Sleeping Dogs Game

Sleeping Dogs Game

Sleeping Dogs is a 2012 open world action-adventure video game by United Front Games and Square Enix London for PlayStation 3, Windows, and Xbox 360 platforms. Set in contemporary Hong Kong, the single-player story follows Wei Shen, an undercover Hong Kong-American police officer on assignment to infiltrate the Sun On Yee Triad organization. Gameplay focuses on Shen's fighting, shooting and parkour abilities, and on gadgets that can be used for combat and exploration. Players must complete missions to unlock content and continue the story, but they may instead wander the game's open world and engage in both legal and criminal activities. The latter may incite a police response, the intensity of which is controlled by a "heat" system. Actions such as fighting, driving and racing grant Shen statistical rewards and earn the player achievements.

Sleeping Dogs' difficult and prolonged development began in 2008. The game was announced in 2009 as part of the True Crimeseries but was canceled by Activision Blizzard in 2011, as a result of the project's delays and budget issues. Six months later, Square Enix bought the publishing rights and renamed the game Sleeping Dogs, without the True Crime license, but considered a spiritual successor. During development, United Front staff visited Hong Kong to conduct field research for the visual environments and sound.

Upon its release in 2012, the game received positive reviews for its combat, voice acting, experience system and depiction of the city; but its graphics, camera, and animations were criticized. Within one year, the game had sold over 1.5 million copies. New outfits, missions and add-ons, as well as three expansion packs, were released as downloadable content in the six months following the game's debut. A remastered version, subtitled Definitive Edition, was released in October 2014 for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It features improved gameplay, setting and audiovisual quality based on community feedback. A spin-off, Triad Wars, was canceled mid-development in 2015.

Initial release date: August 14, 2012

Publisher: Square Enix

Series: True Crime, Sleeping Dogs

Developers: United Front Games, Square Enix Europe

Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS

Nominations: VGX Award for Best Performance by a Human Female,VGX Award for Best Action Adventure Game