Formerly known as True Crime: Hong Kong, Sleeping Dogs was showcased at the SquareEnix booth on the show floor this weekend at PAX East. I got a chance to sit down with some of the people who worked on the game, and learn more about this open world crime drama.

Based loosely on Infernal Affairs, Sleeping Dogs takes place in modern-day Hong Kong, and revolves around police officer Wei Shen who goes undercover to take down a Triad organization. The developers I spoke with emphasized that the game will be very serious, with emphasis on a dramatic storyline.

On the outside, Sleeping Dogs may look like Grand Theft Auto set in Hong Kong. But they’ve really taken their time to make sure that while this game is very much a sandbox, it’s not a reskinned GTA clone. I got to check out a demo of a racing mission in the game, and the driving system is very precise. I didn’t feel like I was flying all over the road, and since several developers of Need for Speed had a hand in creating Sleeping Dogs, it makes sense that the driving be top notch.

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PAX East rapidly approaches, which means you’re probably starting your packing list right about now. And whether you’re a PAX East veteran or attending for the first time, it may be tricky, downright overwhelming even, figuring out exactly what to bring with you.

Well, allow me to pack for you. Here are some things you must absolutely bring with you this weekend. This stuff, and underwear. You may need underwear.

Portable gaming device

Believe me, whether you’re waiting in line to play a game on the floor, sitting and waiting for a panel to start, or killing time in the bathroom line, you’re going to want a portable gaming system with you.

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The full version of little logic puzzler Girls Like Robots is not released quite yet, but I got a chance to check it out before it hits the show floor at PAX East this weekend.

The gameplay of Girls Like Robots is simple: make all the square people happy. Each level is a grid, with different amounts of spaces to place your square shaped friends in the right arrangement so that everyone plays nice. There’s the girls, who love being surrounded by robots. The nerds love being surrounded by girls, not other nerds. Girls won’t mind being around nerds if there’s some pie present, but the robots HATE pies.

It all sounds really cute and whimsical, but quickly you’ll realize that this little puzzle game is, well, a puzzler. It’s hard! Just like in real life, you can’t make everyone happy, and you won’t be able to in Girls Like Robots either. Depending on which squares you’re working with, you’ll have to decide which arrangement will maximize points and keep anyone from getting too angry with one another.

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Almost two years since the first time we heard about Street Fighter X Tekken,  it has finally made its way home to consoles. Everyone wondered, how would the characters of Tekken mesh into the Street Fighter world and how the Tekken fanbase would feel about the gameplay mechanics they know and love so much for their favorite fighters being altered to match the fast paced, juggle and projectile based combat of Street Fighter. Because of the quality of the team working on the game, the answers didn’t come as a huge surprise but they were awesome to experience.

Gameplay:

Street Fighter X Tekken knew it needed to bring the best to the screen with this combination of two of the most beloved fighting franchises ever. The unique challenge of bringing the two worlds and not just their characters but their signature styles together was one of massive intrigue. Luckily, the Capcom team was able to piece together a unique tag system differing from past Capcom Vs. titles and using core Street Fighter mechanics to create a new but familiar fighting style.

While maintaining the basic three punches, three kicks and back to block control scheme, Capcom was able to put together new combinations using the tag and juggle system allowing players to not only swap characters on the fly but have multiple characters fighting at the same time on the same side. Signature special maneuver’s return in the form of Super Arts to allow for small cinematic beatdowns, giving Street Fighter’s cast their classic favorite moves while Tekken’s roster is introduced to them for the first time. In addition, the game introduces Pandora Mode, tying in to the game’s story, that allows players to sacrifice one of their characters to give their partner a limited boost (that will be fatal if they don’t win the match in time).

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It all started with Summer of Arcade before XBox Live came alive with a series of seasonal promotions to help push new titles for their digital download platform. With the Block Party freshly wrapping up with some hits like Warp, Microsoft has already dropped the list of games for the upcoming Arcade Next promotion set to start on April 18th and wrapping up on May 9th.

