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''Sleeping Dogs'' is an
action-adventure The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
developed by
United Front Games United Front Games, Inc. was a Canadian video game development studio based in Vancouver. They created titles for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. They are the dev ...
and published by
Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...
. It was released for
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
,
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
and
Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
in 2012. Set in contemporary
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
, the story follows martial artist and undercover police officer Wei Shen who infiltrates the Sun On Yee Triad organization. Gameplay focuses on Wei Shen's
martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
moves, fighting, shooting and
parkour Parkour () is an athletic training discipline or sport in which practitioners (called ''traceurs'') attempt to get from point A to point B in the fastest and most efficient way possible, without assisting equipment and often while performing a ...
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 freely roam the game's open world environment 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 Achievement may refer to: *Achievement (heraldry) *Achievement (horse), a racehorse *Achievement (video gaming), a meta-goal defined outside of a game's parameters See also * Achievement test for student assessment * Achiever, a personality typ ...
. ''Sleeping Dogs'' difficult and prolonged development began in 2008. The game was announced in 2009 as part of the ''
True Crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...
'' series but was canceled by
Activision Blizzard Activision Blizzard, Inc. is an American video game holding company based in Santa Monica, California. It was founded in July 2008 through the merger of Activision, Inc. (the publicly traded parent company of Activision Publishing) and Vivendi ...
in 2011, as a result of the project's delays and budget issues. Six months later, Square Enix purchased the publishing rights and renamed the game ''Sleeping Dogs'', without the ''True Crime'' license, but considered a
spiritual successor A spiritual successor (sometimes called a spiritual sequel) is a product or fictional work that is similar to, or directly inspired by, another previous work, but (unlike a traditional prequel or sequel) does not explicitly continue the product lin ...
. 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, protagonist, experience system and depiction of the city; but its camera and some 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 pack An expansion pack, expansion set, supplement, or simply expansion is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game, video game or collectible card game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, characters, or an ...
s, were released as
downloadable content Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enablin ...
in the six months following the game's debut. A remastered version, subtitled ''Definitive Edition'', was released in October 2014 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It features improved gameplay, setting and audio-visual quality based on community feedback. The macOS version of ''Definitive Edition'' was released on March 31, 2016, by
Feral Interactive Feral Interactive is a British video games developer and publisher for macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows platforms. It was founded in 1996 to bring games to Mac and specialises in porting games to different ...
. The game spawned a spin-off multiplayer game titled ''Triad Wars'', which was canceled in 2015. In 2017, a live action film adaptation was announced, with
Donnie Yen Donnie Yen Chi-tan (; born 27 July 1963) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, and action director. Yen is one of Hong Kong's top action stars. Yen is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts (MMA) into the mainstream Asian cinema by cho ...
set to star as Shen.


