Square Enix London Studios, which is a part of Square Enix Europe today announced their upcoming title Sleeping Dogs, which they described as a “gritty and visceral open world cop drama set in the vibrant city of Hong Kong. The game itself is being developed by United Front Games (Previously the brains behind ModNation Racers) who are working in collaboration with Square Enix London Studios to have the game released sometime in the second half of 2012 for both the Playstation 3, PC and XBox360 Entertainment Systems.
Sleeping Dogs catapults players into the role of undercover cop Wei Shen, tasked with taking down one of the world’s most fearsome criminal organisations from the inside… the Hong Kong Triads. As players explore the bustling and crowded Hong Kong island, through its neon-lit side streets and sprawling street markets, an incredible story unfolds of loyalty and betrayal, where Wei begins to question his own motives as he is sucked in deeper than he could ever imagine.
Lee Singleton who is General Manager of Square Enix London Studios had this to say about the announcement:
From the moment you pick up the controller and experience the blend of driving, close combat and shooting you know you’re playing something fresh and a bit special. Sleeping Dogs has one of the best melee combat systems out there – it’s super brutal with devastating takedown moves, and when added to UFG’s proven heritage in driving games, a first class story and the vibrant backdrop of the Hong Kong underworld we get a fiery recipe with fun written all over it.
From United Front Games, their executive producer Stephen Van Der Mescht also had this to say:
Working on Sleeping Dogs has been such a huge passion for the team at United Front Games and we’re really pleased to be working with Square Enix London Studios. The extensive experience both our studios have in creating compelling open world gameplay and rich and rewarding combat makes for a perfect partnership. Working together we can make sure that Sleeping Dogs is the most intense and immersive experience it can be.
Within the games press release, the following was said about the games gameplay system as currently we don’t really have all that much on the gameplay from the few screenshots and the (Rather interesting) live-action trailer that you can view above.
Offering players an island packed with action, every street corner, market stall, harbour dock or city skyscraper can become an opportunity for intense shoot-outs, adrenaline-fuelled street races and intense, brutal martial arts combat. Featuring one of the most intuitive and imaginative combat systems, Sleeping Dogs empowers players to perform an extensive set of martial arts moves, singlehandedly taking on numerous opponents. Players perform bone-crunching kicks and combos, vicious counters and a cinematic set of environmental takedowns making use of countless real-world items from circular saws to phone booths, incinerators to refrigerator doors.
The game is due for release in North America and Europe by Square Enix and in Australia and New Zealand by Namco Bandai Partners. All we have on the games official release date is that it should be out sometime in 2012, I will bring you more news on this when it becomes available.
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