I'm ducking behind cover, laying traps for the enemies and tensely watching as the download is slowly going towards 100%. This is one of the most thrilling moments in Watch Dogs 2, a superb sequel from the talented team at Ubisoft Montreal. Watch Dogs 2 brings much needed fun and energy to the series, a far cry (yes, pun intended, Ubisoft fans) from the drab original entry that promised so much. Gone is the "I must kill everyone and have zero personality" Aiden Pierce from the first game, and here is Marcus Holloway, a guy who has a mission but also has personality.
Unlike Pierce, Marcus isn't out for blood and revenge, but rather a mission to take down a powerful corporation and all their invasive data gathering. Backing up Marcus is a respectable backing cast of hackers that help keep the story moving in a nice flow while still adding personality and humour. Can't really say much for the villain, leader of Blume and head of ctOS, and generally presented as a stereotypical douche. This is probably by design, but it's no secret that Ubisoft's biggest writing challenge is balancing a good villain with appropriate screen time.
That being said, it is hard to complain about Watch Dogs 2. It puts an extra focus on hacking, and is much more accessible than the previous entry. Hacking usually consists of a nice and usually not frustrating connect-the-pipes system, or using your drone or RC to get to spots you can not. These new toys bring whole new life into the series, it lets you play the game the way you want. Do you think Marcus isn't a killer, and want to play stealth and only knock out enemies? These toys will make it much easier by circumventing physical interaction in some cases and scouting out enemy positions. Or you can play it as a full on GTA shooter with a respectable cover system and solid shooting mechanics. The choice is yours. Personally I played non-lethal until I was caught and then it was guns out.
As you play through the game you unlock upgrades for the drone, RC, hacking and shooting. The game never points you in a direction so you can find yourself focusing on one thing pretty easily. This is a game where it's best to be thinking about a certain play style and not trying to spread yourself too thin. That being said, the first thing you want to do is upgrade the toys because a huge part of collectables depend on them. Marcus is much more nimble than Aiden was but he still won't make certain jumps you might expect so you have to rely on hacking or your toys to find your way to a top of a tricky building.
Watch Dogs 2 offers you a substantial world to explore, recreating huge chunks of San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Oakland. Unlike some games, like GTA 5, the activities in the world don't fill forced into the world. It is perfectly reasonable Marcus will fill his spare time with drone races, dirt biking and boating, to name a few. Of course this being an open world game and an Ubisoft game, there is plenty of juicy collectables to eat up your time too.
There is also a great side activity called Driver San Francisco, a nod to a previous Ubisoft gem. In this activity you drive what is basically an Uber service to unusual characters, and some of the conversations are hilarious. The driving in the game isn't the tightest, still very arcade-y, but I still found myself driving long distances instead of fast travelling. The fast travelling gets an extra nod because it is available right away, no "Ubisoft formula" of getting to the top of a building to unlock areas and fast travel. There is your basic music channels to listen to on the way but for a rock fan like myself, the soundtrack isn't anything to write home about.
Another fun side activity to fill your time is ScoutX, which is basically snap chat. A notification will pop up when you're by landmarks and you take a selfie in front of them. This is a great way for people to learn more about the beautiful city as you get all the famous places you can think of, plus lots you never heard about unless you're a resident of the city. There is also some funny objectives in ScoutX, like take a selfie with a giant donut mascot or a butch lesbian bouncer.
Ubisoft Montreal does a good job of creating it's virtual world, with beautiful bright colours filling in for the drab greys that Chicago brought in the first game. There is one mission where I'm at the very top of the Golden Gate bridge and the view rivalled that of other graphic power house games like Witcher 3 and Rise of the Tomb Raider. The game is filled with such great little moments, like when I found a garden gnome guarding a well hidden treasure. This is hopefully a homage to Half-Life 2.
The attention to detail in the environment is commendable, especially the graffiti. Not everything is so beautiful though. While the main cast of characters are wonderfully detailed, some of the NPCs are quite flat and ugly, especially noticeable in the Driver activity. The way they enter and leave the car is very stiff too, they feel almost out of place beside a detailed Marcus. This is a minor complaint though and the game also ran at smooth frame rate for me (post 7 GB patch) during my near forty hour running time.
The story moves along at a good pace and while you hack all the time, it never feels repetitive. As mentioned before, the main villain is hard to care about but Marcus' and his friend's motivations are never in doubt. Watch Dogs 2 does point a heavy finger at corporations like Google and Facebook, and the government about data gathering and where this might lead us, but to me it never felt forced or over the top. The characters are so well written and the voice actors do a great job bringing them to life.
I found the side missions were some of the best in the game and well recommended you track them down. I say track them down because you have to enter what is essentialy "Arkham Vision" to see objects or people that will trigger the side mission. A famous one that you probably heard about was over hearing a phone conversation from an employee from Ubisoft San Francisco try to damage control leaks. They mention "Unity, Syndicate and Osiris", almost confirming the next entry in the AC series. Of course you then have to break into Ubisoft San Francisco, a great way to hide an easter egg for what may be a new game from Ubisoft.
This is the one of the year's best games and Ubisoft Montreal delivers on a sequel to a game that had so much potential. It is fun to play, the hacking makes you feel powerful and the main cast of characters serve their purpose. It is going to be hard to imagine where Ubisoft will take the sequel after the events of this game but let's hope it keeps the same playful tone and excellent game play.