6.9.12

Played it: Sleeping Dogs

Drawing inspiration from movies like Infernal Affairs and City On Fire, Sleeping Dogs puts you in the role of an undercover cop infiltrating Hong Kong triads and getting tangled up in a web of conflicting loyalties.

Structurally and thematically it seems to draw a lot from Red Dead Redemption. But while RDR's John Marston is fleshed out beautifully as a man who wants to reform even while events (quite possibly including the maniac holding the controller) continue to force him to do bad things, the pacing in Sleeping Dogs feels slightly off, the stakes rise unevenly and the twists are telegraphed far in advance.

So that just leaves us speeding around a virtual Hong Kong in flashy cars, getting into fist fights, blowing things up in slow motion and singing karaoke. Nothing in this game is original, that's true, but it's all slickly implemented, consistently engaging and good rollicking fun.