PAX PREVIEW
Sleeping Dogs is an upcoming open-world action game set in Hong Kong. This title was originally in the True Crime series, but has now taken a life of its own. At PAX we were given a viewing of the game and its infinite possibilities. In Sleeping Dogs you play as an undercover cop Wei Shen working with the infamous Triad gang. Working undercover on the streets of Hong Kong with one of the most dangerous gangs in history, I know what you’re thinking, whatcan go wrong?
In the demo we were given the opportunity to see many of the games features. We played through a beginning level mission where Wei’s martial art skills were not as developed and advanced as another mission towards the end of the game. As Wei completes more missions and advances through the gamesthe amount of moves he is able to perform increases.
Throughout the game play there is one thing I became most excited about; the environment. Square Enix did an amazing job at creating an interactive environment. One way they did so in Sleeping Dogs was by making some cover options destructible. Another way they did so was by giving you interactive options when you grapple with an enemy. For example an open elevator shaft can be used to throw someone down, or the sharp broken pipe pieces sticking up from the floor, well I will let you use your imagination for that one; but I think you get my point.
As I played through the demo I was given a free roaming opportunity. Before I entered thenext mission start I was able to explore the world around me. One of the things you can do in Sleeping Dogs is buy food from vendors, Square Enix took the idea from RPG games where food equals health and they translated that into this game as well. Roaming the streets of Hong Kong can easily take up hours of your time. There are endless possibilities in these streets including side quests, street races, and of course just plain old fun. This game is not one to simply rush through. Even without the races and the side missions the story alone will takeyou approximately twenty-five hours to complete.
Another aspect of the demo included racing. Some members of the Sleeping Dogs team were part of the Need for Speed series.They brought that experience into this series and these races add depth and fun to the story.
Whether you are a fan of the original True Crime series or not this is simply a stunning and fun open-world cop drama. Your possibilities are endless whether you choose to explore the world around you, enter every race you can, or simply use the environment to your advantage.
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