Sadly for developer Ubisoft Montreal, the original “Watch Dogs” game will go down in history as nothing short of a critical disappointment. Trailer hype initially sold the original entry in the franchise, and that same hype turned customers and bystanders alike against what was being offered by the Ubisoft studio. But sales are what matter and the financial success of “Watch Dogs” guaranteed a sequel even if a vocal part of the gaming community was condemning it for being a shell of its self shown to the world two years prior. But unlike other game developers who block out all the negativity when it comes to a release, Ubisoft Montreal wanted to make things better with the eventual sequel. Featuring a different setting, characters, and improved gameplay, “Watch Dogs 2” seemed to be hitting all the right notes pre-release – but so have many other games in the past that resulted in a lackluster experience. Being someone who didn’t necessarily enjoy his time with the original “Watch Dogs”, I came into this game with an open mind and looking not to compare it to its predecessor, but see if it can tickle my open-world gaming fancy during one of the busiest times in gaming history.
Did I Complete “Watch Dogs 2”
Following the events in Chicago where the first game’s lead did his worst Batman impression while trying to expose how people’s privacy was being used against them, the focus moves from “The Windy City” to the beautiful city of San Francisco where the player takes control of Marcus Holloway as his home place installs the central Operating System (ctOS) that “connects everyone with everything”. Teaming up with hacker group DedSec, Marcus takes it upon himself to be the city’s unknown guiding light to reveal just how badly people are getting duped by those supposedly with their best interests at heart.
I took my sweet time with the story, choosing to take in the game’s atmosphere while completing side missions galore. Once the online servers became stable and more people were able to play, I joined the worldwide community to hunt bounties, participate in co-op missions, hack other people’s money, and even put a price on my head just to see who could handle my sniper rifle when they came for me. I finished the main story and achieved a platinum trophy by completing everything on the trophy list around thirty hours and still had a few interesting things left to do including a couple of side missions and some more online fun.
Did “Watch Dogs 2” Live Up to the Hype?
The game doesn’t take its time of throwing the player into a situation where it becomes obvious this “Watch Dogs” is more about stealth and divide & conquer than shooting peephole in the heads. Being equipped with a stun gun and a billiard ball attached to a short bungee cord (the “thunderball”), Marcus can hide behind various objects, sneak behind an enemy, and either choke them out or pull off a long-winded series of acrobatic strikes as if Holloway is rocking a pair of nunchucks. That’s not to mean Marcus can’t embrace his inner homicidal maniac though it doesn’t fit with his character for obvious reasons. Thanks to a 3D printer available at every safe house, Marcus can produce a variety of weapons and gadgets including sniper rifles (my personal favorite) and explosive devices that can be turned into highly advantageous mines. Not surprisingly, Marcus can’t take a lot of bullets to the body and will usually die quickly in more open environments if a firefight occurs. The 3D printer is also responsible for two of the most important items in Holloway’s fight against the unforeseen tyrannical force rising from the depths of home insecurity – the quadcopter drone (that can drop those aforementioned explosives once Marcus unlocks the ability to do so) and a remote-controlled car known as “The Jumper” (because it can jump really well). These two items allow for sleuthing when and where Marcus cannot as the protagonist can send his electronic buddies through various ventilation shafts, infiltrate enemy bases, and, in the case of The Jumper, even perform hacking of certain objects needed to progress missions when it would result in Marcus’ death if he went in and tried to do it himself.
While the devices and weaponry are essential in Marcus’ survival, it’s his abilities that can be upgraded by completing missions, gaining followers and collecting “research points” & “key data” that proves to be his greatest tools. Spread across three categories (“Aggressive”, “Ghost” & “Trickster”) is seven sub-categories that feature perks that can be purchased to help Marcus accomplish his goals in a variety of ways. If you like to gun & run, put all of your research points in the “Marksmanship” sub-category. Want to hack your way through the game – then stick to “Social Engineering” and put out hits on enemies using rival gang members, stealing money from random strangers, and even getting people arrested on false charges. While sticking to one play style can work, well-roundedness is the key to success and, thankfully, enough points are dished out to try and see what works best for each individual play style. The only problem is the perks’ cost. Not surprisingly, higher-end perks cost a lot more research points than the elementary abilities. But the player must also find “Key Data” to unlock the perks as well as a high number of points – meaning Marcus will be going around the town in the most dangerous of areas to get that one “Key Data” necessary to create city-wide blackouts and the like.
Even though it’s annoying that collectables (thankfully few in number) are necessary to find if a player really wants to see the depths of Marcus’ abilities, the city itself is interesting enough to convince someone to experience it in the fullest thanks to a variety of missions that can see Marcus crippling a new religion similar to Scientology, being an Uber driver, or taking selfies in front of monuments. The NPCs and random people found throughout San Francisco are just as interesting as the beautifully rendered world of bright colors, hilltops and more coffee shops than the eye can see. Beyond the ability to hack and read text chats or listen to phone conversations, there are day-to-day moments that a player will witness that make the experience of simply walking through the world more profound. During my time playing I experienced many interesting sights including a drunken woman lamenting about an apparent breakup, guys just randomly dancing in the back alley of a nearby bar, and even an argument where a man hit his significant other – causing me through Marcus to call the cops on him. Marcus’ appearance is fully customizable from a clothing perspective and just adds to the immersion. “Watch Dogs 2’s” version of San Fran is such a delight and a great example as to why all open world games doesn’t have to be dark and brooding.