Gameplay

''Sleeping Dogs'' is an
action-adventure game The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a story ...
set in an open world environment and played from a
third-person perspective Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the a ...
. The player controls Wei Shen, a
Chinese-American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from m ...
police officer who goes undercover and ventures out on a raid to infiltrate the Sun On Yee Triad organization. The initial missions of the game are a linear tutorial for controlling the character. After these missions, the player is allowed to explore the game's world and take part in side missions and other activities. Shen navigates the world by running, jumping, climbing over obstacles, swimming, and driving cars, boats and motorcycles. The
heads-up display A head-up display, or heads-up display, also known as a HUD (), is any transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints. The origin of the name stems from a pilot being able to view informa ...
(HUD) interface features a
mini-map A mini-map or minimap is a miniature map that is often placed at a screen corner in video games to aid players in orienting themselves within the game world. They are often only a small portion of the screen and must be selective in what details ...
that indicates targets, key locations (safe houses and contact points) and Shen's current position. The mini-map incorporates two meters: one shows Shen's health and the other his
face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...
. When the face meter fills, upgrades are unlocked such as health regeneration, improved combat abilities and reduced equipment costs. The HUD also displays the weapon carried and its ammunition count. The game features
role-playing Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing a ...
elements based on three types of
experience point An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's life experience and progression through the game. Experi ...
s (XP): Triad,
Face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...
and Police XPs. Triad XP is obtained through melee combat and violent actions such as "environmental kills". Triad XP awarded is directly proportional to the complexity of attacking moves. Face XP, obtained in civilian side missions, fills Shen's face meter and unlocks cosmetic items such as clothes and vehicles. By reaching a higher Face level, the player can freely buy vehicles or clothing. When it is full, Shen gains
health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
regeneration, increased attack damage and other benefits. Police XP is gained by minimizing civilian casualties and property damage in missions and by completing police side missions. Gaining XP unlocks abilities such as
hot-wiring Hot-wiring is the process of bypassing a motor vehicle's ignition switch and thus starting it without the key. It is often utilized during a vehicle theft. However, a legitimate vehicle owner who has lost a vehicle key or starting a vehicle with ...
cars and disarming opponents. The clothes, accessories and vehicles purchased by Shen affect
non-player character A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster o ...
s' reactions toward him. The player may collect jade statues used to unlock
melee combat A melee ( or , French: mêlée ) or pell-mell is disorganized hand-to-hand combat in battles fought at abnormally close range with little central control once it starts. In military aviation, a melee has been defined as " air battle in whic ...
skills. ''Sleeping Dogs'' melee combat has been compared to that of '' Batman: Arkham Asylum'': it allows the player to fight opponents coming from any direction with attack, grapple and counter-moves and can be performed with or without weapons. These three basic commands are chained together with the character's movement to execute attacks. The player's face meter fills up faster when enemies are defeated with different moves in rapid succession or with environmental attacks. Environmental attacks are performed by dragging enemies to certain objects, which Shen uses to eliminate opponents. Melee weapons such as knives and tyre irons are available, but they break with extended use. The player can perform "action hijacks" while driving vehicles. These cause Shen to leap from his vehicle to steal another in motion. In combat, Shen loses health as he takes damage. This can be mitigated by taking
cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...
where available. If the health bar is depleted, the character will
respawn In video games, spawning is the live creation of a character, item or NPC. Respawning is the recreation of an entity after its death or destruction, perhaps after losing one of its lives. Despawning is the deletion of an entity from the game w ...
at a hospital. Health can also be restored by ordering food or drinks from various stalls and vending machines, which also provides a variety of buffs to Shen, such as health regeneration or improved damage. If the player directs Shen to commit crimes, police response is indicated by a "heat" meter on the HUD. The meter displays the current wanted level; if it reaches 5, the police will aggressively pursue Shen. The meter recedes when Shen is hidden from the cops'
line of sight The line of sight, also known as visual axis or sightline (also sight line), is an imaginary line between a viewer/observer/spectator's eye(s) and a subject of interest, or their relative direction. The subject may be any definable object taken ...
. Police officers continue to search for Shen even if he leaves the wanted vicinity, and they will resume the chase if he is sighted. If Shen is arrested or killed by officers during missions, the player can restart from the last checkpoint. Some areas in the world remain inaccessible until milestones in the story are achieved. Although the player must complete missions to unlock content and continue the story, they may wander the game's open world and participate in activities such as visiting a
karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...
bar,
carjacking Carjacking is a robbery in which the item taken over is a motor vehicle.Michael Cherbonneau, "Carjacking," in ''Encyclopedia of Social Problems'', Vol. 1 (SAGE, 2008: ed. Vincent N. Parrillo), pp. 110-11. In contrast to car theft, carjacking is ...
,
street racing Street racing is typically an unsanctioned and illegal form of auto racing that occurs on a public road. Racing in the streets is considered an ancient hazard, as horse racing occurred on streets for centuries, and street racing in automobiles is ...
and joining a fight club. There are several potential girlfriends for Shen: successfully dating them awards collectibles and bonus content. The completion of side missions rewards the player with new missions, vehicles, and outfits, among other things. The game has no
multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
component, but online leaderboards are available for players to compare scores. Many activities that are not central to the story grant Stat Awards in three tiers: bronze, silver and gold. These unlock achievements and trophies. As the game progresses, the player acquires various safe houses to save progress in, but at certain times is required to go there to progress further. Like other houses, the player can survey unlocked areas, change outfits, and a parking garage is accessible in which they can use unlocked vehicles.


