Details Surface for Cancelled Sleeping Dogs 2
By Rob Gordon 23 November 2016
A number of features from the cancelled Sleeping Dogs 2 surface online, giving fans of the original game a glimpse at what might have been should the game have made it to release.
When developer United Front Games closed its doors last month, it came as a shock to many video game fans. Although the studio had been hit and miss with its games, its highs were certainly memorable experiences, with particular praise for Sleeping Dogs. United Front Games had once been working on a sequel to the open world title, and now gamers have been given a look at the cancelled project.
The details of the Sleeping Dogs sequel come courtesy of Waypoint, which shared its findings about the mysterious project. United Front Games initially pitched its idea for Sleeping Dogs 2 back in early 2013, and although the project was cancelled by the end of that year, and never officially entered production, there was a brief period of time where United Front Games was pulling together its plans for the game.
The title would have followed in the footsteps of the original game, with hero Wei Shen joining up with a corrupt cop partner named Henry Fang in China’s Pearl River Megacity. The city itself would have been more dynamic than the one found in the first Sleeping Dogs, with the player apparently being given the ability to arrest any NPC in the game world.
United Front Games would also have included full co-op support for Sleeping Dogs 2. Apparently, users would have been able to choose whether to play the game solo or take part in certain co-op missions, with options including a variety of procedurally-generated challenges such as fight clubs and vehicle races, but with a difference. Apparently, the game itself would have ‘analyzed’ where the player was up to in the Sleeping Dogs 2 narrative, and adjusted the co-op potential accordingly.
The title was also due to include an intriguing mobile and tablet tie-in, where the player could take on the role of inspector Jane Teng, and try to manage the police force in the city. Those who played both the mobile game and the full version of Sleeping Dogs 2 would have seen their choices in the app then change the main city’s dynamics. It’s worth noting that the ins and outs of this idea were far from fully fledged, but it was an interesting concept nonetheless.
Unfortunately, fans of the original game are unlikely to ever see a sequel get released, at least under the wing of United Front Games. After the failure of Triad Wars, it seems that it was hard for the developer to bounce back, and even though early access title Smash + Grab garnered interest, it was not enough to save the developer, or save the company’s vision of Sleeping Dogs 2. Then again, Sleeping Dogs as a whole is no stranger to adversity – after all, the original game was even created out of a failed project itself.
Source: Waypoint
