Cyrus Langhorne
[With Ubisoft’s long-awaited sequel to 2014’s Watch Dogs video game, Watch Dogs 2, finally out – SOHH wasted little time and jumped right into what might result as the best game of the year. Needless to say, the countless hours of gaming and being lured in by immensely beautiful graphics fueled our need to give you the top five things you’ll love about Watch Dogs 2!]
1. Weapon Use
While in a day and age where digital guns reign supreme, it should be no surprise a video game has gone the extra mile to come steady packing with an arsenal that’d make every NRA member drool with happiness. However, it’s the effectiveness of going in a slightly more open world than its predecessor which makes the option to use guns in Watch Dogs 2 truly in the hands of the beholder. It’s easy to go with your gut feeling and grab the first available lethal weapon, but the genius of Watch Dogs 2 is quickly realizing – in most cases – a gun or deadly rifle are not needed to complete a mission. You may say, “Then why even have it in there,” but that’s the genius of Watch Dogs 2. The decisions you make, right or wrong, ultimately shape up your experience. Want to take the easy way out and go guns blazing – somewhat compromising the beauty of true hacking? Go for it. Want to respect the hacker’s code and thrive on your true skills – your brain power – to outwit and crush your enemies without pulling a trigger? It’s yours. Watch Dogs 2 does an excellent job of putting the weapons in your face and making you, the player, determine your own fate and overall experience.
2. Call Up The Troops – Cops & Gangs
If there’s one thing you have to love, it’s the fact enemies and allies come in all shapes and forms these days – especially in video games. We’re living in times where on-screen companies rip open your guts seemingly out of nowhere and where your worst enemy sometimes comes to the rescue. In Watch Dogs 2, you will thrive especially when you rely on the most uncommon of allies – cops and robbers. Without spoiling too much for you, imagine you have to grab some key intel or an asset from within gang territory? While you may be tempted to grab the gun (remember what was mentioned up above) it really pays off when your wit comes into play and you cleverly have a S.W.A.T. team run up on the gang territory and enjoy a lovely shootout, all the while going in and grabbing what you wanted in the first place. Want to see some rival gangs go at it? The ability is available once you start up Watch Dogs 2 and get the main missions rolling.
3. It’s Not GTA (& That’s 100 % OK!)
The beauty of Rockstar Games is its franchise piece, Grand Theft Auto. No matter what mega franchise you are, the question always remains – “Is it better than GTA?” Even games within Rockstar are compared to the incredible track record GTA has created. And that’s fine. Watch Dogs 2 is not GTA. It simply is not – but that’s not a bad thing. One of the first things you’ll notice if you’ve never played the original Watch Dogs game is how much of this war and endless battle is based on mental in-game decisions. More specifically, you do not need to blast your way through heists or drive around town for a little you-know-what late at night. Instead, it comes down to putting your hacking skills to the full test and out-thinking your enemies. Just imagine the amount of love and attention your iPhone or Samsung phone receives and multiply it by 100 to get an idea of how intense these in-game hackers are. They know their stuff and as you progress in this game, you quickly realize this is not GTA but an incredible body of work on its own.
4. Extreme Detail
Things have changed since the glory days of Super Mario Bros. There’s digital quality, HD screens, 1080 projections even 4K has stepped everyone’s gaming experiences up. All of these factors help make Watch Dogs 2’s scenes stand out that much more. While Watch Dogs took place in Chicago, you can grab the flip flops and shorts for the luxurious sights San Francisco, California has to offer. Whether you are near The Bay or going through the hood, the amount of detail in Watch Dogs 2 is immense. From campuses to the Golden Gate Bridge, this fun outing is non-stop eye candy. It’s easy to get lost while playing Watch Dogs 2 from just looking at how much detail is placed in real places and similar areas often seen in movies.
5. The Gang’s Riding W/ You
If there’s one thing you won’t miss from Watch Dogs, it’s the lonely factor. The revenge-driven Aiden Pearce storyline has been tossed out and instead, a much younger, hipper and fun-going Marcus Holloway is who you control. Not as serious as the first title, Watch Dogs 2 relies on Marcus’ witty ways but even more so on the crew he keeps around him – DedSec. The mood is much lighter, even pretty playful, and the networking of hackers Marcus has with him goes from start to finish. Even on missions where you’re all out on your own, you still experience instances where dialogue goes down or you receive communication with your pals. Watch Dogs 2 not only brings more fun but it brings a gang of new faces, characters and personalities to help keep the journey going through to the credits!
To grab your own Watch Dogs 2 copy or get more details, visit: https://watchdogs.ubisoft.com/watchdogs/en-US/home/