Synopsis


Setting and characters

''Sleeping Dogs'' is set in a contemporary
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
, which is split into four districts named after regions of the city. The game reveals the story of Wei Shen (
Will Yun Lee William Yun Lee (born March 22, 1971) is an American actor and martial artist. He is best known for his roles as Danny Woo in the supernatural drama ''Witchblade'' and Jae Kim in the sci-fi series '' Bionic Woman''. He has also appeared in th ...
), a former San Francisco police officer who was transferred to the
Hong Kong Police Force The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest Hong Kong Disciplined Services, disciplined service under the Security Bureau (Hong Kong), Security Bureau of Hong Kong. The Royal Hong Kong Po ...
and assigned the task to infiltrate and destroy a Triad organization known as the Sun On Yee (based on the
Sun Yee On Sun Yee On ( zh, t=新義安), or the New Righteousness and Peace Commercial and Industrial Guild, is one of the leading triads in Hong Kong and China. It has more than 25,000 members worldwide. It is also believed to be active in the UK, the ...
). The main storyline features two sub-plots: Shen's balance between completing his police mission whilst committing crimes to prove himself to the Triads, and missions assigned by a Triad lieutenant, including the assassinations of Triad members loyal to other lieutenants. Shen's mission is coordinated by Police Superintendent Thomas Pendrew (
Tom Wilkinson Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson (born 5 February 1948)Born January–March 1948, according to the ''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com is an English actor of film, television, and stage. He has rece ...
), and progress made by Shen is reported to his handler, Raymond Mak (
Byron Mann Byron Mann is a Hong Kong-American actor of film and television. His best-known roles include Ryu in ''Street Fighter'', Silver Lion in ''The Man with the Iron Fists'', Wing Chau in ''The Big Short'', Admiral Augusto Nguyen on ''The Expanse'', ...
). Shen infiltrates the Sun On Yee via his childhood friend Jackie Ma (
Edison Chen Edison Chen Koon-hei (, born Chen Hing-wah on 7 October 1980) is a Canadian-born Hong Kong actor, singer, rapper, fashion designer and entrepreneur. Chen is the co-founder of CLOT, a Hong Kong-based streetwear and fashion label. Debuting in 19 ...
), a low-level Triad member; and his loyalty is tested by the Triad boss Winston Chu (
Parry Shen Parry Shen (born June 26, 1973) is an American actor, author, screenwriter, and producer. Shen's first major acting role was in '' Better Luck Tomorrow'' as Ben Manibag, the film's leading character. He also starred in another Asian American film, ...
). Other characters in the game include the head of the Sun On Yee, David Wai-Lin "Uncle" Po (
James Hong James Hong (; born February 22, 1929) is an American actor, producer and director. He has worked in numerous productions in American media since the 1950s, portraying a variety of roles. With more than 650 film and television credits as of 20 ...
); fellow Triad bosses "Broken Nose" Jiang (
Elizabeth Sung Elizabeth Fong Sung (; 14 October 1954 – 22 May 2018) was a Chinese-American actress, director, and screenwriter. She was also a revered acting teacher and mentor to young performers and filmmakers in the Asian-Pacific community. Early life an ...
) and Henry "Big Smile" Lee (
Tzi Ma Tzi Ma (;) is a Hong Kong-American actor. He is well known for his roles in television shows, such as ''The Man in the High Castle'' and '' 24'', and films, such as ''Dante's Peak'', ''Rush Hour'', ''Rush Hour 3'', ''Arrival'', '' The Farewell' ...
); Shen's love interest Amanda Cartwright (
Emma Stone Emily Jean Stone (born November 6, 1988), known professionally as Emma Stone, is an American actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe Award. In 2017, she ...
); Winston's right-hand man, Conroy Wu (
Robin Shou Shou Wan-por (, born July 17, 1960), known professionally as Robin Shou, is a Hong Kong-American actor, martial artist and stuntman. He is known for roles such as Liu Kang in the ''Mortal Kombat'' film series (1995 and 1997), Gobei in ''Beverly ...
); singer Vivienne Lu (
Lucy Liu Lucy Alexis Liu is an American actress. Her accolades include winning a Critics' Choice Television Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Seoul International Drama Award, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award. Liu has star ...
); and Shen's girlfriend Not Ping (
Celina Jade Celina Jade (born Celina Horan; 10 June 1985) is a Hong Kong-American actress, singer, songwriter, model, and martial artist. She is nominated as one of four the greatest beauties in Hong Kong SAR besides Carol Cheng, Lydia Shum and Amy Yip. She ...
).


