Sleeping Dogs – Most Surprising Game 2012
Platform(s): PS3, Xbox 360, PC
Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: United Front Games
We did not anticipate so many nominees for Game of the Year in 2012, but this just means that the quality of triple-A games have improved and become more consistently high. Of course, there were plenty of surprises along the way.
No one expected Spec Ops: The Line to have a serious inward look at the impact of war on soldiers. While we always expect great things from thatgamecompany, Journey seriously made us ponder what makes for Game of the Year material. Who knew that Rayman Jungle Run would be as delightful as a Hawaiian luau on the iPhone? And who really anticipated Guild Wars 2 becoming a worthy contender to World of Warcraft?
But the most surprising game has to be Sleeping Dogs. Sure, it was a bit surprising that it featured an Asian male protagonist and it turned Hong Kong into a legitimate open world, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Sleeping Dogs, when it was called True Crime: Hong Kong, was dropped halfway through by Activision, devastating United Front Games and forcing it to scramble for a publisher, until Square Enix picked it up under its current name. Usually when something like this happens, the game is indeed a load of crap, but the quality of Sleeping Dogs struck us like a roundhouse kick to the back of our necks. In fact, Game Revolution is still confused as to the reason why Activision abandoned the game in the first place. Perhaps they weren't awake.
Runners Up:
- Guild Wars 2
- Rayman Jungle Run
- Spec Ops: The Line
- Journey
Click here to see the rest of GameRevolution's Best of 2012 Awards.
