Watch Dogs 2
Watch Dogs 2 | |
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multiplayer |
Watch Dogs 2 is a 2016
Ubisoft Montreal studied player feedback from the first game to assess what could be improved in Watch Dogs 2 and the setting was researched by making frequent trips to California. Ubisoft Reflections was responsible for overhauling the driving mechanic. Real hackers were consulted to validate scripts and game mechanics for authenticity and references to real-life hacktivism were fictionalized, like the Project Chanology protest. The original soundtrack was composed by Hudson Mohawke. The game was released to overall positive reception from critics which praised the game for improving upon the original Watch Dogs in areas like the hacking, setting, characters, and driving controls. However, the characterization and frequent technical issues — later patched — were cited as imperfections. Watch Dogs 2 had sold more than 10 million copies by March 2020. A sequel, Watch Dogs: Legion, was released on October 29, 2020.
Gameplay
Similar to its predecessor, Watch Dogs 2 is an
Marcus can hack into various electronic devices connected to the ctOS system with his in-game smartphone.[4] For example, Marcus can modify the personal information of NPCs to have them arrested or attacked by one of the various gangs such as the 580s, the Tezcas, the Auntie Shu Boys, the Bratva or the Sons of Ragnarok,[5] hack and manipulate every mobile phone featured in the game, disrupt traffic by hacking cars and traffic lights, hack into monitoring cameras, and carry out "mass hacking", which hacks the electrical equipment of a large group of people.[13] The player can also gain multiple options while hacking the same object. For instance, if the player attempts to hack a car, they can gain direct control over them, or have the car lose control and crash in a random direction.[14] Unlike Aiden, the protagonist of the first game, Marcus has an arsenal of advanced equipment, including a quadcopter and remote-controlled car, both of which can be used for remote hacking and scouting.[7] Marcus' apparel can be customized with over 700 articles of clothing, available for purchase in stores that maintain fashion styles unique to what is worn by the denizens in each area.[15] The game features several main story missions, and side-missions known as "operations". Once completed, Marcus' follower count will increase.[16]
Multiplayer
Multiplayer returns in Watch Dogs 2. The game introduces a cooperative multiplayer mode, in which players can meet and interact with other random players. They can explore the open world and complete missions together, which will also help players to gain followers. The game features an emote system, which allows players' characters to communicate with each other through basic gestures. The game can be played completely online or offline.[17] It also features six competitive multiplayer modes:
- Hacking Invasion: A one-versus-one competitive multiplayer mode, originally featured in the first game, in which a player covertly joins another player's single-player session and steals virtual data from them. The invading player must stay hidden while stealing the data, while the defending player must identify and kill the invading player.[18]
- Bounty Hunter: A mode introduced in the game. If an online player creates too much chaos in the world, the mode will be initiated. Alternatively, a player can manually initialize this game mode. Police, alongside one to three other players, will join the player's game with the hope of killing the hunted and claiming the bounty, which gives them experience points. The hunted could either strike back at the hunters by killing them, which gives them greater rewards, or escape from them until the bounty expires.[4][19] The hunted, meanwhile, also can be assisted by another player if that player chooses to join the hunted. Players can manually place a bounty on themselves using the in-game smartphone.[20]
- Showd0wn: A mode added in an update. In this mode, 2 teams of 2 players battle each other in short missions. Missions vary from the first team to steal the hard drives to the offensive team having to hack the servers the defensive team is protecting in a limited amount of time.[21]
- Racing: A mode added in an update. Up to four players compete in head-to-head races to reach the finish line with drones, ekarts, boats, and bikes.[22]
- Man vs Machine: A mode added in an update. Up to four players work together to take down a machine in a narrow time frame.[23]
- Loot Trucks: A mode added in an update. Up to four players compete in a head-to-head battle to steal a valuable box from a truck, and escape the police and other players. This event has a chance to randomly occur while a player is free-roaming, but can also be manually triggered.[21]
Plot
In 2016, three years after the events of Chicago, San Francisco becomes the first city to install the next generation of ctOS (central Operating System) – a computing network connecting every device together into a single system, developed by technology company Blume. Hacker Marcus Holloway, punished for a crime he did not commit through ctOS 2.0, decides to join the hacking group DedSec (composed of hackers Sitara Dhawan, Josh Sauchak, Horatio Carlin, and "Wrench"), and conducts an initiation test by hacking a Blume server farm to wipe his profile from the system. DedSec determines that the new ctOS can covertly harm innocent citizens across the city, and thus decides to bring about awareness of their goals through conducting a social media campaign to recruit, by exposing corruption and crimes being conducted through the system, before bringing down Blume.
After several successful exposures, Josh discovers a number of irregularities in their follower numbers. When Marcus investigates this, he learns that DedSec has been used by Blume's CTO Dušan Nemec, in order to sell ctOS 2.0 to those frightened at being hacked. Forced to leave the city for a while, DedSec partake in a hacking event in the desert, and encounter legendary hacker Raymond "T-Bone" Kenney. Interested in assisting them, Kenney joins DedSec as they work to continue their fight against Blume. After hacking the server farm of a major internet company, the group use the data they acquire to pursue and expose corruption amongst law enforcement officers, politicians, and numerous
Eventually, DedSec comes across information about the data manipulation program called "Bellwether", designed by Kenney, and learn that with both this and a new satellite network, designed to bypass undersea data cables, Dušan plans to manipulate world finances and politics, thus creating a monopoly on the entire world's electronic data. To expose this and his corruption, DedSec co-ordinates a massive operation to allow Marcus to infiltrate Blume's San Francisco headquarters, hack their servers, and feed the information of Dušan's crimes to the police. While Dušan is arrested for fraud and Blume is put under investigation, DedSec resolves to continue their fight against the company.
