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When Activision killed True Crime: Hong Kong awhile back, they might not have realized that they were conducting a mercy killing and not an actual murder. Not that Hong Kong would have been bad, but since the title was raised from the dead by Square Enixis and renamed Sleeping Dogs, it is now being developed in part with Square Enix's London studio, known for cutting their teeth on Batman: Arkham Asylum and Just Cause 2. The result is an open world game seeming more robust than anything we've seen previously from the True Crime series.
United Front Games' producer Jeff O'Connell knew that this development marriage could bring positive things, especially after suffering through the slings and arrows of cancellation at the hands of Activision,
"Meeting Square, which we did very shortly after the game was canceled -- and I'm probably going to use some corny expression -- was like a bright light," O'Connell says. "Right away, we met those guys and I think we just clicked with them. It's one thing for people to come in and love the game, which they did, and it's another thing for people to come in and just get along with them incredibly well and go out for drinks and meals with them, and just have a really fantastic time, and have them in the studio and have them ask questions or make suggestions, and have that show their depth of understanding." - Joystiq
The gameplay, shown below, however has a mostly GTA structure but with more cinematic flair. My main concern is that, although it seems to do what it does well - and in fact pull the better pieces from mutliple franchises into itself - it doesn't seem to innovate on those bits nearly as much as it probably needs to. Honestly, the gameplay seems to be reminiscent of earlier Grand Theft Auto games which have been updated with a plethora of mods, than a new release in the open world genre.
Certainly there is a lot of potential here, but United Front Games is going to have to reach much deeper into their creative pockets if they are truly looking to make their mark.
Gameplay Video
Comments
12 years, 9 months ago
Overgrowth, Sleeping Dogs, Batman: Arkham series are really restoring my faith in video game brawling. I like the concept, just needs more polishing. I think it will be good.
12 years, 9 months ago
Still no confirmation of what I liked most from True Crime. That being the option to respond to randomly generated crimes, then when you get there, you can do stuff like flash your badge, fire warning shots, and choose between lethal or non-lethal methods of taking down suspects. You can also randomly search people and be a dick by planting evidence on them if you don't find anything.
12 years, 9 months ago
I want.
12 years, 9 months ago
'm not really a person who enjoys open world/sandbox games that much. Something about them just never really clicked for me. That being said I think this looks OK (just OK). I played the first True Crime (Streets of L.A) and ultimately didn't enjoy it all that much. I agree with your earlier point Joseph, I don't think this game is doing enough of its own thing. I don't have a problem with the "borrowed" systems from other familiar titles, if they help solve the problems and make the game better by all means. I'm just wondering how cohesive those will be in the final product. If the transitions between them are smooth then everything should be just fine. If not, they run the risk of putting out a game that destroys the cool cinematic feel with broken pacing and that ultimately feels like a disjointed mess.
I hope this title does well. I'm all for Cinderella/underdog stories and this could be a good one if Sleeping Dogs proves successful in the end.