Plot

Petty criminal Wei Shen is arrested in
Aberdeen, Hong Kong Aberdeen () is an area on southwest Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Southern District. While the name "Aberdeen" could be taken in a broad sense to encompass the areas of Aberdeen (town), Wong Chuk Hang, Ap L ...
after a drug deal goes wrong. In jail, Shen meets an old friend, Jackie Ma, who offers to introduce Shen to the members of a gang once they are released. It is revealed that Shen is an undercover cop whose arrest was part of a police operation, headed by Superintendent Thomas Pendrew and Inspector Raymond Mak, to infiltrate the Water Street branch of a Triad organization, the "Sun On Yee". Shen joins the gang and is sent on various jobs and assignments by their leader, Winston Chu, against a rival Triad branch known as the Jade Gang led by Sam "Dogeyes" Lin. Shen is assigned to arrest Popstar, a drug supplier for the Triad. After Popstar's arrest, the Water Street branch suspect that Shen is a cop, though he manages to make Winston relent. To prove he is not a cop, the Water Street boys send Shen to kill Siu Wah, one of Dogeyes' drug dealers, but Shen instead brings him in alive. Gaining Winston's trust, he lets Shen take over his position if something happens to him. Retaliatory attacks on each other's properties culminate in the killing of Winston and his fiancée at their wedding by men posing as members of the rival 18K Triad. The leader of the Sun On Yee, David Wa-Lin "Uncle" Po, is critically wounded in the attack but is saved by Shen. As a reward, Shen is promoted to "Red Pole" of the Sun On Yee, and he takes over Winston's position in the Water Street branch. He hunts down Winston's killer who reveals that Dogeyes was the instigator of the attack. Shen captures Dogeyes who is killed by Winston's mother. Po dies in the hospital. As a branch leader, Shen becomes embroiled in a power struggle over the leadership of Sun On Yee, siding with "Broken Nose" Jiang against another branch leader, Henry "Big Smile" Lee. After Po's funeral, during which they are attacked by 18K members, Lee reluctantly agrees to an election that will decide the leader of the Sun On Yee, but promises retaliation if he does not win. Shen refuses Pendrew's order to get off the case out of fear of Lee taking over. Lee orders attacks against other Sun On Yee branches in an attempt to eliminate the competition and intimidate them into voting for him, including kidnapping Jackie and handing him to the 18K as a way to get rid of Shen. Just before the election, Shen receives a text message from Jackie to meet him, but he finds Jackie hanged and disemboweled on a pipe in an alleyway. He is knocked out and wakes up, greeted by Liu Shen Tong, a feared Triad enforcer who knows Shen is a cop. Shen is tortured, but manages to escape and proceeds to assault Lee's compound, reaching Lee, who reveals to Shen that Pendrew sold him out. The two fight and Shen kills Lee, ending the long and violent civil war and allowing Jiang to become the chairwoman of the Sun On Yee. With the deaths of many senior ranking gang members, Shen is commended on his work but is informed by Mak that Pendrew has been promoted to
Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
and is out of his reach. Shen receives video evidence from Jiang that Pendrew killed Uncle Po by injecting lethal chemicals in his IV. After leaking the footage, Shen is able to incriminate Pendrew and returns to work on the police force. Jiang watches Shen from afar and orders the remaining Sun On Yee members to leave him alone, due to his loyalty to her.


Development

Towards the end of 2007,
Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...
approached the newly founded
United Front Games United Front Games, Inc. was a Canadian video game development studio based in Vancouver. They created titles for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. They are the dev ...
, which consisted of ten people, to develop an open world game. United Front accepted and Activision provided sufficient funding for 180 employees. Early designs for the game, named Black Lotus at the time, incorporated dark tones with elements of humour similar to an "
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
crime drama". The project advanced to full production in early 2008. A year into development, Activision proposed that ''Black Lotus'' be made part of an existing franchise and highlighted similarities to the ''True Crime'' series; both games were set in open worlds with plots centred on an undercover cop in a criminal organization. Sales of previous ''True Crime'' games had been disappointing, but Activision felt the innovations in ''Black Lotus'' could revitalize the franchise and make the game successful in its own right. Activision attached the game to the series and revealed it to the public as ''True Crime: Hong Kong'' in November 2009. They delayed the game until 2010 to allow further refinement. Despite progress in game development, at the release of the financial report for the last quarter of 2010 on February 9, 2011, Activision announced the cancelation of ''True Crime: Hong Kong''. The publisher said that due to "quality issues" further investment would not make the game competitive in the genre even with their most optimistic projections. Although United Front Games shared this sentiment, executive producer Stephen Van Der Mescht expressed in an interview that "''True Crime: Hong Kong'' was playable from start to finish and virtually complete in terms of content" prior to Activision's cancellation of the project. Van Der Mescht said the game "stood apart" from the competition. On June 22, 2011, Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg explained that the budget and development delays were contributing factors in its cancellation. According to Hirshberg, the increase in budget and subsequent delays meant that the game would have to be "pretty incredible success" for Activision to have an acceptable
return on investment Return on investment (ROI) or return on costs (ROC) is a ratio between net income (over a period) and investment (costs resulting from an investment of some resources at a point in time). A high ROI means the investment's gains compare favourably ...
. Due to competition posed by other titles, particularly ''
Grand Theft Auto ''Grand Theft Auto'' (''GTA'') is a series of action-adventure games created by David Jones (video game developer), David Jones and Mike Dailly (game designer), Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan Hous ...
'' and ''
Red Dead Redemption ''Red Dead Redemption'' is a 2010 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar San Diego and published by Rockstar Games. A spiritual successor to 2004's ''Red Dead Revolver'', it is the second game in the ''Red Dead'' series. ''Red Dead Redempt ...
'', Activision's view was that ''True Crime: Hong Kong'' was not at the level of quality that it could compete. United Front Games cut 120 staff with the company's solvency in doubt until August when
Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...
acquired the publishing rights to the game. Square Enix did not buy the ''True Crime''
intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...
, and renamed the game ''Sleeping Dogs''.
Square Enix London Studios Square Enix Limited (formerly Domark Limited and Eidos Interactive Limited) is a British subsidiary of the Japanese video game company Square Enix, acting as their European publishing arm. The company formerly owned ''Tomb Raider'', which was in ...
general manager Lee Singleton said he recognized the game's playability and potential. United Front Games' President Stefan Wessels stated he was excited to work with Square Enix London Studios. Sixty people were added to the development team and the game was released on August 14, 2012.


