Watchdogs 2

Rated M for Mature

(Xbox One,PS4,PC)

Watchdogs 2 shows what a true sequel can be by improving on every aspect of the first game.

The visuals look just as good, if not slightly improved from the first game.

The game follows Marcus, a hacker who has his life turned upside down from a cyber company called Blume.

Corporations and governments are using people’s personal data for their own gain. You meet a group of like-minded hackers out to expose the evil corporation and others wrongdoing as the story progresses.

The game has a lighter tone than the first version.

This isn’t your typical shooter game. The developer did a fantastic job building the infrastructure. The buildings are realistic, but they’re also your weapons.

All buildings have power boxes that can be used to attract enemies and blow them up. There are vents to open, doors to hacks, cameras and more.

Roads, alleys and side streets are just as important to help you in your fight.

As you progress, you will find each hackable item will have a variety of options available.

Marcus can use objects like walls, concrete planters as cover to hide your hacking exploits from police and bad guys looking for you.

The gun combat, if you choose to engage enemies this way, is much improved.

All the guns pack a good punch and a shotgun feels different then a pistol or other weapons.

Since you’re in a large city, driving will be a large part of the game. The game has no shortage of vehicle types for you.

You have access to bigger vehicles from buses, delivery vans, to pickup trucks and SUVs. You also have all kinds of cars, as well as motorcycles.

The driving has been improved from the first game.

While driving, you can manipulate traffic cameras causing accidents and the player even has button prompts to stop pursuing enemies.

There are a large amount of main and side missions and activities.

The main story missions will have you breaking into corporations with different options for the player.

You have an arsenal of weaponry, and remote-control drone and a jumper (a two-wheeled vehicle). You can use these drones to hack terminals, distract enemies, drop bombs and more.

You will have to connect circuits to supply power to open doors and more. These hacking activities are great little puzzles and later in the game are even timed.

There is no shortage of things to hack. Even going around hacking peoples phones to read their texts or listen to their phone calls is fun.

Players can spend hours and hours driving around San Francisco, where the game is set, completing side missions, collecting hack points and more.

These hacker points require players to problem solve how to reach certain locations.

The game is played online with other players able to join in your map. Players will have the ability to hack the other players or do multiplayer-style missions.

These missions are a great way of gaining followers, which is the game’s way of levelling up your character.

You can customize your character with different outfits sold at various stores. The points you get from completing main and side missions can be used to upgrade different abilities that will open more options in combat.

The game’s world has a large variety of non-player controlled characters all going about their daily lives.

It features characters that are well acted and people you get invested in. The radio stations have a nice variety and the world itself is alive with sound.

Watchdogs 2 ups the amount of hackable objects and gives players choices in combat creating a must play experience. With Watchdogs 3 dropping in October if you missed 2, now is the time to grab the game.

Watchdogs 2 gets a 9/10.

Contact Sascha at sggall@telus.net with gaming questions and more. On XBox One: acehardy13 On PSN: acehardy13