Sleeping Dogs, Square Enix's forgotten Hong Kong kung fu thriller, is a Grand Theft Auto clone, but it's a better game than Rockstar's own GTA 5.

Square Enix's overlooked crime thriller Sleeping Dogs was one of the previous console generation's best games, and in hindsight, it may have outdone Grand Theft Auto 5 in its iterations on the GTA formula. The Hong Kong-set action game took the elements that make GTA great and put its own spin on them, adding an engaging story, more entertaining driving and shooting, and a satisfying, Batman: Arkham Asylum-inspired kung fu combat system.

Part of what could be called the "GTA clone" action sub-genre, Sleeping Dogs shares many traits of Grand Theft Auto games: It takes place in an open world with a variety of driving and combat missions, puts the player in the shoes of a criminal with good intentions, and features a story full of loyalty as well as betrayal. While most games attempting to ape such esteemed franchises as GTA are doomed to fail, Sleeping Dogs succeeded.

The game received general praise, earning an 83 on Metacritic after its 2012 release, and it still holds up today. That's because Sleeping Dogs is more than just a clone of GTA, as it improves on many of GTA's core appeals to make an overall better game.

What Makes Sleeping Dogs A Better GTA Game Than GTA 5

Sleeping Dogs' best elements are in its gameplay. Its driving mechanics have a more arcade-y feel than GTA 5's driving, allowing for more recklessness without losing momentum. Protagonist Wei Shen can pop out of a car's window at any time to fire at enemies in slow motion, targeting drivers or car tires to send pursuing vehicles flying into fiery explosions. The best part, though, that players can open a car's door while it's moving and jump over to an adjacent vehicle, automatically taking it over and continuing the chase. Ground combat is just as fun, with a counter- and combo-focused system that results in plenty of flashy melee beatdowns of large groups of enemies. Couple that with gruesome, contextual finishing moves (like shoving someone into a dumpster or an exhaust fan), and GTA's combat is just plain boring by comparison.

Similarly interesting are Sleeping Dogs' story and setting. Compared to GTA 5's LA-inspired Los Santos, Sleeping Dogs' depiction of Hong Kong is vibrant, and it's a location few other games have explored. Its story takes inspiration from the city it's set in: In keeping with Hong Kong action movies, Sleeping Dogs' narrative is full of over-the-top action. It can be a bit trope-y, sure, but there are few games that deliver the "playable action movie" experience as well as Sleeping Dogs. Players are bound to fall in love with its charismatic characters, like Wei Shen's childhood friend Jackie Ma, and run into some genuinely brutal and heart-wrenching twists along the way.

That's not to say Sleeping Dogs is without humor. It does take itself more seriously than GTA, but that actually works in its favor. Unlike GTA 5's pop culture-filled satire - which felt dated after only a few years - Sleeping Dogs sprinkles in a more appropriate amount of laughs, focusing instead on developing its characters and making sure its big moments land. Even eight years after its release, Sleeping Dogs is still an entertaining playthrough, and it has more heart than many of Rockstar's most polished games could claim.

Next: Grand Theft Auto: Every Game Ranked From Worst To Best

Sleeping Dogs released for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on August 14, 2012, and for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on October 14, 2014.

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3. GTA 5 or Sleeping Dogs?

angry_cowtipper 9 years ago

31

JayGood259Oz posted...

No offense but anyone who says sleeping dogs is an idiot or a hippie who hates anything popular.

No offense, but anyone who says GTA IV or V likes garbage for fiction, and hates fun.

It's better to have a successful jerk than a charming failure.

JayGood259Oz 9 years ago

32

angry_cowtipper posted...

Do you like fun? Sleeping Dogs

Do you like graphics? Sleeping Dogs Do you like a story that's actually good? Sleeping Dogs Do you like melee combat that consists of more than "press O to punch"? Sleeping Dogs Are you looking for a more technical achievement? GTAV

If you like fun and video games, get Sleeping Dogs. If you have a bunch of options, I'd recommend the PC version of the original title, though that wouldn't include the DLC, it looks amazing, and apparently in the definitive version, they've upped the fog, which lowers the impact of how stark the neon signs were in the original. I'd recommend this for details: //www.giantbomb.com/videos/quick-look-sleeping-dogs-definitive-edition/2300-9585/. It shows the original back to back with the definitive. If you don't have a PC, which I'm guessing you don't because you're here asking, PS4 version will be better than PS3 for sure.

Strange. I had a lot of fun with GTA 5. It sold like 35 million copies so I imagine other people did as well. Also sleeping dogs was so boring I couldn't finish it. I got over 97 percent completion on GTA 5. I'm not even a huge GTA fan, despised 4, but GTA 5 really is incredible. The stock market is fun too.

CaiusIce 9 years ago

33

Gta V is better but imo, sleeping dogs>gta IV.

Katon 9 years ago

34

GTA V, but Sleeping Dogs is a great game, too.

"You can almost taste how much the Bubsy 3D makers hated the children of America," from Seanbaby's review of Bubsy 3D (EGM

150)

angry_cowtipper 9 years ago

35

JayGood259Oz posted...

angry_cowtipper posted...

