Sleeping Dogs

Sleeping Dogs is an open-world action game set in Hong Kong, in which you play as police officer Wei Shen sent undercover into the Sun On Yee triad. The premise is classic, but the game's strength lies in how thoroughly it plays out the main character's inner conflict. Wei builds genuine friendships among the gangsters even as he must betray them, and the game translates this directly into its systems: completing tasks earns you separate triad and police experience, and unnecessary damage to property and civilians lowers your police standing. So you have to think carefully about how you behave during the action.

Combat focuses on close-quarters fighting and is easily the best part of the game. You combine strikes, grapples, and counters triggered at the right moment, and above all you use the environment, since enemies can be thrown into a phone booth, a fan, or a dumpster. Shooting is more of a supplement, accompanied by time slowing down when you leap over an obstacle. Driving around Hong Kong has its own twist in the form of jumping between moving vehicles and arcade-style ramming attacks. Alongside the main story there is plenty of side content, from karaoke singing and fighting tournaments to races and collectible shrines that permanently boost your health.

The city itself is the real star. Narrow alleys full of neon, markets, wet asphalt reflecting lights, and a mix of Cantonese and English create an atmosphere no other open-world game of that generation had. The radio plays everything from Cantopop to Western classics, and the voice cast includes well-known actors. The game had a troubled development, originally meant to be an entry in a different series, but was ultimately released by another publisher under a new name. Reviews were very good, sales decent, though not enough for a big sequel. Today Sleeping Dogs is still one of the best-realized urban settings in the entire genre. The map isn't huge, but it's dense and easy to navigate, so you orient yourself quickly and travel never gets boring. For players tired of sprawling open worlds, it's a pleasantly compact alternative with excellent combat.