Design

During development of the game the combat system was one of the key focuses. Mike Skupa, the design director, said that the combat was refined using feedback from Square Enix, with references drawn from
Tony Jaa Tatchakorn Yeerum ( th, ทัชชกร ยีรัมย์, , ; formerly Phanom Yeerum ( th, พนม ยีรัมย์, ); born 5 February 1976), better known internationally as Tony Jaa and in Thailand as Jaa Phanom ( th, จา ...
's ''The Protector''. The system was designed to emphasize multi-directional combat, strike-based gameplay and environmental interaction. It started as "one big violent sandbox" and progressed to a playable demo. Skupa was pleased with how well the game kept the qualities of the original demo. The game's designers performed extensive research in Hong Kong to create an accurate portrayal of the city. Art designers spent seven days in Hong Kong, where they studied the city's environment, and took more than 20,000 photos as references for the physical environment in the game. They traveled on foot to various locales, such as clubs and malls, and interviewed ex-Triad members and retired members of the Hong Kong Police Force Anti-Triad unit, which inspired narratives and character design. The sound designers spent ten days in the city overseeing the dialogue sessions on weekdays and capturing ambient noises around the city at weekends. During the early stages of development, in-game dialogue was recorded in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
by local Asian actors, but much of the audio was re-recorded in Hong Kong through Drum Music, a specialist recording company. Audio design was complicated; scripting was handled in Vancouver and the recording was in Hong Kong. There were reservations among the developers about the language for the background dialogue; the sound design team eventually prevailed in using Hong Kong Cantonese over English. In-game radio music was handled by Joe Best and sourced from various music labels. Tracks were licensed from Tsunami Music, Warp, Ninja Tune, and
Roadrunner Records Roadrunner Records is an American record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock bands. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. History The label was launched in 1980 in t ...
which lent their names to the in-game radio stations. Through Tsunami Music, voice actors were auditioned and recruited to provide presenters for each of the radio stations in the game. DJs from companies such as ''
Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...
'' also provided voices for the in-game radio presenters.
Nathan Wang Nathan T. Wang (born Wang Tsung-Hsien, born August 8, 1956 in Los Angeles, California, USA) is a Chinese-born American music composer and director. He graduated from Pomona College in California and received an Ambassadorial Scholarship from Rotar ...
composed original Chinese songs in the style of Cantopop and Mandopop songs.


Marketing and release

United Front Games relied on
viral marketing Viral marketing is a business strategy that uses existing social networks to promote a product mainly on various social media platforms. Its name refers to how consumers spread information about a product with other people, much in the same way tha ...
, such as Internet advertisements and TV trailers, prior to ''Sleeping Dogs'' release. The production team promoted the game with regular communication on
social networking A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for an ...
websites. They promoted it at video game conventions such as
Game Developers Conference The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is an annual conference for video game developers. The event includes an expo, networking events, and awards shows like the Game Developers Choice Awards and Independent Games Festival, and a variety of tutori ...
,
PAX East PAX (originally known as Penny Arcade Expo) is a series of gaming culture festivals involving tabletop, arcade, and video gaming. PAX is held annually in Seattle, Boston and Philadelphia in the United States; and Melbourne in Australia. PAX was ...
,
MCM London Comic Con The MCM London Comic Con (formerly known as the London Movies, Comics, and Media Expo and London MCM Expo) is a speculative fiction fan convention held in the London Borough of Newham twice yearly since 2002, usually on the last weekend in May ...
, E3,
Comic Con A comic book convention or comic-con is an event with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events hosted at con ...
, and
Gamescom Gamescom (stylized as gamescom) is a trade fair for video games held annually at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Since 2018, it has been organised by ''game – Verband der deutschen Games-Branche'' (English: Associa ...
. Square Enix revealed North American pre-order bonuses for
Best Buy Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...
,
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and
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customers in April 2012; each retailer offered its own exclusive in-game content pack. A United Kingdom limited edition release contained two such packs, and an Australian special edition, sold through
EB Games EB Games (formerly known as Electronics Boutique and EB World) is an American computer and video games retailer. First established as an American company in 1977 by James Kim with a single electronics-focused location in the King of Prussia mall ...
and
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, included all three packs at no added cost. Further marketing of ''Sleeping Dogs'' was via cross-promotion on different platforms; players who bought the game through
Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
received an eight item pack for ''
Team Fortress 2 ''Team Fortress 2'' is a 2007 multiplayer first-person shooter, first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It is the sequel to the 1996 ''Team Fortress'' Mod (video gaming), mod for ''Quake (video game), Quake'' and ...
'', which was later made available for separate purchase, and a Hong Kong-themed ''Team Fortress 2'' level, Kong King. Owners of '' Just Cause 2'' on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or PC received automatic access to a ''Sleeping Dogs'' character outfit in the style of ''Just Cause 2'' protagonist Rico Rodriguez. The outfit increases the player's action hijack statistics and increases the range from which the player can perform stunt takeovers of enemy vehicles. The game was released on August 14, 2012, in North America, August 16 in Australia, and August 17 in Europe. The September 27 Japanese release was titled and was censored to pass the classification by the Japanese ratings board CERO. Differences include penalties for attacking civilians, lack of a
street race Street racing is typically an unsanctioned and illegal form of auto racing that occurs on a public road. Racing in the streets is considered an ancient hazard, as horse racing occurred on streets for centuries, and street racing in automobiles i ...
flagger and a less explicit sex scene. An enhanced version, subtitled ''Definitive Edition'', was released on October 10, 2014, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It includes all the 24 previously released downloadable content (DLC) and features improved graphical resolution and gameplay, setting and audiovisual quality changes based on community feedback.


