Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition – A Critically Acclaimed Open-Word Hong Kong

A little title that could, Sleeping Dogs has had its share of troubles. Critically acclaimed it sold well, but perhaps not quite as well as it could have, or should have. The newest title getting brought up to the big leagues, this Open-world action title pits one man against an entire criminal underworld.

Cop undercover; dangerous underworld of Hong Kong; next generation hardware: it’s Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition

Release Date: Oct 14, 2014

Consoles: Xbox One, PlayStation 4

Rating: M

 The last gen (Xbox 360, PS3) to new gen (Xbox One, PS4) conversion thing is a reoccurring theme, and will continue to be. It could be viewed as a bit of a money grab, or as a chance to gain a franchise some renewed interest, a bridge to the future. It’s also an absurdly easy decision to make, if you’ve got some development money kicking around. The game already exists, just needs a shiny new up -res, and all those features you wanted to put in, or seemed clever, but got cut. The timing is important though, there’s ever so small a window. If you’d asked me to write a list of say, top twenty games I figured would get the treatment, Sleeping Dogs would not have been on it. I’m sure this wouldn’t surprise the folks at United Front Games, or fans of the original release… it’s been something of a black sheep its entire life (I should have said ‘underdog’ but it seemed tacky).

Originally released in 2012, Sleeping Dogs is a great game, I reviewed it. It was made in Vancouver when a lot of games and game teams were getting dropped. It actually was dropped, and went from being a True Crime game, to losing a publisher, before being picked up by Square Enix. It was ambitious as all get out too, basically trying to fill GTA’s shoes while Rockstar was in the lab, working on GTA V, and UFG did a spectacular job of it. Critically acclaimed, even if it didn’t quite sell as much as it had hoped, they still broke a million units. Not bad for a little Canadian studio, even without the setbacks.

Sleeping Dogs follows Wei Shen, a cop infiltrating the triad underworld of Hong Kong. For those who missed it, I can honestly say the best way to describe it is GTA: Hong Kong. The characters were compelling, the voice acting was great, the city looked fantastic, the driving was actually better at that time than the GTA series, and the combat system could go ‘toe to toe’ with the Arkham games. Not bad right? Now, with Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition, this gritty Honk Kong crime drama makes the move to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The ‘open-world action adventure’ in the living streets of Hong Kong has been ‘re-worked, rebuilt, and re-mastered’ for the new hardware, and comes with all the games previous DLC.

A small taste, as an example…

After extolling its virtues, it’s odd that Sleeping Dogs: The Definitive Edition should come as a surprise, it’s been a scrappy, streetwise survivor since its inception. A hardnosed pugnacious sort of game, with a hardboiled detective story, compelling cast of characters, and an immensely satisfying combat system (I can’t think of many times I took as much satisfaction in beating down a room of thugs) Sleeping Dogs does not disappoint. Critically acclaimed, and now available for a whole new generation of hardware, if you missed it the first time, or just want a dose of urban crime and punishment with a Hong Kong flair, the street’s await.

Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition is now available for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4