While the side missions are various in nature, a majority of the main missions are anything but as the usual missions involve Holloway infiltrating an area (with his gear, by doing it himself, or both), taking down or sneaking past enemies, getting information, completing one of the copious amount of circuit puzzles (including some frustratingly timed versions) placed throughout the game and leaving the area and/or escaping pursuers. As Marcus “levels up”, main missions became a lot more interesting as the environments usually allow for a variety of methods to succeed even if the formula is essentially the same. But success can be greatly hindered by the game’s biggest flaw: the AI. With stealth being a main component of making it through any given mission, Marcus is put in a world where his enemies have sight lines for miles (literally), rarely miss when shooting at their target, and, most distressingly, have the ability to know exactly where Marcus is if one enemy spots him without even alerting the rest of his crew. Latter missions can almost become instant failures if an adversary sees Marcus. Even worse is the fact Marcus can’t hide knocked out or slain bodies; meaning if an enemy finds a fallen ally the entire group goes hunting and usually a random, unmarked guard just so happens to stumble upon the culprit. Cops are exceptionally annoying as well with aggressiveness unlike any other open-world game seen this generation since the original “Watch Dogs”.
Another flaw with “Watch Dogs 2” is its driving. Though better than the original game, driving in “2” would make anyone believe that friction doesn’t exist in San Francisco as the rather weightless & floaty vehicles can easily spin out with a light tap of the e-brake as if the pavement is covered in ice. Add that to the fact the controls when using the radio station are terrible as well. On the PS4, you have to hold down the touch pad and move the right analog stick left or right to change the station – meaning the player would either have to stop the car and change the station, or use three fingers in an odd manner to complete the task. Whoever came up with this idea shouldn’t be allowed to create controller schemes ever again.
The plot isn’t a strong suit as well, but isn’t bad either. The biggest problem with the story is the fact it doesn’t really know where it’s going during its first five or so hours. Though the main antagonist is introduced early on, he really isn’t the focus, but just a benefactor in an overall larger problem that entices DedSec to go out and do things like un-rig an election or expose police brutality by robbing the police and getting them killed. The leads including Marcus really don’t have any type of tried and true back-story; just short audio logs that explain how each character came into the group – information that can be missed if the player isn’t paying attention. Only one character has a real back-story and connection to the overall endgame (both DedSec’s eventual goal and the plot’s finale), but that’s only because he’s a returning character from the original franchise’s entry. Even some of the final missions don’t make sense in context of the story, but could only happen later in the game due to the difficulty levels – thus making everything feel disjointed from a narrative perspective. The main characters themselves, though almost absurd caricatures of youthful angst and a believe they can change the world in this current digital climate, are warm, likeable, and downright fun as if you’ve known them for years and you’re just peaking in on their current escapades. The characters from Marcus, to den mother & DedSec’s graphic designer Sitara, the emoji-displaying mask-wearing Wrench all feel “lived in’ and help make up for a rather disappointing story.
Multiplayer returns in the same fashion as the original game, but a lot better in this iteration. After a rocky start (to the point the function was taken down completely the first week of release) the “seamless” multiplayer allows gamers to drop in and out of someone else’s game to complete co-op missions that usually involve infiltrating an area and fetching something like a bag of money, hack someone’s information to get money, and complete bounties to make money (there seems to be a theme here) or even put a bounty on the player’s head to become the prey for someone else looking to get a good chunk of change & followers at someone else’s lethal expense. The ability to turn off the online functionality is there, so if someone doesn’t enjoy it they can simply play offline and avoid moments like a hacking scenario starting in the middle of a mission (something that happened to yours truly a few times).
In further regards to the game’s functionality, I was one of the lucky few to suffer only one major crash that occurred, thankfully, between missions. Graphical glitches were few and far between, but frame rate drops while driving through the city were numerous more than likely due to the game’s incredible draw distance that allows the player to see what’s around Marcus for miles. Slow down can be made even worst when employing multiplayer action depending on the connection quality of the person joining.
There are so many things that “Watch Dogs 2” does right from a core gameplay perspective that even the narrative and minor functionality flaws can’t hinder an overall incredible experience.
Should You Play “Watch Dogs 2”?
If “Watch Dogs 2” was the franchise’s debut entry a lot of people would be deeming it the pinnacle of open-world gaming during the eighth generation’s formative months, but it was not to be and, unfortunately, it hurt the overall perception of what was to come. What came was a stylish, fundamentally sound, thoroughly enjoyable game featuring rock solid game play, brain-twisting puzzles, and a group of characters that, while annoying and culturally satirical at times, are warm and feel like an eventual quintet of people you not only want to root for, but wouldn’t mind living in their world alongside them for a while. Though there are pacing issues when it comes to the plot, driving is still a drag, and the ridiculous AI omnipresence, it doesn’t take away from the fact “Watch Dogs 2” is a fantastic production that, unlike the first game, has me excited to see what the next installment could be and loving what the present is currently delivering.
