At the same time, the Triads adhere to their own concept of a code of honour, known as the "36 oaths," which is different in many respects to how other organised crime organisations operate. Anyone with any understanding of Triad culture understands why these organisations have an international reputation for their brutality and capacity for violence (which does apply to all organised crime, but these guys take things to the next level). The voice performances are also surprisingly decent, with Shen's character especially being more charismatic and sympathetic than many other protagonists from the genre.
It's a fairly standard gangster plot in the end, but it's one that does take its opportunity to display the unique style of Hong Kong organised crime seriously. Wei Shen is a our protagonist this time around, and he's a Chinese American undercover officer, covered in tattoos and carrying a tough guy attitude that is charged with infiltrating the Sun On Yee Triad. I also applaud the developers at United Front Games for their willingness to break away from the typical expectation of an open world game to have a Caucasian man in the lead role. The world of Sleeping Dogs is more exotic than those open world games based in more familiar cities, and in a genre that badly needs developers to take some riskts to inject some variety into it, lest it go the way of Call of Duty, Sleeping Dogs provides that breath of fresh air though its stunningly-realised environments. It's also a far cry from the glistening clean cities depicted in Watch Dogs or Grand Theft Auto, and this appeals to me as well. It's exciting, it's vibrant, and because of that, it's fun.
From the neon lights to the street vendors, Hong Kong is the kind of city where people bask in the glow of man-made lights brighter than the sun and risk their lives with food poisoning to take in the local flavours and cuisine. But what Hong Kong has in spades is colour and energy. It's not even the most beautiful city (though it has a couple of photogenic spots, of course).
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