Sleeping Dogs (Formerly Known As "True Crime: Hong Kong") Catch All

I am also unexpectedly loving this game. As a fan of all things open-world, I'm surprised this slipped under my radar at release.

I agree with mr_n00b, the driving physics are probably my least favorite aspect. The handling just seems wacky, with the tires feeling sort of glued to the road, and something about the abrupt deceleration when you leave off the gas is very strange too.

But the game oozes quality in all the production aspects - world design, graphics, character animation, voice acting and music. And once the melee combat clicked with me (after about the 4th mission) I feel like a kung fu god.

I feel a slight twinge of guilt picking it up for only 9.99. I hope the developers actually made some money on it because clearly there is a lot of love poured into this game.

TheArtOfScience wrote:

Are there any "cheat" DLCs that make the game way too easy that I should avoid? The descriptions make it kind of hard to tell since I haven't played the game yet and don't know the systems.

The red envelope DLC does nothing but add $1,000,000 in collectibles to the game. The High Roller pack gives you the best car in the game for free (otherwise you need to build up your face rank and spend a lot of money on it, but it can definitely be done). Then there's the... Top Dog packs? In gold and silver? Those straight-up give you free face/police/triad experience. If you get both of them I think it starts you out at rank 8 out of 10.

Kerplunk wrote:
LobsterMobster wrote:

So today I ran into a dude with two arms and one leg, and he was using one of his arms as a leg. Don't smoke, kids.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfile...

The funny part is, even with you pointing it out, the first thing I notice is your (still) lack of pants. :D

I couldn't well go barefoot WITH pants, now could I? That would just look silly.

I'm pretty sure this is the first open world game ever where I'm actively seeking out melee combat. If I see a little red "Enemy" marker on the minimap, I waste no time baring my fists and feet to curb stomp some thugs into the pavement (and into whatever mechanical appliances are available).

In a game like GTA I avoid fisticuffs like the plague. In Assassin's Creed, the hand to hand combat is a bitter pill for me to swallow, and I hightail it to the rooftops rather than fight whenever possible, and even the very similar attack/counter system in Arkham Asylum never quite clicked for me.

Here they've really nailed a perfect blend of powerful combos which aren't too hard to remember or impossible to hit the buttons, perfect timing window for counters, with some viscerally satisfying animations and bone crunching sound effects. Plus the rate of learning new moves is a nice and steady progression.

I haven't encountered much gunplay yet... hoping that won't sour my impression of the combat.

LobsterMobster wrote:
demonbox wrote:

Do you think the game is better for being switched to a male protagonist?

Given how women are treated in Sleepy Dogs, I think it would have been a very different and possibly fascinating experience. These criminal-life open-world games always cast the player as a thug who starts at the bottom and has to climb his way to the top. In that kind of culture, a female would have to fight just as hard to even get to the level of recognition of that initial thug. I think that kind of struggle could make for an excellent story. However, it would not be the story they sought to tell with Sleeping Dogs.

I actually think that the female Red Pole boss is actually very interesting. She is atypical for her group and the people she surrounds herself with. I'm not far enough to know if this changes or continues. I would think her as a playable character would be fun even if you remove the combat from it.

Decided to check out the Zodiac Challenge DLC, the concept is promising: participate in an Enter the Dragon style tournament with all the visual and musical flare that that film entails. It started off promising, and then it was over 45 minutes later. A bit quick for $5 if you ask me. I was really hoping this would be more fleshed out, the few moments when the DLC shines are really fantastic but over before you know it. Ah well.

Anyone know how long the Nightmare in North Point DLC takes to finish? I'm hesitant to put down $7 for what amounts to a single mission.

chaosmos wrote:

I'm pretty sure this is the first open world game ever where I'm actively seeking out melee combat. If I see a little red "Enemy" marker on the minimap, I waste no time baring my fists and feet to curb stomp some thugs into the pavement (and into whatever mechanical appliances are available).

In a game like GTA I avoid fisticuffs like the plague. In Assassin's Creed, the hand to hand combat is a bitter pill for me to swallow, and I hightail it to the rooftops rather than fight whenever possible, and even the very similar attack/counter system in Arkham Asylum never quite clicked for me.

