The wealth of content in the game goes a long way towards immersing the player in the Hong Kong environment. The can even visit one of the city's many massage parlours … for a massage, obviously. Players can also visit dojos to unlock new combat moves, underground fight clubs to earn cash and they can indulge in a spot of gambling on Mahjong or cockfighting. One mission, for example, involves taking pictures around Hong Kong for a lady selling postcards. Some of these increase Wei's standing with the cops or the Triads – hacking CCTV cameras and bringing in drug dealers, or collecting protection money and beating rival gangs – and some are simply ends in themselves. Not only does racing earn Wei cash and cars, it raises his Face rating in the Hong Kong underworld.Īside from races, the map of Hong Kong is filled to bursting with activities for players to get stuck into. This feature also comes in rather handy in the ton of street races that are dotted around the game's huge map. UGC has also borrowed Wheelman's shunt mechanic, allowing players to crash into the side or rear fenders of other vehicles at the touch of a button. They simply position his car or bike near a target vehicle and press "A" when prompted, in a move that will be familiar to anyone who ever played Midway's open-world crime thriller, Wheelman. They're also filled with ridiculously over-the-top action aside from causing cars to pinwheel end over end with gunfire, players can use Wei to hijack vehicles in mid-chase. Like any decent action flick, Sleeping Dogs has more than a couple of car chases and they move at a pretty high-octane pace. Slow motion also activates every time Wei blasts a car off the road with gunfire from the back of a motorbike. The bullet-time here isn't as integral to the proceedings as it is in the recently released Max Payne 3, but it certainly gives the player a slight edge in a gun battle and it looks cool, too, which is kind of the point. The action slows down, the soundtrack is reduced to muffled thumps and thuds and the player has a few seconds where they can target their enemies more easily. When Wei breaks cover, the game activates a small window of bullet-time. My personal favourite involved using a store shutter to snap an opponent's spine.įor the gunplay, UFG has borrowed elements from Gears Of War – a lot of the firefights are cover-based – but it has also added a pinch of the bullet ballet from the films of John Woo. Indeed, a lot of the violence in Sleeping Dogs would be right at home in a film on Palisades Tartan's Asia Extreme label. Players are able to dish standard throw, kick and punch attacks, but they can also use objects in their environment to deliver eye-watering damage, such as ramming their opponent's face into a fan, or slamming their head in a car door. The fighting engine is one of the best things in Sleeping Dogs, because while its set-up is deceptively simple and easy to get to grips with, it boasts a pretty lengthy combo list just waiting to be unlocked. Like any action hero, Wei is also a dab hand at firearms and unarmed combat. This can lead to him getting discounts in stores or getting hassled by cop or criminal elements. There's also an overall Face XP meter that dictates how other characters react to Wei. If he upholds the law, the Police XP meter rises, opening up new weapons and equipment. Not only is this a decent plot point, it actually feeds into the gameplay for every criminal act Wei commits, his Triad XP rises, eventually unlocking gruesome combat moves, Triad suits and vehicles. ![]() Wei Shen is your typical HK action hero: cocky, confident but conflicted about his loyalties because of his close association with his criminal chums. But UFG's love of the whole HK action film subgenre is evident throughout Sleeping Dogs they may borrow a lot of gameplay elements from other open world games, but they pay homage to the like of Lam and John Woo in the game's plot and mechanics, too. If the story reads like the premise for a film from Hong Kong's late 80s/early 90s heyday, it's because it bears more than a passing resemblance Ringo Lam's City On Fire.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |