Sleeping Dogs (2012) (PC) (United Front Games)
0Sleeping Dogs (formerly known under the more generic but less confusing title True Crime: Hong Kong) might not be the most original third-person open world action game out there, but it sure has a unique and well-realized setting which sets it apart from even similarily themed titles such as Yakuza (and from the notoriously bland Asian settings in Deus Ex: Human Revolution, for that matter). United Front Games have clearly put a lot of effort into creating a vibrant and believable representation of urban life in a bustling Asian metropolis forever drowning in a dazzling sea of neon lights, and it's a lot of fun to simply walk around and take in the sights.
Although the voice cast (which include Tom Wilkinson, Lucy Liu and Emma Stone) is unusually respectable for a video game there don't seem to be that many memorable characters in the heavily GTA/Infernal Affairs-inspired storyline. Gameplay-wise, however, Sleeping Dogs offers a nice, melee-focused combat system which is more satisfying than the action in most open world games, and apart from solid driving controls there's also a decent sense of speed to the game's many vehicles.
It's a bit worrying that United Front's former publisher Activision simply dropped this seemingly decent game relatively late during its (admittedly protracted) development cycle. If major publishers don't even have faith in popular mainstream genres such as GTA-style open world action games then I guess the prospects for a future gaming industry which includes anything at all apart from Call of Duty clones and Free2Play online games are even bleaker than I thought they were...
In any case, it's also worth mentioning that the PC version of Sleeping Dogs is rather impressive with DX11 support, an official Hi-Res Texture Pack (delivered directly through Steam, no less) and detailed graphics settings which go far beyond what you see in most multi-platform titles these days.
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