On the PS2 and Xbox, the True Crime franchise gave us a different point of view from the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Instead of being set in fictional cities, True Crime was based on real cities like New York and Los Angeles. Recreating the masterful gangster concrete jungle, Activison–after years of development–dropped United Front Gamers’ next installment of the franchise, which was supposed to be set in the Chinese city of Hong Kong. Well, Square couldn’t just let the project die, so they picked it up.
According to the US retailer Future Shop, gamers can expect to pick up the title in August of this year for the PC, Xbox 360 & Playstation 3. Future Shop’s tweet let gamers know that the game will be soon available for pre-order; the title had yet to be officially announced by Square. As their corporate logo is displayed in the lower right hand corner of the picture seen in the tweet, Square Enix had to move fast for an official public information release on the revival of the once-dead True Crime title.
Previously rumored across the Internet, “Sleeping Dogs” was thought to be the third title in the Kane & Lynch franchise. Gaffers believed this to be true; as it was timely comparing release dates with the new trademark purchased by Square Enix. Obviously, these rumors have been debunked with information released today for the title. Below, you can see a live action trailer that was created in anticipation of the announcement for the title.
The United Front Gamers studio will be working with Square Enix’s London Studios to finish the project. As the live-action trailer above reveals, Sleeping Dogs is not going to be changing stylistically from the previous True Crime titles; despite the title being developed outside of Activision. The game will be based on Hong Kong island; the protagonist Wei Shen is an undercover cop that is attempting to infiltrate and eliminate the Triads from within their own system.
For video games, this seems pretty simple and straight to the point. Lee Singleton of Square’s London Studio says that the title is “something fresh and a bit special”. Developers, don’t tell us that; you’re biased towards your own project doing well so that you can keep your job.
Lee continues by saying they’ve updated the combat systems to be one of the best in the industry. I won’t fill you guys in on anymore public relations bull sh**. Remember, the title is rumored for an August release and we’ll be updating you all when we get more information from Square Enix on the title. Below, you can see a promotional poster for the game.
