Game Review: Sleeping Dogs

You are Wei Shen, an undercover cop in modern day Hong Kong. Your mission is to infiltrate the criminal underground, provide information to the Hong Kong Police Department and take down the gangs from the inside. The story starts with a small drugs operation which you play a role in. The operation is busted and you make a run for it. Straight away it is noticeable that there has been a considerable effort put into the game. The cut scenes transition smoothly into game-play and the game-play itself is fluid and easy to grasp. The drugs operation is busted and you end up in jail. There you meet a childhood friend, Jackie, who is now a gang member, and it's no coincidence that he's part of the gang you've been tasked to infiltrate. Your story is explained and you are let go by the police to contact Jackie to begin your introduction to the gang.

After the introduction you're sent out to do some menial tasks. As you'd expect the initial missions involve petty territory squabbles, protection money collection and chauffeur tasks. The combat system is very easy to pick up, you are able to counter enemies who are about to strike you (which you'll know because they glow bright red) and strike them back with a range of combos which become better as you progress up the ranks. There's not too much innovation here, think of the recent Batman games and you'll be along the right lines. Nevertheless it works very well in this style game. The driving holds the best and worst parts of the game. On the one hand it has an arcade-like feel which works well in the game and makes the overall experience fun and enjoyable. This is particularly noticeable when driving the motorbikes, which unlike other games in this genre handle well and don't send you flying at the first sign of a bump. That being said, there are issues with the camera angles, especially when trying to negotiate tight spots and turns, it wasn't enough to ruin the game but it was enough to cause a sigh of frustration every now and again.

The game itself is a third person style game very similar to the Grand Theft Auto and Saints Row type games but takes on a more serious note. Humour is sprinkled here and there but you really get a sense of the stresses faced by Wei Who is not only trying to gain respect amongst the gang and not blow his cover, but also receives pressure from his superior officers.

Throughout the game you attempt to gain respect with the gang you are infiltrating and also with the police. Balancing the role of an undercover cop sees you punished for the unnecessary destruction of property and in the same mission rewarded for the elimination of an enemy gang member. Knowing how to balance this becomes one of the more interesting parts of the game and you are rewarded with separate Police and Triad experience which in turn allows unlocks to separate upgrade systems. You'll also gain 'face' from the people of Hong Kong, who you can help out in various side missions. This way you'll unlock further passive upgrades which help you along the way.

THE VERDICT

Overall the game is easy to become immersed in, with the setting of Hong Kong being brought to life through realistic and believable voice acting, ambient sounds and decent graphics. The side missions and tasks are varied, fun, innovative and are a joy to play. This a game which is definitely worth your money and time. It will keep you busy for hours and you'll enjoy every second of it. Except for maybe the three point turns.

LHSRAting for Sleeping Dogs – 8.8/10 (Xbox 360)

-Simon

Click here to Follow us on Facebook
Or here for Twitter

Film Review: Lincoln

This isn’t Spielberg’s best film. But when you’ve directed almost 50 movies, and amongst them are some of the greats such as Schindler’s List, then a film not being your best doesn’t really mean much... And to be fair it’s still up there.

Lincoln starts off by showing a brutally bloody battle one year before the end of the American civil war and the opening scene really sucks you in from the offset. That’s pretty much as far as the film goes with showing us the horrors of the American civil war however. So if you want to watch a film that has loads of battle scenes in it, then this film is not for you.

Instead Lincoln moves forward to the very final months of the civil war and is mainly focused around the political struggles that Abraham Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) faces in trying to pass the thirteenth amendment to end slavery, whilst at the same time trying to end the war... at the right time. Lincoln is a film that is fully focused on US history and politics. It shows the struggles that the Union faced internally in trying to eradicate slavery, the different views that particular groups of politicians had on giving slaves their freedom, and even touched on Lincoln’s own views regarding equality between white and black people (although unless you know what Lincolns views really where then you probably won’t realise). 

Daniel Day-Lewis does a superb job at playing the role of Lincoln; a mainly calm, storytelling, convincing man that was loved by most. He shows how Lincoln had a knack for changing the minds of men without them realising what he was doing until it was already done.

 

But I don’t think Daniel Day-Lewis was the best actor in this film and I don’t think that Abraham Lincoln was the best Character either, even though it’s a film about him. The guy who stole the show for me and made me really connect with this film was Representative Thaddeus Stevens (Tommy Lee Jones). Stevens would probably be classed as an extreme left winger in today’s US politics, so you can imagine what the thought of him in the 19^th century. He not only advocated that black people should be free from slavery, but that they should be treated as white people’s equal (something that Lincoln never did).  Anyway, I digress into a History lesson, although that is what this film is. Stevens in this film is portrayed brilliantly and he has an extremely dry, insulting wit that he uses in the House constantly in quick response to any attack that is sent his way. In short, Stevens will make you laugh in this film because he’s brilliantly provocative.

     

Unfortunately this film is a little too long for my liking and could probably have told the same story in two hours. The end also seems quite messy. It seems that Lincoln’s death is rushed through as a way of trying to avoid telling that par of history. And then there’s a bit of a flashback to one of Lincoln’s speeches. It’s a shame really because this film could have ended a lot better in a number of different ways.  

  

THE VERDICT

Lincoln is a brilliant film for portraying US history (although too gently at times) and the political system that surrounded the Union towards the end of the civil war. This film will teach you about a very important era in US history whilst giving you a glimpse into who the people at the time really were. The acting in it is brilliant and the characters are played exceptionally well.  Lincoln, although a very serious film, will not fail to make you laugh on occasions. This goes double if you enjoy politics as well. But if you’re not into politics or history and you need lots of battle scenes, then this film isn’t for you and you may find that its 150 minute length may drag. Otherwise, this film is worth a watch.

LHSRAting for Lincoln – 7.8/10

- Ayden

Episode 2: (YouTube Version) Our Top Games of 2012

In this podcast Ayden, Paul, Simon and guest speaker Mikey, review their top 17 games of 2012.




You can also listen to/ download the audio version here:

LHSRA Reviewers - Episode Two: Our Top Games of 2012


If you would like more info on LHSRA Reviewers or want to hear/read/see more of our stuff then you can do one or more of the following:

Like our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/LHSRAReviewers

Follow us on Twitter at @LHSRA_Reviewers

Follow our blog at http://thelhsra.blogspot.co.uk/