Sleeping Dogs for Xbox 360 Reviews by Gamers

In some ways, this game is better than any of the GTAs and it lacks things that GTA has. The story line is great and the protagonists is really likable. Mixing the good and bad in him was a great tool. There is like an endless number of side missions if you love to go for 100% completion. There is enough variety of fighting skills so fist fights aren't too repetitive. It isn't until the end where you might start to get over it. I know GTA 5 is coming out soon so I can't speak for that one, but for the other GTAs, I think they could learn something from this game. Square Enix has a great thing going here and they could really succeed in games like this.

I don't normally write reviews for games, but this was a rather surprisingly good one. I sincerely believe that if a dev does this good of a job on a game they should be rewarded with a 10, regardless of faults, this was a new game with a new IP and it was astonishingly impressive. I'll break down everything.

Combat - Obviously the strong point of the game, Sleeping Dogs introduces a nice martial arts combo and counter mechanic (a la Assassin's Creed) with stellar animations. Also introduced is environmental takedowns and interactions, which make the game feel more interactive. The game is pretty brutal though, so fair warning to the squeamish. There are NOT many guns here.

Dialogue and Story - These people are the triads. They swear. A lot. There is no language filter to be found in this game, which I found a little surprising, although I wasn't bothered too much by the graphic conversations. As for the story, it's great. No spoilers here, but there were some emotional moments in there. Also the constant threat of being discovered as a cop makes everything more tense as the game progresses.

"Graphics" - I don't like when people use the term "graphics" coupled with "good", "okay," or "bad." Multiple things make up "graphics." I'll break it down and keep it short.
Art Style: This game has a great style to it. The emphasis on the bright city lights goes through without a hitch.
Textures: Some of the textures in this game aren't up to par, as to be expected. This game is large, and somewhat feels like it suffered from GTA IV syndrome in that respect, but overall it wasn't too bothersome.
Fidelity: This is what people refer to as "graphics" most of the time; how the game looks in comparison to real life. Well, this game is rather average in that respect. It's not super impressive, but it doesn't like like an n64 game either.

Gameplay - This is a sandbox. Go play in it.