The impressive performances by Shen and others in the cast of characters along with an engrossing and visceral narrative combine for one of the most memorable experiences this year in gaming.Īs in other open world games, Sleeping Dogs populates the mini-map with various markers for primary and side missions, mini-games, clothing and food vendors, garages, collectibles, and others that continually appear during the narrative's progression. Even with an array of optional missions and various activities scattered around the city, the narrative offers an enthralling and well-paced adventure until the credits roll. Most open world games often suffer from a sporadic pace in which the narrative often functions as being less important than random acts of chaos or locations in the environment. As he gradually ascends rank in the Sun On Yee, Shen is often conflicted between the his roles as a police officer and what is required of being a Triad member. Shen's return to his home of Hong Kong after years of living in America requires him to confront the many demons of his past from the death of his sister to ties with past criminals. In the narrative's course, players are introduced to characters on each side of the law with shady criminals and detectives. Set in a fictional version of Hong Kong, Sleeping Dogs has players assuming the role of Chinese-American police officer Wei Shen as he begins his undercover assignment of infiltrating the Sun On Yee Triad. It's fortunate that Sleeping Dogs secured a new lease on life after almost certain death in an industry where canceled games rarely ever return from the grave. After the publisher canceled the game's production, Square Enix bought the publishing rights for the game resulting in its restoration to the original intellectual property.
Sleeping Dogs began as an original intellectual property by developer United Front Games, which was later changed to True Crime: Hong Kong as a decision from Activision in hopes the name would draw more interest and potential sales.