Downloadable content

Square Enix announced six months of downloadable content to follow the game's release. Packs included content such as outfit items, vehicles, experience point boosts, tasks including money hidden around the city for players to find, vehicle races, weapons, missions and fight movesets. Square Enix released a total of five content packs along with various pre-order bonuses, such as the ''Dragon Master Pack'' which was released in November 2012. The last downloadable content for ''Sleeping Dogs'' was the "Wheels of Fury"
supercar A supercar – also called exotic car – is a loosely defined description of street-legal, high-performance sports cars. Since the 2010s, the term hypercar has come into use for the highest performing supercars. Supercars commonly serve as t ...
expansion, released in February 2013. The first story-driven game expansion, ''Nightmare in North Point'', was released in October 2012. Its theme is based on Chinese horror and
folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
, and features Chinese vampires known as the
jiangshi A jiāngshī, also known as a Chinese hopping vampire, is a type of reanimated corpse in Chinese legends and folklore. The characters for "jiāngshī" are read goeng-si in Cantonese, cương thi in Vietnamese, kyonshī in Japanese, and gangsi ...
. In the expansion's plot, Shen's girlfriend is abducted by the ghost of Smiley Cat, a former gangster killed by Uncle Po, who has risen up from the underworld as a ghost to take his vengeance on the Sun On Yee. Shen fights Smiley Cat's army of jiangshi,
Yaoguai Yaoguai (妖怪 pinyin yāoguài) is a term for monsters or strange creatures. Yaogui (妖鬼 yāoguǐ, lit. "strange ghost"), yaomo (妖魔 yāomó, lit. "daemon") or yaojing (妖精 yāojīng, often translated as " sprite" or "faerie") are loo ...
and possessed gangsters, as well as the ghosts of Dogeyes, Johnny Ratface and Ponytail, who reveals that Wei can defeat Smiley Cat by burning the last remnant of his original body. After incinerating his little finger, Cat returns to the underworld and Shen's girlfriend is freed. As Shen and his girlfriend walk away in relief, the latter turns her head to the camera and smiles as her eyes glow in a freeze frame shot. The second story-based expansion, ''Zodiac Tournament'', was released in December 2012. The expansion adds an island to the game, with fight arenas, enemies, bosses and outfits. Inspector Teng asks Shen to investigate an illegal fighting tournament held away from Hong Kong. After defeating several fighters in lethal matches, Shen wins and pursues the Tournament Master, who offers to share his earnings in return for his life. Shen declines his offer and snaps the master's neck, killing him. The third and final story-based expansion, ''Year of the Snake'', was released in March 2013. It adds six missions set after the game's story. The additional missions feature Shen investigating terror attacks around Hong Kong stemming from a cultist group who believe that they will achieve spiritual salvation through the cleansing of Hong Kong residents. Shen must sabotage the cult's activities, ultimately ending in the arrest of the cult master. The DLC adds the ability for Shen to tase and arrest civilians and criminals around Hong Kong, as well as additional collectibles, side missions, ownable police vehicles, and new clothing.


