What does it take to survive as an undercover cop who infiltrates one of Hong Kong’s most ruthless criminal organizations? If Sleeping Dogs is any indication, it takes martial arts prowess, good marksmanship, driving skill, a reckless willingness to leap from one speeding vehicle to another, and the confidence to sing karaoke. None of the individual elements in Sleeping Dogs are best-in-class, but they’re all thoroughly enjoyable, and the structured story missions have you switching from one type of action to another frequently enough that you’re never tired of what you’re doing at any given moment. Additionally, the fictionalized version of Hong Kong where Sleeping Dogs takes place is an exotic and atmospheric setting for this tale of conflicting loyalties; you probably wouldn’t want to live amid the ruthless criminals who populate the game’s cast, but this world sure is a nice place to visit.

You play as Wei Shen, a Hong Kong native who has returned after spending some time in the States. Driven by a desire to avenge his sister’s death, he accepts a dangerous assignment to infiltrate the Sun On Yee triad and help take them down from the inside. Starting out on the lowest rungs of the criminal ladder, he rapidly climbs up through the ranks, behaving in ways that sometimes make his triad cohorts suspect he’s a cop and sometimes make his police superiors think he’s getting too attached to his brothers in crime. It’s a typical tale of an undercover cop possibly getting in too deep, and the story doesn’t have any surprises in store for you. But solid voice acting and writing that convincingly blends English and Cantonese make it a narrative that’s more than capable of supporting the gameplay, providing context for many a dramatic mission and building up to a cathartic climax that’s bloody enough to be taken right out of one of John Woo’s Hong Kong action films.