Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Here's Why Sleeping Dogs' World Is Fun To Explore
My favorite game of this console generation is still Grand Theft Auto IV. I lose myself in open worlds, especially those with fast cars and soaring cityscapes. For these reasons, Sleeping Dogs has been on my radar for quite some time. After reading mixed reviews for the game, I went into it expecting combat to be the main attraction. Grappling enemies and dragging them over to environment props is certainly fun – especially when fish tanks, furnaces, and gates are nearby – but this ability is taking a back seat to the world itself. I'm having a great time steering clear of missions to explore Hong Kong. After spending hundreds of hours in various recreations of Los Angeles and New York City, it's nice to be in a new location. And I'm not just sightseeing. The game rewards players well for exploring the world. Here's how:
Hidden Boxes Contain Loot
Grand Theft Auto toyed with the idea of rewards being delivered to a safe house for every 10 packages found, but most collectibles hidden in open worlds don't reward players with more than the satisfaction of finding something. Sleeping Dogs' hidden boxes contain clothing and cash. Some of the garments offer bonuses like the ability to shake cops easier, or a percentage bump to melee damage.
Men with Mysterious Metal Briefcases...
...are clearly up to something, and must be taken out. My favorite technique: Beat them with their own briefcase.
Gang Busts
One of the side activities in the game is tied to exploration. If you stumble upon a gang hideout, you'll be forced to take them down or flee. Once all of the gang members are knocked out, you can hack their surveillance system and then call in an arrest from your home television. Also, you can see I still have that guy's briefcase. It can be used as a weapon, or in my case, as a trophy that I proudly carry everywhere.
Health Shrines
In addition to lockboxes, health shrines are hidden throughout Hong Kong. For every five stations that are found, a 10-percent health bonus is added. If you plan on completing the fight club side missions, you should track down as many of these as you can.
Rampaging
Cops don't pay much attention to Hong Kong's crazy people. As you can see in the video, I assaulted three people and no one took notice – not even the drivers who clearly killed them.
Jade Statues
Every jade statue rewards the player with new combo moves that must be learned at the Martial Arts Club. There are 12 statues to track down.
Littering
All food items consumed in the game are discarded on the floor. This includes soup bowls and tea cups that shops clearly want back. This is a small thing to look forward to, but I love it!
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
