Sleeping Dogs: truly criminal, or Grand Theft Kung Fu?

Sleeping Dogs has got a reputation as the game that used to be True Crime: Hong Kong. But that's not quite fair. "When Mike Skupa and I started this game in 2007, we envisioned it as an original IP," explains senior producer Jeff O'Connell. "It was only when Activision came along that it was branded. It feels liberating to be without the brand. We've been able to get back to our roots, and do what we always wanted to do."

Sleeping Dogs' GTA-style open world is inspired by Hong Kong action cinema, and that goes beyond the steaming brick alleys and neon, and the savage tooth-shattering combat. Just like a movie, United Front has got a linear story that it wants to tell.

"Lead character Wei Shen has a back story," explains design director Mike Skupa. "He grew up in a housing project in the poorer part of Hong Kong, with a lot of people who went on to join gangs. His mother moved him to San Francisco at a young age to protect his sister, but at 25 years old he returns to Hong Kong as an undercover cop. The things that happened to him in his youth play a big role in the story. Not just in terms of the people he knew as a child - those storylines of the past continue and grow for him."

Skupa and O'Connell want their protagonist to be likeable and sympathetic. To that end, they're focusing on something that far too many games forget to do - make the hero's violence understandable. Certainly, his job as undercover cop is one where the morally repugnant choice is frequently the only choice. "Being an undercover cop is the most dangerous acting job in the world. Wei is forced to become more brutal and more violent. Hopefully you're taken along for the ride, so you feel like the things you do are justified."

However, this doesn't mean that you'll be an observer who only helps out with the fight scenes. This is a true open world game that's filled with side quests and optional cases. "You'll get much more from the Cop and Triad experience, which will reward you for different kinds of playing styles," says O'Connell. "If you're being reckless and harming innocents, you won't get such a high Cop score, which might affect that upgrade path, but this could also mean that you'll get a higher Triad score. We wanted to make sure that the different play styles are supported and celebrated by the game."

"We also have different core enemy classes," Skupa chimes in. "The brawler is influenced by MMA with stronger defence and more powerful attacks. You have to be more careful with the type of attacks you use. There are also quick-striking characters who dodge your attacks, and a range of ELite fighters who mix up the categories, so you really have to plan out a fight."

Hong Kong action cinema is an easy genre to spoof, but that was never United Front's intention. "We're trying to play the main game as straight as possible, but we've managed to put a few things in that fans of the genre will notice," O'Connell explains. "For example, there's a level where Wei has to fight a temple full of monks, which people may recognise. We do have fun with it."

An open world game set in Hong Kong with a brutal take on Batman-style combat? We're looking forward to having fun with it, too.