Do you like fun? Sleeping Dogs

Do you like graphics? Sleeping Dogs Do you like a story that's actually good? Sleeping Dogs Do you like melee combat that consists of more than "press O to punch"? Sleeping Dogs Are you looking for a more technical achievement? GTAV

If you like fun and video games, get Sleeping Dogs. If you have a bunch of options, I'd recommend the PC version of the original title, though that wouldn't include the DLC, it looks amazing, and apparently in the definitive version, they've upped the fog, which lowers the impact of how stark the neon signs were in the original. I'd recommend this for details: //www.giantbomb.com/videos/quick-look-sleeping-dogs-definitive-edition/2300-9585/. It shows the original back to back with the definitive. If you don't have a PC, which I'm guessing you don't because you're here asking, PS4 version will be better than PS3 for sure.

Strange. I had a lot of fun with GTA 5. It sold like 35 million copies so I imagine other people did as well. Also sleeping dogs was so boring I couldn't finish it. I got over 97 percent completion on GTA 5. I'm not even a huge GTA fan, despised 4, but GTA 5 really is incredible. The stock market is fun too.

Well, I'm glad you enjoyed your experience. Popular music and what sells more and what doesn't, however, tells me what's popular is not to be equated necessarily with what's good. I'm sure Call of Duty: Ghosts sold better than a number of better shooters.

It would be hard to say what GTA actually does better. Is it the driving? No. The combat? Certainly not, SD has that hands down. Graphics? No. Violence? No.

If I had to say what GTA actually does better, I would say the city is bigger, and the AI routines of the pedestrians make GTA worlds feel more like a city. There is also more things the to f*** with, such as the stock market. Dating is in both. Sleeping Dogs also knows what it is, and focuses on being violent, over the top, and being like a Hong Kong action movie in combat. Do I want a serious political message in a video game? Probably not. If I have to have it? I probably can't take what the guys who made GTA III through GTA: SA have to say seriously about the issues. The coolest thing about GTA V was that you could go underwater, albeit at 15 frames per second.

It's better to have a successful jerk than a charming failure.

JayGood259Oz 9 years ago

36

I didn't equate sales to quality although you normally can. You said GTA 5 is basically no fun. I just find it hard to believe that 35 million people paid to not have fun.

Also did sleeping dogs have planes, helicopters, boats, jet skis? Did it have purchasable property? Side kick dog? 3 playable characters? Multiplayer some people apparently love? Not to mention the website which tracks your activities and compares with your friends. Stock market to screw with while at work.

Hell the heist sequences are all epic. The story is over the top and fun. There is way more activities in GTA 5.

The only thing sleeping dogs does better is hand to hand combat.

angry_cowtipper 9 years ago

37

JayGood259Oz posted...

I didn't equate sales to quality although you normally can. You said GTA 5 is basically no fun. I just find it hard to believe that 35 million people paid to not have fun.

Also did sleeping dogs have planes, helicopters, boats, jet skis? Yes to all but maybe jet skis. Did it have purchasable property? You didn't 'purcahse' it, you controlled territory, and the "owners" paid you protection. Side kick dog? No... but so what? A game on the PS3 did this better, and you actually controlled the dog. 3 playable characters? This is not a plus, especially if only one of them stands out. Multiplayer some people apparently love? No. Not to mention the website which tracks your activities and compares with your friends. Stock market to screw with while at work.

Hell the heist sequences are all epic. The story is over the top and fun. There is way more activities in GTA 5.

The only thing sleeping dogs does better is hand to hand combat.

It is also a better graphical achievement, and has a PC port that isn't garbage.

I'll readily admit GTA V has more stuff, and is a more technical achievement. If that's what pushes your buttons, meta games within games, and so on, then in addition to GTA, you might check out a series that does that better, Yakuza. As for a great looking, over the top, action style open world game of yore, where you do more against opponents than shoot them, and a story most gave high marks, in a setting that hasn't been explored since Shenmue II (has it?), Sleeping Dogs is better if you like video games.

It's better to have a successful jerk than a charming failure.

tj5921 9 years ago

38

GTA V was mediocre at best. It was plagued with technical issues that corrupted my 74% completion save. Had to replay the whole game just to finish the main story. Definitely won't be bothering with it this time around.

As for sleeping dogs I never played it and will try it out when the price drops.

AnthonM2 9 years ago

39

I wish R* add more checkpoints in the missions even in easy mode, some missions are frustrating.

iTossSalads 9 years ago

40

GTA V, by far. Sleeping Dogs was a pretty mediocre game that isn't anywhere near the quality of GTA V. It's almost silly to even mention the two in the same sentence. Sleeping Dogs is a B-game, at best. The only thing it really does better is probably the hand-to-hand combat.. which is sort of just another Arkham rip-off in terms of mechanics. The story, characters, setting, music, visuals, etc. are all vastly inferior. Not even close really. It's not even remotely in the same league as GTA V. These boards just seem to hype Sleeping Dogs up because it has an Asian setting.. and because of that and since it's an average game and not complete garbage it's held in a much higher regard than the actual quality of the game deserves.