By Craig Pearson on March 30th, 2012 at 10:25 am.
Don’t they know there might possibly be a potential for someone somewhere perhaps running a bit low on petrol? Square Enix releasing this trailer during a fuel panic has opened my eyes to the truth: they’ve manufactured the whole scare so we might all understand the sacrifice made at the end of this trailer for the Hong Kong set open world shooter Sleeping Dogs. The bike. The spark. The flames. 30th March, 2012: never forget, people.
There was a small worry at the back of my mind that Sleeping Dogs, with its heady mix of gangsters and guns, might drift over into the ‘serious’ lane in the motorway, but that was dispelled by this trailer: it’s not q comedy by any means, but the fact that they’ll allow car-to-car motorway hijackings to take place is all I need to know. It does make my inner smiley go sadface to know there will be no multiplayer in all this.
30/03/2012 at 10:33 DanPryce says:
And just like that I became very interested in Sleeping Dogs. ACTION HIJACKING is the new HARD SURFACE.
30/03/2012 at 10:41 bear912 says:
Yes indeed. Suddenly, DO WANT.
30/03/2012 at 11:30 westyfield says:
HARD SURFACE
30/03/2012 at 10:40 Isometric says:
It’s beginning to look a bit like Just Cause in the hijacking department.
30/03/2012 at 10:40 Stuart Walton says:
Despite its flaws, I really enjoyed True Crime: Streets of LA. It had a lot of good ideas, it was just lacking in the execution. The strongest component was the driving. Once you had unlocked all the driving skills it became the most enjoyable part of the game, maybe the most enjoyable in a sandbox game (with all those roads, it needed to be). Wheelman nabbed a bunch of those ideas but wasn’t as fun.
30/03/2012 at 11:46 noodlecake says:
I actually really liked the melee in True Crime. Most games seem to tag melee on as a really basic mini game but there were tons of martial arts moves. It was a little bit buggy but you could potentially have crazy action movie fights indoors with destructible scenery. Minority Report for the ps2 had a good go at that too. Spent ages playing around with the fighting and ragdoll physics. It wasn’t a very good game otherwise but that part was great fun.
30/03/2012 at 12:46 El_MUERkO says:
Yeah, the melee fights were like fighting-game-lite
30/03/2012 at 14:31 Qazinsky says:
Agree completely, it just felt like they spent time fleshing out all the gameplay areas, shooting, fighting, driving, but there were too many buttons on the keyboard that only did one thing in very specific circumstances, if they manage to make the controls a little more compact, that would be great.
30/03/2012 at 16:54 terry says:
So is this the axed True Crime game with another name?
30/03/2012 at 17:46 Ganjatron says:
Same here, I thought True Crime LA was great, especially the car parts. Though the end boss fight against he ancient/dragon guy was a little out of left field.
31/03/2012 at 18:18 Dhatz says:
I think I rememeber it for the dual weilding acrobatics and the impossible boss fight in circle of burning jet fuel(or was it the music distracting me? i shall never find out).
01/04/2012 at 19:34 Wisq says:
I really just enjoyed being on the right side of the law for once. I loved racing down the streets with a siren that was actually mine. I’d go through phases where I’d stop street crimes like a real cop, not drawing my weapon unless they had one, etc.
There are times for a Saints-Row-style “oh look a domestic disturbance, USE THE FLAMETHROWER” and there are times where I just want to actually play a good guy sandbox game for once.
Driver:SF was nice in that respect too, even if the pedestrians had magical dodge powers.
30/03/2012 at 10:47 Njordsk says:
THAT is car hijacking !
30/03/2012 at 10:52 TwwIX says:
This looks like what GTA 4 and Saints Row 3 should have been. Fun and over the top yet grounded in reality. I am looking forward to it and i am just glad that Activision isn’t associated with it anymore.
30/03/2012 at 11:39 noodlecake says:
GTA4 was perfect as it was. It’s still the best open world game out in my opinion.
30/03/2012 at 14:04 One Pigeon says:
GTA4 felt like it could have been excellent and that I should really have enjoyed it. But I just couldn’t help getting bored.
I got to the second island then gave up and now it sits in my Steam folder, still installed, glaring at me.
30/03/2012 at 14:27 Qazinsky says:
Gotta agree with TwwIX and One Pigeon here, GTA IV just didn’t feel… GTA.
The engine were great, but the whole “running in minicircles when trying to move sideways with the keyboard” part really killed the enjoyment for me.
Also felt like a major step back from San Andreas, which in my opinion are the best GTA out yet.
Let’s hope GTA V turns out great!
