![]() Weirdos out there who just want to hurt people are catered for, too we checked in the name of thoroughness, and can confirm that you can cause explosions and electrocutions at will, cause vehicles to veer off the road into crowds, or wage a one-man war against increasing police response – should you so wish. There has obviously been a lot of work gone into the incidental elements of Watch Dogs 2, and it pays off big time when you hear an argument about which sci-fi monster would win in a fight or eavesdrop on a couple's messy break up. There are civilians who will happily engage in conversations with you, so if you stop on the way in to DedSec's secret HQ (hidden in a nerdy table top gaming shop, no less) you can talk to the punters in the shop about their RPG exploits, collectable card decks, or just hear them rant about how a new version of a game has gone off canon. We found ourselves having a great time just pranking the populace of San Francisco between missions, because this is one of the most living, breathing open worlds yet designed. Everyone's bank account, every vehicle, every camera or computer, gas main, traffic light, or security bollard can be activated with a quick press of L1 – which brings up a secondary menu choice so that you can choose what hack to implement. Hacking is the main "weapon", though, and it is just brilliantly realised. ![]() You start the game with a nifty melee weapon, a kind of yoyo that can incapacitate enemies – but the DedSec crew have invested in a kick ass 3D printer which for a price can knock up anything from a stun gun (for those adverse to going full psycho) through to lethal weapons great and small including assault rifles and sniper rifles. All of this tech makes you feel empowered to take on anything, and the easy to use smartphone which is your way of controlling most of the tech is a joy to employ. Stepping into the stylish shoes of Holloway, you'll soon be wielding hacks like a super power, backed up by a decent selection of weapons, vehicles, and some great game enhancing gadgets that include a 'Jumper' remote control robocar that soon becomes your best pal, and a cool quadcopter drone. ![]() Surprisingly, the answer is yes: it's a huge leap forward, packed with grin-inducing pop culture references and more importantly, a very well-honed control system. The big question here, though, is whether Watch Dogs 2 is good enough to go toe-to-toe with the global phenomenon of Grand Theft Auto V, which has become the gold standard for open world mayhem-'em-up games. Holloway becomes the DedSec operations man, carrying out missions in order to get peoples' attention and get the masses to download their app, allowing DedSec to harness the processing power of thousands of regular folks' phones via a botnet – a weaponized super-system that can take Blume down for good. ![]() The friendly hacker crew of DedSec is made up of Sitara, who is the marketing brains behind their anarchist brand Josh, the Mr Robot of the bunch, who does all of the coding, and the mysterious Wrench, who is the gadget and weapons specialist. Ubisoft has taken everything that made the first game a fun if not perfect experience and improved on it – which is most apparent in the great visuals and more elaborate missions. If you played Watch Dogs then you'll immediately know the score in terms of very Grand Theft Auto-esque third-person gameplay, where the open world is yours to explore on-foot or by a wide range of vehicles. ![]() This time Holloway joins hacking group DedSec in order to take the fight to Blume using their own ctOS 2.0 as his weapon. Now, the aforementioned Blume Corporation has installed ctOS in San Francisco and a new hacker hero arises in the form of Marcus Holloway, who was framed for a crime by the upgraded ctOS 2.0. Watch Dogs 2 picks up after the Chicago-based events of the original game which saw young hacker Aiden Pearce hunting for those who hurt his family and taking high-tech enabled revenge. And with the corrupt powers that be using the ctOS system for their own ends, somebody needs to fight back – and that's where you come in. This near future society is a Black Mirror-esque teched-up metropolis where ctOS2.0 connects everyone with everything and knows all about each citizen. No, not Trump or Brexit, but a city run by the Blume Corporation where absolutely everyone is constantly under the gaze of an advanced Big Brother surveillance system. This is what you wanted, people – this is what you voted for. ![]()
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