Last month we brought you a brief overview of the downloadable additions coming to United Front Games’ Hong Kong action movie simulator Sleeping Dogs during the month of October. It being the 11t, we were growing a bit anxious over when this stuff would finally show up, but then this morning publisher Square Enix revealed that the upcoming “Street Racer Pack” would debut for the game’s PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC iterations on October 16. Regardless of platform, picking up this DLC offering will set you back about $4.
As for what your money will get you, that title should be a pretty big hint. This particular DLC offering is focused on the game’s racing elements, which while optional side missions in Sleeping Dogs were pretty entertaining. In an effort to boost the appeal of these diversions, the Street Racer Pack adds a new superbike, dubbed “Sting” that features “incredible acceleration and handling,” as well as a new racing jacket and helmet. Though these new clothes are labeled “Dragon,” they have nothing to do with the yellow jumpsuit homage to Bruce Lee found natively in Sleeping Dogs; instead they provide extra protection against both gunfire and car crashes.
As for new races, the Street Racer Pack has three on offer. The first, “Kamikaze,” is as described as a race “up and down the winding tracks of the city’s Victoria Peak.” Whether that suggests multiple routes, multiple races or simply one long relay-style race remains to be seen. The second race, “Cross Island Enduro,” is, as its name suggests, an endurance race where players are tasked with navigating a motorcycle from one end of Sleeping Dog’s fictionalized island of Hong Kong to the other as fast as possible. The final race, “Harbor Run,” throws a bit of variety into the mix, as instead of cars or bikes players are tasked with racing speedboats. As producer Dan Sochan points out, Harbor Run marks the first aquatic race in Sleeping Dogs to date. Intriguingly, Sochan did not say that this was the only boat race planned for the title.
As for the rest of the DLC we mentioned in September, there’s so far no word on when we might expect to see it appear. Given that there’s only about 20 days left in October, and United Front Games promised that the SWAT Pack, Tactical Soldier Pack and Community Gift Pack would appear this month, we’re hoping the studio gets a move on. Especially since we’ve so far failed to mention the firm’s other promise: That it would reveal the first story-expanding DLC addition for Sleeping Dogs during the 2012 New York Comic Con, an event which started this morning, and is scheduled to run through October 14. Hopefully whenever United Front Games gets around to detailing that addition, the company will also outline the next few weeks of Sleeping Dogs’ DLC road map. We’ll keep you updated as information appears.