We all thought that gritty open world game True Crime had gone for good, but thanks to some ingenuity from Square-Enix’s London Studios and United Front Games we can go undercover once again with Sleeping Dogs.

Set in Hong Kong, Sleeping Dogs puts players in the role of undercover cop Wei Shen who is tasked with taking down one of the worlds most fearsome criminal organisations from the inside, the Hong Kong Triads.

The game world will be ‘packed with action’ where almost every environment can turn into a tense shootout, street races and martial arts combat. Square-Enix also claim that the game will feature ‘one of the most intuitive and imaginative combat systems’. A system that allows you to perform ‘bone-crunching kicks’ and ‘vicious counters’, and it seems that you can also use objects from your environment to cause bloody damage to your opponent.

“From the moment you pick up the controller and experience the blend of driving, close combat and shooting you know you’re playing something fresh and a bit special,” said Lee Singleton, general manager of Square Enix London Studios. “Sleeping Dogs has one of the best melee combat systems out there – it’s super brutal with devastating takedown moves, and when added to UFG’s proven heritage in driving games, a first class story and the vibrant backdrop of the Hong Kong underworld we get a fiery recipe with fun written all over it.”

“Working on Sleeping Dogs has been such a huge passion for the team at United Front Games and we’re really pleased to be working with Square Enix London Studios,” said Stephen Van Der Mescht, executive producer at United Front Games. “The extensive experience that both studios have in creating compelling open world gameplay and rich, rewarding combat makes for a perfect partnership. Working together we’re ensuring Sleeping Dogs is the most intense and immersive game it can be.”

Sleeping Dogs will be available on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC from the second half of 2012.