Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition Is The Same, High Quality Game As Before

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By Sage Ashford

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Though I'll confess to not playing nearly as many games as I should, Sleeping Dogs was arguably my game of the generation for the WiiPS360 era. Combining solid gameplay with a gripping story and set in an area often untapped by modern gaming, it was almost impossible for me not to love it.  So when the rumors of a next-gen version of the game were finally confirmed, I eagerly snapped up the chance to experience one of my favorite games all over again while I waited for news on the follow-up game, Triad Wars.  And although the sequel didn't quite turn out to be what I was looking for, I still sat down with Sleeping Dogs over the last week to give one of my favorite titles another spin.

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So let's get a few things out of the way: If you've already played Sleeping Dogs, this is absolutely the same game as before. The textures are a little better and they added some impressive fog effects, but outside of that the changes are incredibly minimal, like changing the phone's display to resemble an iPhone.  It's certainly nothing to be compared to the massive list of changes Rockstar has planned for their next-gen release of GTA V, and in that I confess to being a little disappointed.  If nothing else, Square could have allowed United Front to add in a few new cars, outfits, and songs for the radio. Nothing major, but at least a small selling point to lure people who've already played the game to perhaps give it a second try.

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Instead, the game relies on packaging in the frankly overwhelming amount of DLC.   Over 20 different DLC are included that offer everything from costumes of other popular Eidos games to additional story content.   It's nothing you couldn't have already experienced on PC or the older consoles, but for those who aren't big into paying for DLC, it's a nice gesture. The story DLC alone will add an additional four or five hours of gameplay, and grant you everything from new fighting moves to an epilogue to Wei Shen's story after his time with the Triad.

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Of course, if you haven't played the game then all of this becomes a moot point and this is still an excellent title.  To be sure, Sleeping Dogs is nothing groundbreaking and expecting otherwise will only lead to disappointment.  Aside from its distinctive setting and a handful of mechanics focused around making the player feel like they're playing a movie– such as Action Hijack, where Wei can jump from one car to another during chase scenes–it's not terribly original. An exercise in refinement, what makes Sleeping Dogs a great title is that everything it does, it excels in.

The open world offers plenty of content, but not so much that it feels like busywork or that it drowns out the game with too much to do. It's fighting system is easy to learn but offers lots of variety in terms of what moves the player can use, with enemy types that force the player to vary their play style, and just enough difficulty to feel challenging.  The story follows the same pattern–nothing ground breaking, but well-told and featuring unique characters which draw you into Wei Shen's life, making the player care about his problems and the world itself.

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If you're a PC gamer, Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition isn't going to offer you anything new.  It's a title you can already get for a small fraction of the cost on Steam, but for console gamers who've upgraded and need something to pass the time until 2015 drowns us in new titles, this is more than worth a look.

Sage Ashford is a college kid with far more hobbies than he has free time.  You can find him on Twitter @SageShinigami, but also at his own blog Jumping in Headfirst.

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About Hannah Means Shannon

Editor-in-Chief at Bleeding Cool. Independent comics scholar and former English Professor. Writing books on magic in the works of Alan Moore and the early works of Neil Gaiman.