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Sleeping Dogs (Video Game Preview)

What began as TRUE CRIME: HONG KONG for publisher Activision was later repurchased by Square Enix and developed under its new name SLEEPING DOGS. This, as it turns out, was a great decision. SLEEPING DOGS will quickly gain momentum once released this year, and is easily becoming one of the most anticipated titles of the year; apparently the premiere open-world experience. By taking a fantastic hand-to-hand combat system, a running and climbing system somewhat similar to ASSASSIN'S CREED and adding gameplay elements from other sandbox games like GRAND THEFT AUTO and SAINTS ROW, SLEEPING DOGS is a hodgepodge of many a great titles that produces an experience that manages to be as good as any game released this year.

SLEEPING DOGS is an open-world cop drama set within the Hong Kong underground. You play through the game as detective Wei Shen who has gone deep undercover to take down a dangerous group of Triads. The game often presents conflicting moral decisions that straddle the line of doing what’s right, and performing dreadful deeds for the greater good. It's this type of storytelling that makes SLEEPING DOGS such a thrill. It’s always interesting to see how the environment of the game reacts to dialogue and the array of events you’ll find yourself involved in. Hong Kong is a living, breathing world in SLEEPING DOGS, and there are plenty of things to do and see in the massive city, from cock fighting to karaoke.

In staying true to the open-world rulebook, Wei can do nearly anything you can think of with little consequence. Stealing cars and driving at high speeds through the crowded city of Hong Kong can be a blast—you can even find speed boats to take the action to the open water. Of course, you'll have a large arsenal of weapons that can be used to put down your foes, but SLEEPING DOGS allows you to experience the gunplay in slow motion for more cinematic and tactical scenarios. One big difference in gameplay is the ability to easily run, jump and climb your way through the world and around other people. This opens up the game's ability to feature some pretty awesome parkour-heavy chases through city streets and buildings.

The hand-to-hand combat will remind many of Rocksteady's BATMAN video game series. You'll mix light and heavy attacks, all while dodging incoming blows at the appropriate times, to land painful counters on your unsuspecting foes. SLEEPING DOGS doesn't hold back on the brutality or gore here, either. Many of the game's environments have interactive objects that can be used to take out your opponents, permanently.

SLEEPING DOGS is a great looking game, full of violence, gore and explosions. Many of the missions in the game are memorable and may even have you playing through the again, just to relive some of the most exciting moments. SLEEPING DOGS features a phenomenal voice cast that stars Will Yun Lee (DIE ANOTHER DAY, TOTAL RECALL) as Wei Shen, and a host of other great actors (such as ZOMBIELAND's Emma Stone). Since you'll spend so much time driving around the city, SLEEPING DOGS comes packed with plenty of solid cruising music, as well.

SLEEPING DOGS is a wonderful title that will most likely be considered for game of the year, just as Rockstar's RED DEAD REDEMPTION was for its incredible contributions to the genre. The game combines many great game mechanics all into one package, and the end result is just as good, or better, than the sum of its parts. SLEEPING DOGS is a wild ride from start to finish. With so many optional quests and mini-games that need to be completed, the game has tremendous replay value that few other titles can muster. Similar titles in the genre are going to have a tough time putting this dog to sleep, so make sure to get SLEEPING DOGS when it releases to experience all this great game has to offer.

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