GTA VI: 10 Things It Must Learn From Sleeping Dogs

9. Varied Missions Comprised Of Multiple Genres

Speaking of playing things the same way, there's a particular mission that comes an hour or so into Sleeping Dogs where everything feels like it clicks into place. In the space of only a few minutes you'll bust into a warehouse full of gang members, have a brilliantly brutal melee fight comprised of spinning kicks and environmental interaction, nab a gun for some cover-based shooting - and then hop on the back of a motorcycle and chase down one last fleeing member for the big finish. It's this mix of styles that seamlessly flow into each other that gives SD the edge in pure gameplay. Most of the time in GTA V's missions you're either driving to a place far away for the sake of hearing some dialogue exchange, shooting through a compound, stealthing somewhere or trying to ram someone off the road - although neither of these are all that memorable when the part where you're most engaged only lasts for a few seconds. A lot of GTA's missions feel more like comedic 'bits' - like catching Jimmy as he falls off Michael's boat, being forced to tow trucks as Franklin or doing yoga etc. - whereas everything in Sleeping Dogs focusses on one of the three skills that makes up a trifecta of immediately engaging, memorable and above-all fun gameplay.