Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition Review

Re-release this! *Roundhouse kicks for everyone*

Video games are one of the few mediums that get away with lightly touching up a few elements and rereleasing a product just months after the original. You won’t see recuts of Blade Runner on the silver screen months after its original run in theaters, even if you can buy twenty different versions of the film online years after release. You won’t see entirely different takes on classic albums either, though remix albums have proven popular for aspiring musicians. Video games like to call things definitive, even when those things are often left open to tons of speculation. I can't tell if it's by design or by nature.

Square Enix previously revamped the rebooted Tomb Raider for next-gen consoles and the publisher does the same with developer United Front Games in Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition, set for release on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. While Nick Tan has played through and reviewed the entire experience in its original form and to far greater depths of mechanical understanding, especially compared to what I've written here, I’ve played a few hours of Sleeping Dogs on PC thanks to a steep discount on Steam. That and an Xbox One download code in-hand, I was eager to discover exactly what has changed and while the answer might disappoint existing fans there’s no better excuse to explore the streets of Hong Kong in this virtually hard-boiled action adventure.

Sure, dissidents of Hong Kong have slightly dispersed as I type these words from my apartment in California though I think Sleeping Dogs itself represents an excellent opportunity for everyone to learn a bit about Chinese culture in a way that actually entertains and provides heaps of context. I know a lot of action movie fans would point to the likes of Sylvester Stallone as the pinnacle of hand-to-hand and firearm violence on the big screen, but Sleeping Dogs does one better by hearkening back to the wholly unique and summarily explosive scenes you’d see in a John Woo film or even the likes of this scene lovingly dubbed "Best Action Sequence Ever Filmed" by one Youtube user.

If you haven’t had an opportunity to dig into cross-continental Hollywood culture shocks like these, you might miss a lot of the references that make set pieces in Sleeping Dogs entertaining, though the balance between cop and criminal that players navigate with Wei Shen in-game takes a back seat to the general display of culture in Hong Kong. As I stated, I haven’t actually played through all of the experience on offer here even if the Definitive Edition wears a lot of its benefits on its sleeve. It’s the fact that the world comes to life so easily that impresses me, both in richness of recorded dialog, variety on the streets, and general atmosphere like an early tutorial that takes players on a foot race through crowds enjoying a festival with dancing dragons.

Textures and graphics look to have gotten a step up in the Xbox One version, matching the PC version at a minimum and often rendering better than Xbox 360 or PS3 releases of the game. You could make the argument that crowds look better and that driving through the city plays smoother, though the original game did these things well and any noticeable improvements may have more likely come from improved frame rates across the board. Being an open-world game, the engine in Sleeping Dogs has to drive a lot, pun intended.

Further, this package includes all of the downloadable content created for Sleeping Dogs. The Nightmare in North Point pack in which players take on famed gangsters with an undead twist, Year of the Snake, the Zodiac tournament, and tons of other pieces of content that were originally sold piecemeal now gather to expand the number of vehicles and character customization items. All told, I’d say that Sleeping Dogs offers a better look at Hong Kong life than any other video game currently available on the market.

That’s not exactly hard to accomplish given the largely western-facing focus both in the wealth of consumers buying video games and the marketing end of this business, so accepting this interactive software as a caricature of life in HK means suspending some disbelief, perhaps more than is needed to accept even the outlandish heroes of Grand Theft Auto V. Americans might prefer to look at the Chinese as a mythical bogeyman, but every second I spend in Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition cements the idea that we’re far more similar in tastes and culture than either side would like to admit. It'd be lovely to visit and sample the local food since the entertainment here is driven on virtual streets and beaten into air conditioning fan blades in the heat of the game's combat. I’ll end this review with an anecdote of sorts that may or may not play out should you pursue the rest of the campaign as I’m choosing not to.

I’d ask Square Enix and developer United Front Games to accept my apologies in advance. Unfortunately, the Definitive Edition does not do enough to raise the score Nick originally issued, despite its improved value proposition and expanded content. To that end, the difference between the two versions is like going to Chinatown in Los Angeles, CA to discover that your favorite restaurant has closed. The last time you went, you didn’t eat at the restaurant. You bought the dim sum from the bakery shop next door, knowing full well that the same chefs in the back would produce the same food. Sometimes, we have to make these decisions in life.

Anyway, you bought the dim sum, took it home, and enjoyed it. You didn’t buy too much cha siu bao, knowing that the delicious pork buns would fill you up too much and eliminate the need for an order of siu mai. Puk gai, now the restaurant is closed. Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition is the individual standing behind you with a sign pointed to a new bakery downstairs or around the corner where they have all of your old favorites. At least with this release, you won't be left wanting for any more jin deui.

Code provided by publisher. Review based on Xbox One version. Reviewer did not finish the game. Click here for full review of Xbox 360 version. Definitive Edition also available for PlayStation 4 and PC.