Of the four games, only one is a wholly original IP with Bloodforge. Trials Evolution is a sequel to XBLA hit Trials HD and Fable Heroes is a new gameplay style set in the Fables world. The most anticipated of all the titles though may be Minecraft: XBox 360 Edition, a port of the unstoppable indy PC sensation making its debut for the first time on any console system.

Also for the first time, the achievement cap on XBLA has been upped. Starting in April, XBLA titles will be allowed up to 400 Achievement Points and up to 30 total achievements per release. This is a drastic increase from the original 200 point / 12 total achievement maximum that had been in place (well, 250 point maximum if you include the possible 50 points that could be added for DLC.

Take a look at all four titles after the jump and stay tuned to the Flickcast for news and reviews on Trials Evolution, Bloodforge, Fable Heroes and Minecraft: XBox 360 Edition as soon as we get our hands on them.

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Assassin’s Creed III has proven itself a huge point of interest for many gamers since it’s reveal. With the drastic change of scenery from three games set in Renaissance Italy and Constantinople, the idea of a new proper sequel to the series with a completely new continent to adventure upon is one people can’t seem to resist talking about.

Yesterday, Machinima.com got access to an exclusive teaser trailer of Connor, the game’s new protagonist. In it, Connor’s character model is presented in stunning detail, though no gameplay is shown. Instead, the trailer focuses on the tools of the trade Connor will be using, confirming the items originally hinted at in the game’s XBox.com description like the dual pistols and the much anticipated tomahawk.

Interestingly enough, Connor is fairly new to the Assassin brotherhood. The trailer reveals he only joined in 1770 with the game taking place during the American Revolution only a few years later. Many who played the original games will remember that Altair was raised in the Assassins while Ezio was destined to become a part of the order since birth as well. Connor may end up being most like Desmond, the series’ modern day protagonist who has been thrust into his current role.

Take a peek at the teaser after the break. Keep your eyes peeled to The Flickcast for more on Assassin’s Creed III and its new protagonist Connor.

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At the start of the month, rumors consumed PC and console gamers alike at the thought of a Steam created console. Most PC gamers thought to themselves, “Well I’ve already got a Steam box. It’s called my PC.” Console gamers had mixed reactions whether it was excitement at the thought of Steam powered games being available on a home console for the first time while others worried about the thought of adding a fourth major console to their home collection, especially with the impending release of the Wii U, next XBox and PlayStation 4 within the next few years.

These rumors were dispelled in under a week when Valve spoke to gaming site Kotaku saying that the company was a long way off from releasing a home system and that the rumored boxes that had been created were meant for internal purposes only to test streaming content from a PC to television, not acting as a console in and of itself. Valve told Kotaku, “We’re always putting boxes together,” he said. “Going all the way back to the Half-Life 1 days, we built special boxes to test our software render…it’s just part of development.”

While on the surface the concept of a Steam box might sound good, there are a few essential problems it must overcome before this idea should attempt to become a reality. The first is the current state of the home console market. Right now, the console market is dominated by the big three: Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft. While Nintendo diverged from the hardcore gamer with the Wii, they claim to be aiming at taking a hold back on that market with the release of a more powerful Wii U.

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Though one of our contenders for Game of the Year, even The Flickcast has to admit there have been a share of problems in the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (mostly if you were one of the poor souls who chose to play it on the PlayStation 3 though). As expected, another patch is coming out soon to hopefully finally fix the frame rate issues that have afflicted players the further they progress in the PS3 version as well as other quest improvements that had become minor inconveniences.

There will also be new features added to the game. Some of these are minor and only affect the PC like the option for high end rigs to add shadow effects to the grass in the world. Others are awesome visual upgrades like new cinematic kill cameras for projectiles, spells and melee weapons. Take a look below at the kill cam trailer which shows some fantastic new visuals like a full on suplex and an arrow shot high into the air and taking an opponent out with a shot to the head (not the knee unfortunately).

