"We're hackers. We out-think, we out dare. I saw we tear down the wall. Show to world what they...what Blume are up to. Show the world what their personal data is being used for".
- Marcus Holloway, Watch Dogs 2
This fall quarter of games seems to involve a rebel's rise to fight back against the machine that runs the system we live in. Dishonored 2 lead the pack involving a story of being on your own and taking back what's yours. Watch Dogs 2 seem to be on a path that involves not letting those in power have absolute power over you and your life. I will be honest, I did not play the first Watch Dogs. It didn't catch my attention because I didn't under it. I sort of judged the game as something I wouldn't like before I tried it and saw what it had to offer. Most reviewers said the original Watch Dog fell real short of expectations, and this is why such drastic changes was needed for the sequel.
Fortunately for me, Watch Dogs 2 is its own game and doesn't pick up from the roots of its predecessor. Watch Dog 2 features its first black lead character Marcus Holloway. Marcus is part of a hacker group known as Dedsec, a hacker group with the mission to take down the advance surveillance system of San Francisco.
Watch Dogs 2 plays much like GTA open world with the ability to interact with NPC's non-linear and complete missions in multiple ways. There is a multi-player feature similar to GTA online that allows you to complete missions online together. During the game your objective is use gadgets to hack people, devices, and vehicles to gain information.
Story
The story of Watch Dogs 2 is not as accurate or as punishing as GTA with a story that made you come to grips with the horrible reality of your life choices, insight on dysfunctional families and complete loss of control of your life. 30+ hours of story in Watch Dog 2 about finding who created the corrupt system and finding ways to bring them down. Marcus has a criminal record that he wants erased, so he works with some hackers to clean his record. Marcus eventually sees the bigger picture after the group informs him that a government agency ran by someone name Blume has intent on data mining citizens and controlling information for evil intentions. If you seen the movie hackers, then a lot alluding to the movie plot is done in this game.
There is a lot of 1984 big brother is watching and controlling everything you do in this game. Since you don't like how Big Brother tracks and follows you, you become Little Brother and do the same thing but also bring the system down. Watch Dogs 2 follows most video game motto of the core belief is that the main characters are right, and everyone else is wrong. In order to combat Blume's government take over, Dedsec intends on creating a celebrity persona and gaining millions of followers online. The followers they gain have online profiles and information that they will hack and data mine. Somehow all this will counter the efforts of the government control. You're goal is to use your team's diverse background and ability/traits to unit as a whole to stop the exploitation of the common public and take down CtOS 2.0
Culture Shock
There is definite emphasis in the counter-culture and underground or indie scene in Watch Dogs 2. Developers really went out of their way to represent the small groups society want to forget, judge, or overlook. When developers made the lead African American, that offended a lot of players in the video community. I do not know why having a black character as the lead effects anything. Ignorance is bliss to some I guess. Well, if that wasn't enough there are cannabis cultures and nudist camps. If you went to a strip club in GTA V, then this isn't a shortcoming that will not offend you.
Flaws
Well this game fell into the pit of what most open world games do. It struggled to stay focus. The balance between narrative and game-play really got of hand quick. Implementation of using gadgets to complete missions can be inconsistent and less supportive to complete the task. On some missions, you use gadgets to complete objective. Well, sometimes the gadgets glitch and the AI is very dumb. I see a bug to fix this. Stealth is key this game where working in the shadows to do damage is key, but this aspect of the game is loose but fixable. Focus mode from the original is gone.
The game feels very empty. Aside from completing the main objective of building a social media following by doing things like driving crazy and acting guards to stick it to the man, there ain't much substance to stray from this linear path of the story line. Tagging the Golden Gate Bridge for attention on the social media seems more of a joke than purpose driven.
Perks
This game is one of the few open world games that play equally to PC. The FPS in PS4 is averaging 30 FPS. Resolutions of 1080P handle well, and keep the architecture detailed and NPC presence solid. It's like Crazy Taxi, where it's an accurate detailing of San Francisco. The soundtrack is very smooth and appropriate for the action and setting of tone for the antics of a hacker group against the authority. You have research points to level up your abilities which are key to progressing the game. This leveling up task is mundane, but farming for skill points is a key part of role playing games.
Overall
The game has potential and the actors did their best with what they had. Watch Dogs 2 is light years better than what the first game established, and to be honest with a few DLC's it has the foundation and mechanics to be a great game. Lots of patches are need to be the game function solid, so I will say for what it attempted to do which is be different from the pack...Watch Dogs 2 stood as its own beast. I give Watch Dogs 2 at 9.0 out of 10.
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