Thursday 16 August 2012

Sleeping Dogs Hits Stores Down Under. First Impressions

Sleeping Dogs was released today in Australia, and i was quick to pick up my pre-order of this urban sandbox. Released the same day as Darksiders 2, Sleeping Dogs has a deep story mode that will keep you glued. The hand to hand Combat in this game feels fluid and much like the Batman Arkham series (unsurprisingly since both games are from Square Enix). The leveling system is unlike any I have experienced in gaming. XP is allotted in specific areas. Cop, Triad and Face. Xp is used to unlock new abilities. Cop and Triad points are awarded for the way in which you complete story missions. Cop Points are awarded depending on how careful you are innocents and private property. Triad Points are dished out at the opposite end of the spectrum, awarded for how brutal you are with enemy's and stringing combo's together. Face experience is all to do with how the citizens of Hong Kong feel about you. Doing quest and helping strangers earns you face, for example a struggling T-shirt shop owner wants you to drive around the city and take some photos for some new T-shirts. The Map is based on the real Hong Kong with 4 main districts. It feels quite big but isn't nearly as large as some of the other open world games. This is countered by large populations and a hive of activity throughout the city. The AI in this game feels a lot realer then the likes of GTA5 or Saints Row. The Voice acting in this game is second to none. With a mix of English and Cantonese it is what you would expect the dialog to be between Chinese and Chinese-Americans to be. The odd Cantonese word or sentence (Don't worry the subtitles are solid too) adds to the realism of this game. The game is Single Player only but there is ways to engage in competition with friend via the leaderboard. Scores for missions, Biggest Stunt jump, Longest Wheelie are just a few things that are tracked for the leaderboard. All and All i think Sleeping Dogs is one of those hidden gem's that hopefully now its been released it will get the attention it deserves.

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