The Square Enix action-adventure video game, “Sleeping Dogs,” is not your run-of-the-mill genre offering. The combat is not always weapon-dependent, as the game utilizes a combo-based melee system that allows you to kick, grapple, and evade hordes of enemies. This style of fighting makes sense, as you play as martial artist and undercover cop Wei Shen, whose moves are practiced and controlled to avoid drawing too much attention. When Wei does use a gun, it is in tandem with his martial arts moves, creating a fun, dynamic gun-fu style where the aim is to disarm. As you must have gathered by now, “Sleeping Dogs” promises a wickedly fun time (evoking aspects of the “Grand Theft Auto” series), where quick, on-your-feet thinking molds what kind of fighter Wei Shen will become.
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However, what truly sets the game apart is its story. Things kick off after Wei is arrested in Hong Kong, but we quickly learn that this is a part of an undercover operation that hinges on a tricky infiltration job. What starts as a string of missions to prove Wei’s credibility post-infiltration devolves into a true test of his motives and allegiances. The game constantly puts your moral proclivities to the test as well, as you are rewarded based on either how sensitive you are to legal codes/civilian safety or how willing you are to lean into brash, vindictive violence while terrorizing your enemies. By the end of the 20-odd hours of gameplay, you will have experienced the extreme ends of the legal spectrum, with nuanced ethical complexity thrown in for good measure.
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Of course, the impact of a video game narrative is often as good as its voice work, which is also the case with the game’s talented voice acting cast. Will Yun Lee (“Witchblade,” “The Good Doctor”) brings Wei to vivid life, while the likes of Lucy Liu and Tom Wilkinson are a part of the ensemble supporting cast. Among them, we also have Academy Award-winner Emma Stone voicing a character featured in two missions in “Sleeping Dogs,” a role that followed right after her mainstream popularity as Gwen Stacy in 2012’s “The Amazing Spider-Man.” Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at Stone’s “Sleeping Dogs” character.
Emma Stone voiced Amanda Cartwright in Sleeping Dogs
In “Sleeping Dogs,” Stone voiced aspiring writer/photographer Amanda Cartwright, who is presented as a potential love interest for Wei. Both missions — titled “Amanda” and “Photograph Amanda” — revolve around developing her and Wei’s dynamic (and nudge it towards a romantic one if you want to). In “Amanda,” she runs into Wei and asks him for directions, prompting him to drive Amanda around town while introducing key landmarks. By the end of this tour, Amanda gives Wei her number with the silent promise that they should meet again. An optional mission named “Photograph Amanda” features a romantic date at the Magistrate Park, where the two spend some time and part ways after a sexual encounter.
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Although Stone’s in-game character plays a small part in the evolving story, even her brief association with Wei leads her into trouble, as surveillance teams tail her for weeks after the first meet-up. The follow-up police reports about Amanda reveal her journalistic pursuits after she finished college, along with some personal details about her dating history. Moreover, completing the optional mission allows you to see the locations of all health shrines (which give the player health bonuses) on both the primary map and mini-map.
It is also pretty cool that Stone’s supporting performance as Amanda earned her a nomination at the 2012 Spike Video Game Awards, where “Sleeping Dogs” was also nominated in the Best Action Adventure Game category (where “Dishonored” emerged as the winner). Although Stone hasn’t worked in a video game project since then, it is not outlandish to hope that she might voice a character within the medium in the near future.
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Until then, be sure to check out “Sleeping Dogs” for its outstanding story and intuitive gameplay, as spending time in this bonkers, crime-riddled world brimming with dramatic absurdity is more than worth it.
