Game News Sleeping Dogs: The GTA set in Hong Kong turns 10!
Published on 08/15/2022 at 17:21
Ten years ! It’s already been ten years since the excellent Sleeping Dogs was released on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC! For all those who were able to discover it at the time, this alternative to GTA had a certain success and many have kept excellent memories of the adventures of Wei Shen.
At the heart of the triad
Released in 2012, Sleeping Dogs can be compared to a Grand Theft Auto taking place in an atmosphere very different from what Rockstar has accustomed us to. Developed by United Front Games, the game places the player in the heart of Hong Kong. Wei Shen, a former police officer from San Francisco, is transferred to his hometown and must infiltrate the Sun On Yee triad. The player thus follows the daily life of this man embarked on a totally unbridled adventure where shootings, chases and martial arts come together. In its time, Sleeping Dogs marked players with its immersion and its great richness of gameplay. For example, during the shooting phases, it is possible to activate a bullet time mode which slows down the action. The game also has a very fun arcade approach to it, both in driving and in the use of vehicles (you can jump from one car to another or get out of the window to shoot the fugitives or pursuers). The combat system, on the other hand, is all about combos and counters, resulting in ultra-efficient action sequences. All of this gives Sleeping Dogs a special aura.
A remake two years later
In 2014, Sleeping Dogs was the subject of a remaster, but let’s be clear, it’s not on the graphics performance that it should be judged. The visual gap is very limited (it must be said that the original had set the bar quite high) and the interest lies above all in the integration of all the DLCs. Which is perhaps a good pick when you know that the title is around 20 euros on Steam for example. For the rest, Sleeping Dogs will have been only a “one shot” spanning about twenty hours (in a straight line and without its extensions) and which would undoubtedly have deserved sequels. Finally, it is the opinion of yours truly, but what about you?