The first Watch Dogs 2 gameplay video we saw featured charming new protagonist Marcus Holloway running through a story mission, using toys, stealth and creative hacking to bring down his target. This latest Watch Dogs 2 gameplay video showcases the open world exploration players can expect of San Francisco’s Bay Area, as well as the game’s multiplayer elements. Recorded from an alpha build on PS4, check out the new Watch Dogs 2 gameplay video below:
Contextual quick hacks are accessible by hitting L1. But by holding L1, more hacking options are available. This “allows players to have fast access to the most common hacks,” expanding the players’ hacking options. Also added to hacking options: a nethack view that allows you to toggle a digital filter “to see the world like a hacker,” letting you pick out data anomalies and weird digital signals.
In nethack mode, orange signals indicate an investigation-worthy target. It’s easy for Marcus to get people’s personal information and thus further look into strangeness on the streets with his Dedsec teammates, opening up new operations. Marcus’s Dedsec app lets him do any operation he wants in whatever order he wants, allowing him to track mission objectives and briefs as long as he’s discovered the operation in question. (The app itself has a cool pop-punk vibe to it, a Suicide Squad movie posters meet pixel art kind of thing).
Marcus’ Quadcopter drone gives him great views of San Francisco, which he can explore thoroughly. Sutra Tower, Golden Gate Park, Marin, the Bay, Alcatraz, Pier 39, Oakland, Coit Tower, Silicon Valley, Chinatown, Castro and more are all available to explore. No part of the map needs to be unlocked.
Marcus relies heavily on his phone, and there’s an app shop, a media player, and a research app that lets you develop new skills. The ScoutX app is a tour guide app that lets you find new objectives and check them out. You can take selfies with the local landmarks as well and even pick the Instagram-esque filter of your dreams. Uploading photos to ScoutX gives you followers you’ll need to progress through the game.
To keep your selfies looking fresh, there are over 700 unique items of clothing with over a billion combinations. Each item is hand-crafted to fit his look, and you can change face mask, hat, glasses, jackets and so on. Each store has a variety of clothing options for whatever style you want Marcus to rock.
The driving has also been reworked to be “more responsive and more accessible to a wider number of players,” an especially important consideration considering San Francisco’s famous steep hills and narrow winding streets. You can still hack on-the-go as you drive: street lights, other cars, and so on.
If you’ve seen the previous gameplay video, you’ll be familiar with some of the tools Marcus can use to accomplish missions and objectives. For example, his little RC Jumper is much more difficult to detect and has a robotic arm that lets him physically interact with objects while Marcus stays hidden. It can also “launch foul-mouthed taunts and make people angry.” Heavens to Betsy me!
You can set traps to distract guards and enter places stealthily. You can also hack junction boxes with proximity triggers, which explode if an enemy passes through them, but not if you do. In addition, you can use electroshock mines from your inventory, which are fully hackable. Traps help prevent enemy flanks.
Missions (and indeed the entire game) can be completed without killing a single enemy thanks to a non-lethal suite of weapons that include a stun gun. Each operation gets you more followers, allowing you to do more operations.
In terms of the much-touted seamless co-op: other players are denoted by purple icons and their username over their head, and you can send other players invites to join up in co-op parties. As part of a session, you can take on co-op missions together to take down bigger targets. You can automatically tag guards with your drones so your partner can see them.
There is an online multiplayer PvP event called “Online Bounty.” When you commit a crime, the police pursue you until you escape, which is called the Felony System. While you’re in it, a Bounty event has a chance to occur, allowing 3 players to try and kill you for as long as the Felony lasts. Your objective is to evade the Felony and the players, with rewards for neutralizing the hunters. Their objective is to neutralize you, and they get rewards for doing so.
This is a “seamless” PvP event triggered by how you play and interact with police, so those who like to say “fuck the police” will have a higher chance to trigger the Bounty and a higher chance to reap those rewards.
To check out the complete Watch Dogs 2 original trailer, just click here.
Are you willing to give Watch Dogs another shot on Nov. 15? Are you impressed by some of the changes you’ve seen between the first Watch Dogs and the second? Let us know in the comments section below.
