Sleeping Dogs

Sleeping Dogs may never get a sequelor a live-action film starring Donnie Yen, but it will forever be the first video game I install on a new PC. What’s not to love about Sleeping Dogs? You play as a charismatic, trash-talking undercover cop with a heart of gold named Wei Shen (motherf*cker!) as he attempts to take down the detestable triad leader, Sam “Dogeyes” Lin.

Your journey toward dishing out stone-cold justice comes with its fair share of wacky and wildly entertaining pit stops. For example, Wei Shen is a big karaoke buff and will belt out the lyrics to popular songs like A-Ha’s “Take On Me,” The Clash’s “I Fought the Law,” and Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” in a pre-Trombone Champ-style gameplay. Speaking of gameplay, Sleeping Dogs also features a kinetic Batman: Arkham Asylum-style combat with John Woo-esque shootouts that’d put Max Payne and Jet Li: Rise to Honor to shame.

That being said, what I enjoy most about my constant replays of Sleeping Dogs is its immaculate nightlife vibes. Before starting or ending a Sleeping Dogs play session, I’ll religiously listen to its classical music radio station while aimlessly driving a boat in circles before beating up cops and criminals alike because that feeling is simply euphoric. Oh, you also go on a date with Emma Stone’s character and play wedding planner for Lucy Liu’s character Vivienne Lu, which is just lovely.

Not to be outdone by Wei Shen’s pizzazz, Sleeping Dogs’ pedestrians and street vendors will utter the most bizarre shit I’ve ever heard while perusing night markets or blitzing down alleyways toward my next mission. My favorite line goes to the Pork Bun vendor who, without fail, will guilt trip me into buying a pork bun because “a man who never eats pork buns is never a whole man.” That’s the art of the deal at work, baybee. Play Sleeping Dogs. Isaiah Colbert, Staff Writer