"Delicacy". Exclusive preview and impressions from Sleeping Dogs
The industry has become so predictable that we know our gaming schedule months in advance. In two weeks, we’ll be playing [Darksiders 2](/games?search=Darksiders 2), in September [Borderlands 2](/games?search=Borderlands 2), and October-November is planned day by day... But suddenly over the summer, Square Enix unleashes a dozen powerful trailers for [Sleeping Dogs](/games?search=Sleeping Dogs): a game that was announced less than six months ago and one I hardly took seriously. Can a AAA hit still unexpectedly strike? To find answers, I headed to the office of New Disk, where I spent two hours alone with the preview version of [Sleeping Dogs](/games?search=Sleeping Dogs) and learned its story.
It turns out the game has traveled a long and Eastern-style difficult path. The studio United Front, founded by industry veterans, began making it as an original project called Orange Lotus, but the publisher Activision transformed it into a reboot of the True Crime series, to which the game is indeed close. At one sad moment, Kotick decides that even under the name [True Crime: Hong Kong](/games?search=True Crime: Hong Kong), it requires incomprehensibly more than the poor publisher can afford, and he puts it on the shelf. The funeral was not particularly grand, as a much louder [Guitar Hero](/games?search=Guitar Hero) was being sent off on the next street that same day, but one way or another, the United Front project was considered dead for more than a year. In early 2012, a second announcement occurred under the wing of Square Enix with a new name: [Sleeping Dogs](/games?search=Sleeping Dogs). The publisher was sincerely puzzled how Activision could have given up on such an impressive game, and after experiencing the preview version, it becomes clear why.
Despite the name change, the game has not changed much over the years. Features of Rockstar's main hit are easily recognizable in [Sleeping Dogs](/games?search=Sleeping Dogs), but it should not be called a complete clone: the Eastern style significantly shifts the accents towards the Yakuza series. Wei Shen, in whose role we will explore Hong Kong, is, as usual, a complex character. Having lost his family and lived in the USA for several years, he returns to the pearl of Asia to become an undercover cop, settle old scores, and find his place in life. The primary method of progression here is close combat: there is hardly a mission that doesn't involve hand-to-hand clashes with a couple of local thugs. Strikes intertwine in combos reminiscent of Batman: AA, blocks and counters keep you on your toes, and you can find sharp objects, crowbars, and other useful fighting gear on the floor, and – the most "delicious" part – each arena is generously adorned with decorations that allow you to finish off opponents in the most spectacular way possible. You can often find trash bins with heavy lids and electrified phone booths, but each location contains its own "spice", and among many dozens of such fatalities, every gamer will be able to fulfill their bloody fantasies. The combat system is unusually deep for the genre, and sometimes I lost simply because I couldn't decide which hook to hang this particular opponent on.
There is also firearms in the game, and if the hero picks up a gun – be ready, something completely unimaginable will start with dozens of opponents, destruction of buildings, and, if particularly lucky, chases. In [GTA San Andreas](/games?search=GTA San Andreas), there was a mission where an NPC buddy rode a motorcycle through streets and narrow channels while CJ shot at dozens of attacking kamikaze on motorcycles and even trucks. Here, there are many such spectacular chases, and often you have to manage both the car and shoot out the tires of the racers while marveling at how visually stunning it all looks. One time I even managed to blow up an enemy vehicle and slip by on a motorcycle right under the body flipping through the air! The car physics, by the way, are not toy-like at all, and in Hong Kong, you can pursue a racing career divided by car classes, quite comparable to something like [Midnight Club: Los Angeles](/games?search=Midnight Club: Los Angeles) or [Test Drive Unlimited](/games?search=Test Drive Unlimited). Only the game modes are fewer.
To keep the game surprising even after the tenth chase or shootout, upgrades come to the rescue: automatic slow-mo from the car, super combos, finishing off downed opponents – this could be called legalized cheating, but in reality, skills make the game not so much easier as more spectacular. To upgrade, it's not enough just to follow the plot: Wei Shen balances on a dangerous edge, and to increase his mastery, it's important to keep the reputation with all local factions under control, whether they are law enforcement or the numerous triads of Hong Kong.
The main problem for most followers of the great car thief is that in the pursuit of plot, graphics, and scale, the most crucial aspect is often forgotten: integrity. No one needs a huge world if it’s lifeless, and no one needs a dramatic plot with dozens of characters if it doesn't adhere to the logic of this world. And [Sleeping Dogs](/games?search=Sleeping Dogs), from this perspective, appears even more coherent than the original [GTA IV](/games?search=GTA IV), where clownish characters tried to create an atmosphere in a serious setting. The game paints a heavy, full of contradictions Eastern metropolis; and the story of a two-faced cop searching for his place here best reveals its atmosphere. If in Liberty City you couldn't trust anyone, then in Hong Kong you can't even trust yourself, and this dangerous trait was always felt in the shown missions.
But a plot and atmosphere are not enough to become a full-fledged GTA, and most, including the original True Crime, failed precisely on this point: the city must feel alive even if you ditch the plot and just peek into every alley. Hiding collectibles and scattering side missions across the map is not enough, although [Sleeping Dogs](/games?search=Sleeping Dogs) excels at this. But in the process of exploring the city, I felt an almost forgotten feeling after [GTA San Andreas](/games?search=GTA San Andreas) when I accidentally discover a ramp at the edge of the map among the trees leading into the sea and realize that here I can easily spend half an hour dramatically dropping every passing vehicle into the water against the backdrop of neon skyscrapers. There’s no madness of [Saints Row](/games?search=Saints Row) or [Just Cause](/games?search=Just Cause); it’s just something you want to do. It’s a shame that the absence of aviation severely limits flights of fancy.
Fate's twists continue to haunt [Sleeping Dogs](/games?search=Sleeping Dogs) even on the home stretch: at E3, Ubisoft dramatically announced [Watch Dogs](/games?search=Watch Dogs), which resembles the work of United Front not only in name but also in genre and even partly in style. I thought that [Sleeping Dogs](/games?search=Sleeping Dogs) would surely be overshadowed by this behemoth. But after personal experience, my opinion changed: even gamers who buy the game thinking it’s that Ubisoft project won’t be disappointed. The most surprising thing is that the graphics of [Sleeping Dogs](/games?search=Sleeping Dogs) on PC are not far off from it (the preview version was on PS3). In the end, it’s no longer possible to say for sure who will be in whose shadow, but we, the players, win from this in any case.
I could reveal many more details here, but then one of the main merits of the game would disappear: the ability to surprise. The very existence of [Sleeping Dogs](/games?search=Sleeping Dogs) in our time and in our world is truly a remarkable thing.