Here they've really nailed a perfect blend of powerful combos which aren't too hard to remember or impossible to hit the buttons, perfect timing window for counters, with some viscerally satisfying animations and bone crunching sound effects. Plus the rate of learning new moves is a nice and steady progression.

I haven't encountered much gunplay yet... hoping that won't sour my impression of the combat.

Agree with all of this, and when you start getting the jade statues to learn new moves it gets even better.

As for gunplay, it's better than GTAIV in my opinion. I always found the aiming to be really borked in GTA, especially if you were in cover. It was like I was constantly fighting the camera to get a bead on enemies. Here, it's much much much better. It's definitely not on a CoD or Gears of War level of finesse, but it's also really easy to get headshots, and the slow-mo out of cover mechanic is really bad ass.

@Johnkillo: how far along are you? Have you gotten to the part

Spoiler:

where they need to elect a temporary chairman?

Broken Nose steps in in that mission with some very crafty political maneuvering.

Man just finished the story and I loved this game! I wish I would have known about the hi-res pack before i started playing!

During the story I was really torn with the back and forth Wei felt. I also really enjoyed the combat. I wish ALL open world games used this type of combat moving forward! I did not have a hard time with the driving but even so like most open world games I usually drive the motorcycles around.

As far the dating I kind of likes that they ere short stoty type. It would have been nice to have a bit more, but I appreciate how it was NOT like the last GTA game.

karmajay wrote:

As far the dating I kind of likes that they ere short stoty type. It would have been nice to have a bit more, but I appreciate how it was NOT like the last GTA game.

Hot green tea?

This is the first game I've played where the social hooks have really worked on me. I actively worked on being at the top of my list for having the cops chase me (which I was able to hit last week), and I know that I need to get my stats for a clean drive up for the sole reason of beating Hyetal (who is currently directly on top of me for score placement in this).

Also, I really love this game. I'm surprised how many people described the combat as being like Batman but inferior. I actually enjoy the combat more than in Arkham Asylum (which I really enjoyed- didn't play Arkham City).

demonbox wrote:

This is the first game I've played where the social hooks have really worked on me. I actively worked on being at the top of my list for having the cops chase me (which I was able to hit last week), and I know that I need to get my stats for a clean drive up for the sole reason of beating Hyetal (who is currently directly on top of me for score placement in this).

Also, I really love this game. I'm surprised how many people described the combat as being like Batman but inferior. I actually enjoy the combat more than in Arkham Asylum (which I really enjoyed- didn't play Arkham City).

Having just finished Arkham Asylum in the past 24 hours I would have to agree with you. Sleeping Dogs' combat is more grounded in reality and more rewarding from encounter to encounter. It's kind of how I imagined side scroll brawlers might evolve. If they do ever make a sequel to this game I'd hope they expand a bit more, allow you to use different fighting styles. They hinted at it with the DLC but never followed through.

mr_n00b wrote:

Sleeping Dogs' combat is more grounded in reality and more rewarding from encounter to encounter.

I smashed this aquarium with a dude's head, and then used the fish to beat his friend to death.

IMAGE(http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/558713138735392108/0EFEB023BC82D437EF95CCF39DF883E2A42464C8/)

Why, yes, that is my super secret undercover cop character dressed in full SWAT gear!

You can tell you're undercover, because you're actually wearing pants this time

Maaan I need to get back into this--but Dark Souls is whispering in my ear again

Yes, I heard everyone who had played it saying that it was pretty good actually, but no, I didn't really believe it. I downloaded this as it was "free" on PSN Plus. The very shaky framerate bothers me somewhat and makes me long after the PC version, but damn if it isn't the most compelling sandbox of its type. I think it's mostly the exotic location that does it, makes me want to explore and become lost on my way to a mission. Decades of HK movies and tabletop RPGs have made me really like the place without ever having been there. The bits of Chinese, the foreign pop music, the distinct lack of firearms evident, the way gangsters are respected (or not)... it's all very intriguing. I don't generally get along with open world games at all, it's weird how strong a pull this game has on me.