Reception


Critical reception

''Sleeping Dogs'' received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
. It was nominated for "Action Game of the Year" and "Outstanding Achievement in Story" at the 2013 D.I.C.E. Interactive Achievement Awards. ''
Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...
'' writer Dan Whitehead called the combat system "robust and intuitive".
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
's Colin Moriarty compared the combat to that of '' Batman: Arkham City'' and compared it favorably with ''
Grand Theft Auto IV ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', and the ...
'' despite its simplicity and repetitiveness. Hollander Cooper from
GamesRadar ''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', ''Edge'' and '' Computer ...
praised the combat, especially the unique melee attacks. Andy Kelly of ''
Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...
'' welcomed the slower-paced missions. Carolyn Petit from
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
and Ben Wilson from '' PlayStation Official Magazine'' found the combat enjoyable and highlighted the environmental attacks as "empowering and effective". Cooper, Allistair Pinsof from
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, and ''
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'' found the missions generic and linear, a sentiment reserved by Dan Ryckert of ''
Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...
'' for the shooting missions. Petit disagreed, saying that the missions were varied and enjoyable. Whitehead and Ryckert complained that there is too little to spend mission earnings on. The leveling system was described by Ryckert as "stand ngout from the open-world pack". Moriarty praised the system for its use of the Face system and the ability to replay missions if unsatisfied. Petit agreed and enjoyed the "pleasant sense of growth" given to Shen by the experience system during the campaign. Pinsof called the system "one of the greatest innovations ''Sleeping Dogs'' brings to the genre". Jon Blyth of ''
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'' liked the "pleasingly absurd" missions needed to gain Face. Moriarty lauded the game's depiction of Hong Kong as "alive and well-populated" and liked the AI, the setting, and the voice acting, in particular the use of Cantonese and English. ''Edge'' gave similar praise: "Offering a view of Asia through the filter of its
action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
industry, this is a depiction of Hong Kong that could have come straight from the reel." Pinsof acclaimed the city's scale and AI. Shen and the other characters were mostly well received. Cooper applauded the conflicted nature of Shen's personality as a result of being in an overwhelming situation, arguing that this detail solidified him as a developed and likable protagonist. Cooper found the Triad members unsatisfactory by comparison, comparing them unfavorably with ''Grand Theft Auto'' characters. ''Edge'' called Shen an engaging protagonist and complimented the other characters, whose voice actors brought life to the characters. Blyth described the cast, aside from Shen, as "brilliantly recognizable stereotypes that have been given enough extra edge for you to care about them", and felt the attitude shifts of some characters were distracting and unrealistic. Wilson said that the characters were "fleshed out brilliantly". Pinsof claimed that the game's premise "grants a perfect excuse for Shen to do terrible things while remaining a sympathetic, level-headed lead." Kelly thought Shen's two-faced nature was the main entertainment factor of the missions. Whitehead found the player's ability to switch allegiances as needed to wear away at "the already fragile grasp the narrative has on Shen's conflicted loyalties." Moriarty criticized the game's
draw distance In computer graphics, draw distance (render distance or view distance) is the maximum distance of objects in a three-dimensional scene that are drawn by the rendering engine. Polygons that lie beyond the draw distance will not be drawn to the ...
and texture loading and Whitehead noted some framerate and environmental glitches. Petit said that, in spite of generally convincing non-player character design, "character models look like plastic dolls when viewed up close, and some gestures characters make are rigid and unnatural." ''Edge'' stated that character animations in a variety of contexts look "robotic", and Kelly said that "everything in the distance looks like it's been smeared in Vaseline." Pinsof described the graphics as "gorgeous" and conducive to an immersive experience in Hong Kong. Moriarty noted that the game's camera was particularly problematic when driving and less so during combat. Cooper and ''Edge'' also criticized the camera.


Sales

In the UK, ''Sleeping Dogs'' was the best-selling game in the week of its release, and had the fifth-highest first-week sales of any game released in 2012. It retained the top spot during its second week, despite sales dropping by 15%. It returned to the top spot after four weeks on sale. ''Sleeping Dogs'' sales rose by 8%, despite five weeks in the chart, defeating new release ''
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'' is a sequel to the ''Tekken'' fighting game series. It was released for the arcades in September 2011. It received an update, subtitled ''Unlimited'', on March 2012. A console version based on the update was release ...
''. ''Sleeping Dogs'' was the 20th-best-selling title of 2012 in the UK and the best-selling original game. According to
NPD Group The NPD Group, Inc. (NPD; formerly National Purchase Diary Panel Inc. and NPD Research Inc.) is an American market research company founded on September 28, 1966, and based in Port Washington, New York. In 2017, NPD ranked as the 8th largest mar ...
, ''Sleeping Dogs'' was the sixth-best-selling game in the US in August 2012 at 172,000 copies. PC sales for ''Sleeping Dogs'' were not counted, as it is only available by download in the US. According to Square Enix, ''Sleeping Dogs'' had sold 1.5 million copies by the end of September 2012. Square Enix president Yoichi Wada defended the game's sales and said that the firm might have had unreasonably high expectations for the game. He saw ''Sleeping Dogs'' as a strong new intellectual property and said that titles such as ''Sleeping Dogs'' tend to sell better over long periods of time in the West, unlike in Japan where most lifetime sales are achieved in the first months. On March 26, 2013, Square Enix announced that the game was expected to sell about 1.75 million copies in 2013. On September 10, 2013, the company announced that ''Sleeping Dogs'', alongside ''
Tomb Raider ''Tomb Raider'', also known as ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' from 2001 to 2008, is a media franchise that originated with an action-adventure video game series created by British gaming company Core Design. Formerly owned by Eidos Interactive, th ...
'' and '' Hitman: Absolution'', had been successful in their game development, but did not meet sales expectations, and were considered by the publisher "failures".