30/03/2012 at 19:35 DrGonzo says:
That’s interesting because I thought it was a massive step forward from San Andreas, the worst game by far in the series.
It was funny, not dark or gritty at all, never understood why some people think it’s ‘dark’ in anyway. It was still crazy and OTT, less so than San Andreas admittedly but that was a good thing. The funniest game in the series in my opinion, and along with Vice City the best.
I wonder if the fact it had a nice and consistent art style confused some people into thinking it was gritty.
30/03/2012 at 11:06 CKScientist says:
Hong Kong is such a great city. I hope some of the big landmarks will be in the game.
30/03/2012 at 11:19 yhancik says:
OMG vector graphics from the early 00s
30/03/2012 at 11:27 aldo_14 says:
I’m really hoping they’ve been watching a lot of early 90s John Woo.
Also, I was sure that title picture was a cgi Jeff Goldblum.
Until I scrolled down past the hair.
30/03/2012 at 14:03 Bob says:
Oh yeah! John Woo movies are insane, in a good way. If it’s a mix of Woo and Just Cause 2 it’ll be added to my increasing backlog.
30/03/2012 at 11:27 buzzmong says:
Reminds me of Just Cause 2.
That is a good thing.
30/03/2012 at 12:14 Petethegoat says:
This looks great. I hope it has coop.
30/03/2012 at 12:17 TheAlchemist says:
This looks good, but from what I understand there is no visible vehicle damage, which is a big no-no for me.
30/03/2012 at 13:07 G-Lord says:
Jumping out of the vehicle before letting it crash into enemies – reminds me of Total Overdose.
30/03/2012 at 14:05 Luringen says:
So it’s like Pursuit Force, but better?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5Bd1QuN-b4
30/03/2012 at 14:20 Oof says:
I’m getting a serious Bad Boys-meets-Cradle 2 The Grave vibe. LOVE IT.
30/03/2012 at 14:38 Qazinsky says:
The thing I am a bit worried about myself is the whole open world part. It just seems like games nowadays seems to make open games too contained. Take Kingdom of Amalur for example, open world game, but it just feels so on-rails, it’s mostly thin road corridors and bigger rooms, doesn’t feel as an open world at all, and that bugs me.
If this is just a system of roads with some walkable pavement just outside the quest hub and the ‘dungeons’ I don’t think I’m interested, the other two True Crimes were proper open world, but newer games (Rage, KoA to my memory) have left me a little gunshy.
30/03/2012 at 15:48 sidhellfire says:
Somehow I prefer legal racing, regular-paced shooting and conventional hijacking.
But if we’re about to make game about Police and Criminals, god, please someone make new Police Quest game (not SWAT). It doesn’t have to be even an adventure game it can be RPG, or simulation. Whatever includes a feature called “common sense”, so characters do end up being reckless suicide killers. Law enforcement isn’t about spraying bullets from a carabine on the streets and jumping on speeding cars.
30/03/2012 at 17:24 shizamon says:
Yeah really, I want someone to mouth off to me a little then I can decide whether to threaten fines/jailtime for that or just taser them until their heart stops, real law enforcement.
Maybe you’re not from America though…
Joking aside, it would be nice to see something a little different from the renegade cop game devs.
30/03/2012 at 19:54 sidhellfire says:
I’d love to question witnesses of a crime, or solve domestic problems without killing family members drunken or not. Would somehow be happy to pull aside a driver and tell him that his rear plates got loose and are barely attached to vehicle. To fine an arrogant pedestrian after argue about jumping on the street under red light. To chase a thief trough crowded intersections with gun holstered instead of drawn the way maniacs do. To inspect abandoned block for homeless and junkies. To communicate trough radio that I’m going for a lunch brake, with a ten-code. To pacify aggressive fatso with a standard-issue nightstick. It would be awesome to just patrol the streets in manner known from more like Thrid Watch TV drama (which is already grotesque), than be a Serious Sam in a blue uniform.
01/04/2012 at 19:38 Wisq says:
Seemed to be what Police Force was aiming for, but it sounds like they fell somewhat flat.
There’s also Police Simulator from Excalibur (as usual), but that’s just a top-down RTS kinda thing.
30/03/2012 at 16:39 Radiant says:
An action hijacking?
As opposed to an inaction hijacking?
“Excuse me sir would you mind terribly if I just… oh look there, I believe someone is calling you, you’d better go see… that’s right just over there. Thanks”
*steals car*
Good job everyone. Well done.
30/03/2012 at 17:18 Fumarole says:
I take it the word carjack is only used in America?