Deserving of perhaps the most anticipation, the Hong Kong cinema style game play of Sleeping Dogs should have some pretty good martial arts combat. By now many have seen the 6 minute and change combat video about Sleeping Dogs. What is less known for the general populace is the background of some of its key developers and contributors.

If some of the basic movement from the game “Bully” looks familiar, it’s because Liberty Walker, one of the combat designers for “Sleeping Dogs,” worked on that game as well. The transition between opponents is certainly smoother and much more polished in this Chinese undercover crime game, but at the foundation it works the same as it did in “Bully.”

There is a good bet that some of the buttons will have a similar lay out as well. Having said that though, only an actual release of the game will reveal just how similar the two are. While “Bully” is much older and far more dated, its roots are the same, and so “Sleeping Dogs” reflects the genesis of years of game designing experience.

Likewise, Sota Yuyama is another known key figure in the combat design of “Sleeping Dogs.” One of his notable works is SSX, the snowboarding game series that has reigned supreme for many years with its crazy body contortionist tricks and flips. It’s most recent iteration from 2011 features some of Yuyama’s work; players can see that fluidity of movement reflected in “Sleeping Dogs” as well. His skill in martial arts includes years of study at the Shito-Ryu school of Karate.

Research into this style of martial arts reveals that its roots in physical strength and stances grounded in the earth for balance. Yet its many diverse branches also feature sweeping multi directional attacks as well. Combine these two aspects with the style of gameplay from “Bully” and you reveal, in many ways, the combat system in “Sleeping Dogs.”

Measured between these two gentlemen, a wealth of gaming and fighting experience comes together to create a seamless transitioning fighter. Video and gameplay footage so far shows that Wei Shen has incredible dexterity and overall fighting prowess. His movement is smooth and powerful, using some of the best martial arts techniques with great speed. Mixing many styles of martial arts together, Wei Shen can punch, kick and grapple with his enemies for that much-vaunted special take down move.

To add plausibility and authenticity to the combat in the game, UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre was also brought in to consult and add his expertise in the octagon to the world of “Sleeping Dogs.” St. Pierre himself, as a Mixed Martial Artist, is trained in multiple disciplines ranging from Jui-jitsu, Boxing, and Muay Thai to Gymnastics. It is perhaps a lucky coincidence then that St. Pierre fights in an octagon and Sota Yuyama’s training probably featured octagonal movement. Thus far, the combat in this game screams authentic, with a slice of gruesome on the side for good measure.

To say that gruesome would describe some of the combat in this game would be an understatement. This game is certainly not for the faint of heart, as special take downs from the demo game play reveal computer opponents being slammed between car doors, turned into soup in a grinder and forcefully ejected into oncoming traffic from atop flaming motorcycles. This is the edge of realism, and the octagon fighters in real life only wish they could do this in the iron ring.

Combat from video footage for “Sleeping Dogs” appears so far to be fun and exciting, never leaving a moment to consider what to do next. Evidence points to an almost instinctual combat play style that a player may eventually develop.

Whether it be shooting from cover and transitioning to an aggressive takedown with a chair or combat transitioning to a car chase, much of the game seems to meet the hype that is fast growing with its August 14 release. There is a lot of hope amongst the gaming public that this title will rise above the stigma of being Grand Theft Auto meets Kung Fu and so far, United Front Games and Square Enix London Studios seemed to have succeeded.

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Sleeping Dogs brings you into the undercover life of Wei Shen, an undercover cop operating in the criminal underworld in Hong Kong. The enemy is the Triad gang and you are placed in an open world where the line between cop and gang member blurs constantly.

The internet is abuzz with key words like ‘potential’, ‘sleeper hit’ and ‘underrated’ as the days countdown to the August 14th release of the game. Preview videos have fans creating increasing hype about the greatness of the game. Across the board, all aspects of the game appear to be very solid additions to the core storyline.

Canadian developers United Front Games has a decent track record despite the relatively young group of developers being drawn together from the ashes of several defunct game developers such as EA Black Box, Rockstar, Volition Inc. and Radical Entertainment. Co-developer Square Enix London Studios has also been credited with games such as Just Cause 2 and Batman: Arkham Asylum. Gameplay footage proves that they have seemingly crafted a world of violence centered on the decisions of one man with morale issues and a sense of duty. Who he saves or kills will determine everything from the rating of missions to the amount of respect that Wei Shen garners as he walks the streets of Hong Kong.

The combat and choreography looks and feels pretty organic since UFC fighter George St. Pierre was on hand to add his own mixed martial art style to the game. Beyond the expected levels of ass whooping surely to be handed out, the developers wanted the violence to be understandable. That is to say, they wanted gamers to sympathize with the choices that Wei Shen has made in his life.

This way, every punch or kick that the player completes through Wei Shen draws gamers further into the reality of Sleeping Dogs. Additionally, the environment is also a key player in the game, allowing Wei Shen to use doors and garbage cans as handy tools of destruction.

Open world is the gameplay style for Sleeping Dogs and it should not come as a surprise given Rockstar and Radical Entertainment’s finesse with creating large city size maps. The producers of Sleeping Dogs determined that Hong Kong was the best choice for a vibrant city atmosphere that would be familiar enough to gamers but also set in a rarely experienced culture that kept things fresh and exciting.

One side of a street would be designed with stone buildings featuring Asian inspired concept art while the other side included western style British influenced buildings that are in keeping with Hong Kong’s history. One side beautiful form, the other perfect functionality meshed together.

The racing and automotive aspect of Sleeping Dogs is almost expected, once readers know that members of United Front Games also includes EA Blackbox whom worked on many of the recent Need For Speed games. The open world aspect plays right into the racing as Wei Shen drifts across lanes of authentic left side driving traffic in search of his next target. Expect to experience nice cars that provide a fast rides down short cuts of the Hong Kong side streets as you go bust some heads.

Undercover aspects of the game come into play from Hong Kong cinema influences such as the 2002-2003 “Infernal Affairs” trilogy film series. American audiences will be interested to know that this trilogy has been adapted into the Martin Scorsese film “The Departed”. This film series and its American counterpart play a key role in the gritty feeling of the game with the cops vs gang gameplay.

Additionally, from that Infernal Affairs series, original actor Edison Chen is also voice talent on the Sleeping Dogs voice cast. Notable voice actors included in the game are Emma Stone (The Amazing Spider Man), Tom Wilkinson (Mission Impossible 4), James Hong (Kung Fu Panda), Kelly Hu (X-Men 2), Will Yu Lee the voice of Wei Shen, Chin Han (Dark Knight) and Yunjin Kim (Lost TV show). Otherwise, in game voice acting is in authentic Cantonese and English, giving gamers the experience of living and breathing on this Chinese island.

Like the city of Hong Kong itself with its interwoven quality of criminals vs cops and new high rises vs old Buddhist temples; Sleeping Dogs is a meshing of many concepts and game play aspects. Hopefully this weaving of ideas has created a game that can bring Square Enix out of its funk and give United Front Games some much need gamer credibility. With anticipation building and the gamer community waiting for the arrival of this game, this summer seems to have just gotten a whole lot more exciting.

Look out for Toonari Post’s Sleeping Dogs review, coming soon.

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