NEW FEATURES

• New cinematic kill cameras for projectile weapons and spells
• New kill moves and animations for melee weapons
• Shadows on grass available (PC)
• Smithing skill increases now factor in the created item’s value
• Improved visual transition when going underwater
• Improved distance LOD transition for snowy landscapes

Check out the new Kill Cam animations trailer after the jump for the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’s 1.5 Patch now in Beta on Steam and coming soon to PlayStation 3 and XBox 360.

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After breaking the 10 million sold mark, it was inevitable that LEGO Batman would receive a sequel. The original was so popular, it became a part of the package deal for the XBox 360 for a time. Back in November of 2011, a few months after LEGO revealed initial designs for their LEGO DC Super Heroes line, Traveller’s Tales and Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment announced that the latest LEGO Batman title would encompass some of the most well known heroes and villains of the DC Universe. Now more than a full three months later, we get a first glimpse of it in action in LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes.

In the trailer below, we see LEGO Batman and his ward LEGO Robin once again, but this time joined by the Man of Steel (or in this case also LEGO) Superman. He makes his way over to Gotham as the Joker is released from Arkham Asylum by Supe’s own nemesis, Lex Luthor (voiced by none other than Clancy Brown).

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One of the best new MMOs out there is going to try to lure you in with a weekend of free play. Now all you worry warts and feet daggers have no excuse to not  jump into this new world and decide first hand if it is worth the price of admission.

Star Wars: The Old Republic is officially offering a weekend pass to new users, which allows players access to eight different classes and the ability to advance your character has high as level fifteen. This limited free-to-play time period begins today and ends on Monday the 19th of March.

The MMO world really needs to evolve with the times and understand that continuous worlds with monthly subscriptions might not be the best tactic anymore. There has been a steady movement towards the free-to-play model in the past few years, and while this specifically is only a weekend free pass, giving anyone and everyone a free chance to play is a step in the right direction.

At the very least many new people will get to experience the clashing of lightsabers in a pretty great game this weekend, and that is wonderful. Head over to the Star Wars: The Old Republic page now and get in on the action while it is offered for the dirt cheap price of nothing.

There has been a wonderful recent trend of classic game franchises that were dormant being given new life with current generation updates. The most recent franchise to get a respectful update is the PC classic MechWarrior.

MechWarrior was a high water mark in PC gaming in the ’90s, offering incredible game play and even better graphics. Back in it’s heyday, no consoles could compete with the graphical power of the top tier PC games, and as such MechWarrior was very much a gamer household name.

Obviously things have changed, and the once proud franchise has almost all been forgotten. That is until the brand new MechWarrior Online releases later this year. The game boasts inedible graphics and real time giant robot physics (if there can be such a thing), meaning over-heating, terrain, weather, and gravity are all going to be factors you must contend with.

At the recently concluded Game Developers Conference, the first game play footage of the new game was revealed. It looks like a nostalgia sandwich wrapped in a shiny, next-gen wrapping. Just watching the game play footage harkins back to a bygone time in PC gaming. First-Person robot destruction still looks like a blast.

Check out the new footage after the jump.

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Adventure games are great. Like, really great. Remember Myst? The Secret of Monkey Island? They just don’t make games like that anymore. Apparently, studios don’t think they’re in demand anymore. They’d rather produce Call of Duty 12.

Which is why Double Fine’s Tim Schafer, best known for amazing titles like Grim Fandango and Psychonauts, decided to do something about the lack of adventure games on the market lately: he started a Kickstarter project.

Kickstarter, for those of you who’ve never heard of it, is a really cool concept where fans can contribute their own cold hard cash to causes they want to see funded. In this case, Tim Schafer wanted $400,000 to create an adventure game, developed by himself and a small team over a six to eight month period.

The process of producing the game would be documented by Two Player Productions, known best for Season 1 of PATV, Penny Arcade’s inter-office television series. Minimum contributions to the project started at as little as $1, but fans who donate $15 to the project will receive a copy of the game via Steam for PC and Mac, exclusive access to the Beta on Steam, access to the video series, and access the private discussion community.

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