Some eight hours in I'm really loving it, more so than, say, GTA IV. The navigation and melee fighting is enjoyable and I'm buying into the whole undercover cop story, enjoying being (trying to be) a good guy for a change.

LobsterMobster wrote:
mr_n00b wrote:

Sleeping Dogs' combat is more grounded in reality and more rewarding from encounter to encounter.

I smashed this aquarium with a dude's head, and then used the fish to beat his friend to death.

IMAGE(http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/558713138735392108/0EFEB023BC82D437EF95CCF39DF883E2A42464C8/)

Why, yes, that is my super secret undercover cop character dressed in full SWAT gear!

Completely plausible. I'm pretty sure that trout is standard SWAT issue.

I think there's an achievement for that? (the fish beating, that is..)

Funny note, I played Alex Wake after this game and even though there are just a few driving parts in Alan Wake and pretty much no AI cars, I had a hell of a time staying on the right side of the road!

It's funny we both played these games back to back (though I played Wake first).

As much as I love the score chase I wish there was a specific score for clean driving the wrong way down the street.

demonbox wrote:

It's funny we both played these games back to back (though I played Wake first).

As much as I love the score chase I wish there was a specific score for clean driving the wrong way down the street.

karmajay wrote:

Funny note, I played Alex Wake after this game and even though there are just a few driving parts in Alan Wake and pretty much no AI cars, I had a hell of a time staying on the right side of the road!

I had my girlfriend freaked out for a good two-three weeks because I occasionally would make a turn and end up on the left side of the road.

I expected to enjoy the mechanics of the game and the atmosphere- and I'm enjoying both quite a bit. I didn't expect to fall into the story as deeply as I have. I know it rattles of some cliches but I find it quite effective.

demonbox wrote:

I expected to enjoy the mechanics of the game and the atmosphere- and I'm enjoying both quite a bit. I didn't expect to fall into the story as deeply as I have. I know it rattles of some cliches but I find it quite effective.

There's noting wrong with a good Genre storyline.

nel e nel wrote:
demonbox wrote:

I expected to enjoy the mechanics of the game and the atmosphere- and I'm enjoying both quite a bit. I didn't expect to fall into the story as deeply as I have. I know it rattles of some cliches but I find it quite effective.

There's noting wrong with a good Genre storyline.

At the moment

Spoiler:

there was a wedding

there's everything right with this one.

I'm really enjoying this game. Which is good, because my wife accidentally deleted Steam today so I get to start all over again. She deleted Steam because she was trying to find a FLV player- yeah, makes no sense to me either but oh well. Really surprised Steam cloud didn't save my file.

As much as I was enjoying the game, it's weird to be bummed about starting it all over again.

demonbox wrote:

She deleted Steam because she was trying to find a FLV player- yeah, makes no sense to me either but oh well.

What's this steam filth? Clearly it is pr0n. Delete with extreme prejudice!

If you like the story you really should watch some Hong Kong flicks like Election. Good stuff. Not great, but definitely good stuff.

Appreciate the recomendation.

Hey, can anyone warn me if there's any boss fight or the like in the game where you're forced to pull off a specific move? I just want to make sure I'm not setting myself up for frustration later. Don't know if it's the game, my controller or just plain user error but for some reason it takes me 20 tries anytime I'm in a melee tutorial where the move requires me to hold a button at the end.

kuddles wrote:

Hey, can anyone warn me if there's any boss fight or the like in the game where you're forced to pull off a specific move? I just want to make sure I'm not setting myself up for frustration later. Don't know if it's the game, my controller or just plain user error but for some reason it takes me 20 tries anytime I'm in a melee tutorial where the move requires me to hold a button at the end.

I don't think so. There may be a boss fight or two where you need to use specific environmental objects, but I'm not sure if I'm remembering that correctly.

Nah, I don't think they ever go that far with the melee combat. If anything, countering your way to victory is a good alternative.

Yup, countering is king in the melee aspects of this one. Master it, and you will have no problems.