In other media


Canceled sequel

In early 2013, United Front was working on a sequel to ''Sleeping Dogs''. The game would have picked up after the original game, once again following the exploits of Wei Shen. He would be joined by a "conflicted, corrupt partner" named Henry Fang, as they explored
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
's
Pearl River Delta The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRD; ; pt, Delta do Rio das Pérolas (DRP)) is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Mac ...
. The player would have the ability to arrest any NPC in the world, and influence a branching storyline that swapped between both Shen and Fang. The game was said to be United Front's most ambitious game, which would have included a second screen app for mobile devices that would be able to interact with the world of the game; playing as inspector Jane Teng, the player would "manage the police force and try to control territories" from a mobile device, with the choices made in the game affecting gameplay in ''Sleeping Dogs 2''. The mobile game could be played on its own, with the hope being the free-to-play game would point players towards the console game. Plans for the sequel were eventually scrapped in late 2013 before the project went into production.


Canceled spin-off

''Triad Wars'' is a canceled spin-off to ''Sleeping Dogs'', which was scheduled to be released in 2015. The game was initially planned to be released as a PC online game with more
massively multiplayer online A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG or more commonly MMO) is an online video game with a large number of players, often hundreds or thousands, on the same server. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent open world, although there are ...
(MMO) elements, with the central goal being to "rise to power as a criminal kingpin of the Triad underworld". It featured the same map as the original ''Sleeping Dogs''. In October 2013, United Front Games confirmed that a game, titled ''Triad Wars'', set within ''Sleeping Dogs'' universe was in production. The developer confirmed that it would be published by Square Enix, and would be shown to the public in 2014. ''Triad Wars'' was described by the developers as "something we've wanted to do for ages but just never had the chance. But now we do." United Front Games teased that ''Triad Wars'' would be a PC online game on September 19, 2014. An announcement trailer premiered on September 22, 2014. In early 2015, the game entered its
beta-testing Software testing is the act of examining the artifacts and the behavior of the software under test by validation and verification. Software testing can also provide an objective, independent view of the software to allow the business to apprecia ...
stage. It was announced in December 2015 that the game would be shutting down. Developer United Front Games announced the closure on
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and the ''Triad Wars'' forums. The developers published a statement saying "We've loved seeing how you've played ''Triad Wars'' but we know it wasn't right for many of you."


Film adaptation

In March 2017, a live action film adaptation of the game was announced. It is being produced by
Neal Moritz Neal H. Moritz (born June 6, 1959) is an American film producer and founder of Original Film. He has produced over 70 major motion pictures which have grossed a total of over $11 billion worldwide as of 2021. He is best known for the ''Fast & Fu ...
, with
Donnie Yen Donnie Yen Chi-tan (; born 27 July 1963) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, and action director. Yen is one of Hong Kong's top action stars. Yen is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts (MMA) into the mainstream Asian cinema by cho ...
starring as Wei Shen. A release date for the film has yet to be announced. In February 2018 Yen stated on various social media accounts that the film was in production.


See also

*
List of Square Enix video game franchises This is a list of video game franchises by Square Enix, a Japanese video game development and publishing company formed from the merger of Enix and Square on April 1, 2003. Square Enix acquired Taito in September 2005, which continues to publish ...


References


External links

* {{Good article 2012 video games 3D beat 'em ups Bandai Namco games Detective video games Open-world video games Organized crime video games MacOS games PlayStation 3 games PlayStation 4 games Single-player video games Square Enix games Third-person shooters Triad (organized crime) Video games about police officers Video games developed in Canada Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games scored by Jeff Tymoschuk Video games set in Hong Kong Video games with downloadable content Windows games Xbox 360 games Xbox One games Video games using Havok Feral Interactive games