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Rage, Sleeping Dogs DLC packs firing up on PSN Dec. 18 [Update: Rage DLC also on 360/PC, details confirmed]
Rage and Sleeping Dogs are getting new DLC expansions on PSN via next week's North American store update. As revealed by this week's PlayStation Blogcast, December 18 sees Rage receive the long-rumored "The Scorchers" content, while Sleeping Dogs receives its second gameplay-extending DLC with the "Zodiac Tournament Pack."Rage publisher Bethesda and developer id haven't disclosed any details on The Scorchers, although uncovered trophies suggest it brings a new job path and "Ultra Nightmare Difficulty" to the shooter. As for Zodiac Tournament Pack, publisher Square Enix revealed it introduces a new island area to Sleeping Dogs, along with two unlockable outfits and some extra fighting moves to unleash.The podcast also revealed Karateka makes the jump to PSN on December 18, along with PS3 digital downloads of Lego Lord of the Rings and Batman: Arkham Asylum.We've reached out to publishers Square Enix and Bethesda for more information on the Sleeping Dogs and Rage DLC packs respectively.Update: Bethesda has officially announced The Scorchers over on its official blog, confirming the addition of an "Ultra Nightmare" difficulty level, as well as six new areas, new mini-games and a new Nailgun weapon. The DLC pack will also arrive on Xbox 360 and PC this Tuesday.
Sleeping Dogs and the amazing disappearing woman trick
Sleeping Dogs protagonist Wei Shen is the Vegas magician of Hong Kong. He can make women disappear by placing them in bathrooms ... the only problem is making them reappear once the trick is over. Shen likely picked up the trick visiting Saints Row 2's town of Stilwater.
MMA fighter Georges St-Pierre consulting on Sleeping Dogs
Square Enix has enlisted the help of UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre (aka GSP), who will now be contributing his expertise on punching/grappling dudes to Sleeping Dogs. While GSP is said to be working on "multiple elements" of the Hong Kongian crime thriller, we have an inkling that he'll be lending the majority of his vast, worldly knowledge to the game's combat systems. Actually, now that we've remembered how huge his bulging muscles are and how easily he could grind our puny frames into a fine mist, we suppose its entirely possible that GSP could be consulting on the game's art direction, or acting as a continuity editor for the script. In fact, forget we ever implied anything to the contrary.
Sleeping Dogs sets the scene with new story trailer
If this story trailer for Sleeping Dogs has taught us anything, it's that the tattoo industry in Asia is booming right now.
A Calculated Risk: Why Square Enix Can't Put 'Sleeping Dogs' Down
"It was not a happy time, as you can probably imagine."Producer Jeff O'Connell conveys the grim atmosphere reigning over the developers at United Front Games, moments after losing their publisher and months before their ambitious open-world game could stand in a lineup with other free-roaming felons. Activision wanted a bold return for its True Crime franchise, but decided to pull the plug in February 2010. The protracted effort just wasn't guaranteed to conclude at the top of the genre.Enter: Square Enix London Studios, a division of Square Enix Europe (formerly Eidos). At about 20 members it's a much smaller group than the Vancouver-based United Front, which had close to 180 employees at the peak of True Crime development. "We're a pretty small, tight group," says General Manager Lee Singleton. "I think, actually, a couple of years ago I did the math and I think the average amount of industry experience is like 15 or 16 years or something. We're all pretty seasoned guys."United Front can whip out a similar resume, built on familial qualities. "We consider ourselves very close-knit," O'Connell says. "I'm sure a lot of these studios say they consider themselves a family, and we do, and we do things to foster that kind of feeling. We have a lot of events, and even though we're a very young studio, we're a very experienced studio." The studio began with Modnation Racers, a vibrant, approachable racing game built with Sony, but incorporates veterans from Bully, Prototype and the Need for Speed franchise."Meeting Square, which we did very shortly after the game was canceled -- and I'm probably going to use some corny expression -- was like a bright light," O'Connell says. "Right away, we met those guys and I think we just clicked with them. It's one thing for people to come in and love the game, which they did, and it's another thing for people to come in and just get along with them incredibly well and go out for drinks and meals with them, and just have a really fantastic time, and have them in the studio and have them ask questions or make suggestions, and have that show their depth of understanding." If that run-on sentence isn't indicative of real enthusiasm about this relationship, we don't know what is.%Gallery-147901%
Square Enix snags rights to True Crime: Hong Kong from Activision
"The finished product was not going to be at the top of that genre," Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg told Joystiq following the sudden cancellation of the publisher's True Crime: Hong Kong reboot in February. That blunt assessment hasn't stopped Square Enix from picking up the rights to the United Front Games-developed title from Activision and placing it under the management of Square Enix London Studios and its general manager, Lee Singleton. "When we first saw and got our hands on the game we fell in love with it," Singleton tells Gamasutra, further describing the game as a "great big bucket of fun." Square Enix London Studios knows a thing or two about "fun." The organization is tasked to provide a "fresh approach to third party game development" and, in that pursuit, it's managed games like Rocksteady Studios' Batman: Arkham Asylum and Avalanche Studios' open-world Just Cause 2. Since Square Enix didn't purchase the (somewhat worthless) True Crime IP, it appears it will be renaming the game; the "branding team is already working on concepts," Gama reports. And while the-game-formerly-known-as-True-Crime-Hong-Kong was destined for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC this November, Square's not ready to even address those specifics. After the game's cancellation, the development team had to "scale back" but now that Square Enix has picked up the title, "we're ready to turn up the heat and get the team up to capacity," Singleton says. For his part, Activision's Hirshberg tells Gama, "Our team has worked very hard to find a solution where everybody wins. Square Enix gets the benefit of the tremendous investment we've made in the game thus far. UFG gets to stay together and complete their vision. And gamers get to play a great game. We couldn't be more thrilled." And while most gamers will no doubt look forward to the title's release, if only to play "Would I Have Cancelled It," Singleton reminds us that the game still needs work. "We are committed to working with the team at United Front Games and giving them the time needed to realize the full potential of the game's standout features and create a truly unique open world adventure." Now we wait to see if Square's able to release something "at the top of that genre."
