I loved JC2 , was not impressed with GTA IV and SR3 and will not buy SD .

The game is a lot of fun. The hand-to-hand combat is definitely where it's at, brutal stuff. The gunplay is good but could've used a little polish and the driving is fun but sometimes the camera is a pain. Lots of stuff to do.

You know what, I hadn't really tried many sandbox games. San Andreas was pretty much the last one. Tried JC2 completely impromptu and absolutely loved it (Steam shows 163h played). Hated GTA4 and didn't really give SR3 a real chance.

But Sleeping Dogs is not bad thus far. I've only played about 45min, but it's really got to me. From what I've been doing thus far, it's great.

I got it on pc for £19.99 that's £15 cheaper than the 360 version.... they've released a hd texture pack (sharper textures) and there's a decent list of options for graphics scalability in it. The pc version IS the best version of this game. Don't judge something you don't know about because they have clearly taken a bit of extra time on the pc version.

EDIT: Here's a face off link showing which console version is superior & why the PC version trumps them both: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-sleeping-dogs-face-off

I have the PC version of Darksiders 2 and apart from one crash (which was due to my firewall) and a few minor issues with the menus (mouse scroll wheel doesn't scroll the menus), the game has been fully playable.

I'm wondering if Sleeping Dogs will have its regional restriction on Steam lifted at the end of September as that's when we get the local console release. Although I think I do get it, it'll be from GamersGate in a few months once I've got enough Blue Coins (another $30 worth or so needed). But still not sure.

Would you say the gameplay, especially vehicle handling, is nearer to Mafia 2/Saints Row The Third, or nearer to the GTA series, or Just Cause 2? I found vehicle handling in Mafia 2 and Saints Row The Third to be brilliant on the whole, it was okay if somewhat annoying at times in the GTA series, and downright unplayable in Just Cause 2. So that'll be a big factor in deciding. Too bad there's no demo =/

I bought SD on PC and I don't regret. Game is amazing and with HD texture pack, characters look much better.

Damn, 'Sleeping Dogs' is amazing and I really mean it. For me it's new king of this type of games. It's way better than GTA or Saints Row. Devs did great job focusing so much on gameplay mechanics and placing game in unique place. I really love fist fights, hijacking cars and stuff like that (especially karaoke ;).

And Hong Kong is really something fresh - I'm so freaking bored with American cities. Hopefully they will make a sequel and it will take place in Asia too. Japan or Korea maybe?

i love the game, i did a bit yesterday and enjoyed it but today it really clicked, the variety in the things you do is fantastic, the city look amazing and as much as i love GTA, for now at least this has surpassed it (and some of the environment kills have had me wincing)

12 hours in, I am ready to proclaim this one the best sandbox game of generation. Just all around fantastic.

Got the game, I like it alot, very story driven, seems you can have a replayability due to the cops/triad faction loyalty.

Fighting is very responsive yet simple, with a "counter" system like batman, where enemies glow red to highlight that they can be countered.

Basically its a combination of eg. X,X,X, X(hold) = Light, Light, Light, Kick. Or enemies that block can be grappled, then when grappled you can press "A" to drag them into a wall or a red highlighted environmental object like a phonebooth or dumpster etc. where you can deliver a coup de grace to take them out of the action.

You can buy food/beverages to regenerate health or make you stronger etc.

The game reminds me somewhat of an old Dreamcast game called Shenmue, which is a good thing.

Just to confirm, you can get the Just Cause costume once you get to your apartment (and have a JC2 save). It means you hijack a car a bit more easily, but it looks really cool too, so winner all 'round.

Really enjoying it!

You misused "coup de grace" term :P. Coup de grace supposed to stop your enemy suffering by killing him. In Sleeping Dogs they usually suffer even more - being burned alive, impaled or strangled to death doesn't sound like "blow of mercy" ;).

Good point :)

just finished it, and it may just be my game of the year so far, certainly my new favourite sandbox game

It took me about 19 hours of gametime to finish the game (over two or three days) which isn't much, but I'm now in crazy completionist mode now, trying to find every lockbox, busting every drug location, and hacking every security camera. (I found all the health shrines.) The game doesn't have a whole lot of replayability, the ending is, as they say in Cantonese, 麻麻地 (so-so). The combat isn't as infuriatingly hard once you upgrade your melee combat skills, but that requires looking for those jade statues throughout the city (you'll find it on your map once you've progressed about 25% of the way through the main missions though).