In an extended ending scene added in a post-release patch, two unidentified individuals note that more DedSec cells and hacktivist groups have been emerging worldwide in response to the San Francisco Blume scandal, and that it is time to put their own plans into motion. The filename of the recording seen in the ending is a set of coordinates located in Brixton, London; foreshadowing future events.
Development
At
The developer worked with consultant
Ubisoft Montreal made frequent scouting trips to California to research the setting, and attempted to put most of the local landmarks in that region in the game. For regions that they could not put in the game, the team redesigned these locations and put them back into the game. According to producer Dominic Guay, having realistic and accurate locations featured in the game was essential for the game as they encourage players to explore the open world. Unlike many of Ubisoft's previous open world games, players do not need to climb towers in order to discover locations and missions. Instead, the game is opened up from the start, allowing players to explore the city freely. The game's new progression system, which tasks players to gain followers instead of completing main missions, was another way Ubisoft Montreal hoped to encourage exploration and make the city feel more "free".[33][34] Watch Dogs 2 had around sixty programmers devoted to its development.[35]
A sequel to Watch Dogs was rumored since its release but first officialized by publisher Ubisoft through financial reports in February[36] and May 2016,[37] before it was confirmed as a part of the 2016 E3 lineup. A 20-minute online reveal was hosted a couple of days later.[38] On October 27, 2016, Watch Dogs 2 was announced to have been released to manufacturing.[39]
The game engine is an upgraded version of
Music
The soundtrack was composed by
Release
On June 8, 2016, Ubisoft revealed the game would be released on November 15 of that year for
Pre-ordering "The Gold Edition Collector's Edition" included additional content such as weapon skins, vehicles and drones; the "Deluxe Collector's Edition" contains the same, but excluded the
The game was released for cloud-based streaming services Amazon Luna and Google Stadia on November 23, 2020, and December 9, 2020, respectively.[56][57]
Downloadable content
Five downloadable content (DLC) packs have been released: the "T-Bone Content Bundle", "Human Conditions", "No Compromise", "Root Access Bundle", and "Psychedelic Pack".[58][59] As per an exclusivity agreement with Sony Interactive Entertainment, all DLCs for Watch Dogs 2 were timed exclusives for PlayStation 4.[60]
- Root Access Bundle (available in December 2016)[61] and Psychedelic Pack (available on launch day) feature a Zodiac Killer mission as well as new outfits, cars, skins, and weapons.[58][59]
- The T-Bone Content Bundle was released for PlayStation 4 on December 22, 2016,[62] and includes a new co-op difficulty setting, "Mayhem", plus the clothes and truck of the original Watch Dogs character Raymond "T-Bone" Kenney.[58][59]
- Human Conditions was released on February 21, 2017 for the PlayStation 4 and on March 23 for the Xbox One and PC,[63] and includes three new stories set in San Francisco's science and medicine industries. The pack also includes new co-op missions featuring a new enemy class called "the Jammer", a technologically savvy enemy capable of jamming all of a player's hacker equipment, making them vulnerable to head-on attacks.[58][59]
- No Compromise was released on April 18, 2017 for PlayStation 4 and was launched on 18 May for Windows and Xbox One, featuring a new story mission, outfits and weapons.[64]
Reception
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Metacritic | (PC) 75/100[65] (PS4) 82/100[66] (XONE) 81/100[67] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
Destructoid | 8.5/10[68] |
Electronic Gaming Monthly | 8/10[69] |
Game Informer | 7.75/10[70] |
GameRevolution | [71] |
IGN | 8.5/10[72] |
Polygon | 8/10[73] |
VideoGamer.com | 8/10[74] |
Watch Dogs 2 received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[65][66][67] Technical issues on consoles were fixed with the Update 1.04 patch.[75] In his review, Destructoid's Zack Furniss praised the sequel's tonal shift to a lack of seriousness and stated that its protagonist Marcus Holloway boasted a similar charm and wit. He thought well of the hacking component as it was suggestible to multiple fields of use, and enjoyed its nature of compatibility with a non-lethal approach; in fact, Furniss felt that for this reason firearms could have been excluded entirely. The driving was lauded as an improvement from the first game, yet technical issues like glitches and low frame rates were cited as shortcomings.[68] To Matt Buchholtz, writing for EGM, the game signified "less a hacktivist tale and more a beautiful immersion into the San Francisco Bay". The setting, characters and story were cited as considerable refinements from its predecessor. Buchholtz discerned that the tasks demanded to gain followers were successful in encouraging world exploration. He noted however that – in context of the main character – murder made little sense, which led to increased usage of stealth.[69] Elise Favis at Game Informer both disparaged and praised elements in comparison to those of Watch Dogs. She enjoyed that hacking was prioritized in the gameplay and the new "smoother" driving mechanic, but saw inconsistencies in the protagonist's actions versus his personality and thought supporting characters "too obnoxious and petty to be meaningful companions". Favis also experienced low frame rate capabilities on PlayStation 4.[70]
Aron Garst of
Sales
In November 2016, Ubisoft revealed that the game's pre-orders were disappointing for the company. Due to this, Ubisoft took a more conservative approach and reduced the sales projection for the second half of its fiscal year 2017. However, CEO Yves Guillemot was confident that the game would not be a commercial failure, and compared the game to
Sequel
A sequel, Watch Dogs: Legion, was teased by Ubisoft via Twitter a week before the official announcement at E3 2019,[84] where the release date was revealed to originally be March 6, 2020,[85] but was pushed back to an October 29 release.[86]
Notes
- Ubisoft Kyiv and Ubisoft Reflections.[1]
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