Smash + Grab = New Bruiser From Sleeping Dogs Team
Hack 'n' slash 'n' smash 'n' grab
The studio responsible for open-world martial arts brawler Sleeping Dogs is bringing out a competitive multiplayer punch-up set in a corporate dystopia, they announced today. Smash + Grab [official site] will feature the contestants of an underground competition in which factions smash windows and break down the doors of shops to collect as much loot as they can, fighting off other gangs in the process using third-person combat. The first gang to scoop $50,000 worth of riot loot wins. Come and see, it looks daft.
You’ll be assembling a gang of five characters - some melee, some ranged - and mixing their special abilities with unlockable perks to create a crew that will counter whatever the other teams have planned. There’s still some elements of martial arts to all this, for those sad that this isn’t a another trip to the Hong Kong of Sleeping Dogs. There are grapples, counter-attacks, dodges and finishing moves. Meanwhile, the loot you gather can include weapons and upgrades which you can use to make your gang more vicious.
It’s not clear exactly how the multiplayer works. “A gang includes a leader, a lieutenant, and 3 soldiers,” the developers say. And you will “fight against and alongside player and AI controlled enemies.” Does that mean you can fight in the same gang as your mate? Or do each of you have a separate little crew of automated thugs, working together? It’s not totally clear from the trailer or the website how a match in this urban competition functions, but it does look very messy.
We’ll know more when it comes to early access in September.