United Front Games’ Sleeping Dogs has been through development hell, to say the least. Orignally starting out as a next-gen True Crime sequel, the game underwent a transformation thanks to Square Enix. But can a game that was once canceled, switched hands multiple times, and even swapped-out lead characters still manage to maintain its form?

It seems so.

CVG – 8.4

“For a team who’s never made a game like this before, it’s an incredible achievement, and one of the best open world games of recent years.” Read the full review.

OXM UK – 9/10

“Sleeping Dogs is a game of rich variety and strong personality that never gets boring over its ten essential hours – many more if you stop to check out the full and entertaining world.” Read the full review.

OPM UK – 9/10

“While Sleeping Dogs doesn’t innovate enough to be considered on a par with Rockstar’s finest, the fact it comes so very close (and even improves upon those games in a couple of ways) deserves massive credit.” Read the full review.

IGN – 8.5

“Sleeping Dogs has proven itself worthy of joining the top class of open-world sandbox games” Read the full review.

Gamespot – 8.0

“It may have more violence than you’d want in a typical vacation, but this is still a fun-filled Hong Kong getaway that will leave you with many happy memories.” Read the full review.

Eurogamer – 7/10

“When compared to his open-world peers, Wei Shen’s stoic promise to do “what I always do” ultimately feels more like an apology for low ambition than a rallying cry.” Read the full review.

Polygon – 7/10

“Much like the HKPD, if you’re going to embrace Officer Shen completely, you had better be willing to turn a blind eye to the occasional misdeed.” Read the full review.

Metro: – 7/10

“The end result still doesn’t have the personality or verve of Grand Theft Auto or Red Dead Redemption, the novelty of Assassin’s Creed, or the crazy acrobatics of Just Cause but it’s a better action game than any of them.” Read the full review.

So it looks as if Sleeping Dogs surprised eveyone (including Activision) who originally doubted it. Will you be picking up United Front’s kung-fu action game this weekend? Check back for MyGaming’s review of Sleeping Dogs.

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