19 November,2016 11:32 PM IST | | Jaison Lewis
With relatable characters, refined gameplay and edgy machinery, Watchdogs 2 outdoes its predecessor
The previous Watchdogs oversold and under-delivered. It was meant to be an open world, but it was a linear one hidden in a sandbox environment. The first Watchdogs, though appreciated by some, left many disappointed. The latest edition of the story takes over after the first one got over. This time it's a different town, with a more connected character.
The events take place after lone wolf Aiden Pearce took down Blume in Chicago all by himself. However, the Blume Corporation and its ctOS have risen like a phoenix and spread all over America.
Watchdogs 2 takes place in the San Francisco Bay Area, where our hacker Marcus Holloway joins the DedSec Hacker collective to once again take down Blume and its annoying ctOS.
As mentioned, Marcus is not alone. You have a group of characters coordinating with you every step of the way and, somehow, this scenario makes the game more relatable than the first one. The characters are also well thought out and seem to fit seamlessly into what we believe is hacker culture. You will genuinely feel for these characters and that is the beauty of Watchdogs 2.
The developers also managed to fix a lot of issues with their open world approach to the game. While the previous game forced you to follow the set path, this one lets you explore the city.
The map is better designed and you won't get that sense of Déjà vu like you felt in the last game. The game also lets you drive anywhere on the map relatively quickly.
Marcus has all the skills Aiden had in the first game with two new fun additions - a RC car and a quadcopter. These two tools can be used to complete any level, turning it into a puzzle. You would definitely want to unlock this device early on.
The mission can be finished in multiple ways, and though it is tempting to go in guns blazing we would say take your time and do the mission right. Gunfights like the first game, are not fun or intuitive. While you have access to lots of weaponry - thanks to 3D printing, it is pretty much useless because the gunplay is so bad. In some situations, you may feel like you need to shoot stuff, but, try and resist the temptation.
The gameplay is also more refined and fun. The snitch skill is particularly interesting as it forges evidence and informs cops of the location of your enemies.
A gun battle will follow and you can quietly complete your mission once the two parties have eliminated each other. It is a lazy way to finish missions, but there is a sadistic satisfaction attached to it. We, however, hated all the timed missions, and hope that at some point developers decide against it in open world games.
Also, while the game tries to paint the hackers as an anonymous group, the missions betray that portrayal.
In general, Watchdogs 2 is definitely a better game than its predecessor. If you were a fan of the first one, this will blow your mind.
We aren't very sure about the overall message the game sends, but it isn't a bad game to play. The quadcopter and the RC cars are just brilliant and make this game worth the experience.
Watchdogs 2
Rating: 3.5/5
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platform: PC, PS4, XOne
Price: '1,799;
Consoles: '3,499
