to play. These can be used to upgrade skills in driving, melee, shooting and others. These enhancements and abilities further invest you in Wei’s development.

But what makes the game truly special is the culture of it. From the unique food, to the colloquial-infused conversations, to the addition of shrines and dynasties in the game, there's an authenticity to it all. To be sure, if Hong Kong is half as interesting to experience as this fictional version, it’ll find a place on my bucket list. I'd just have to use the game in the meantime to get used to driving on the left hand side of the road.

When he’s not teaching high school, St. Albert Catholic High School alumnus Derek Mitchell can be found attached to a video game console.