Ubisoft’s 2014 release of Watch Dogs was arguably one of the most disappointing releases of that year. While the hacking gameplay brought something new to the table, the game largely fell flat as a whole for not living up to promised expectations and for its bland, uncharismatic main character.
Watch Dogs 2 keeps the same gameplay and world narrative as the first installment, but largely tries to distance itself tonally from the first game. The dreary, grey, trenchcoat-wearing city of Chicago is replaced with bright colors and skinny jean-wearing hipsters as we move to the San Francisco Bay Area.
Just looking at the box art for the two games, you can tell Ubisoft tried to make a much more fun and carefree game than Watch Dogs.
The overall narrative is similar to the first game: you join DedSec, a hacking group of idyllic activists fighting against the shadowy “Big Brother” government. That’s about where the similarities end.
The main group of characters are flamboyant, witty caricatures of what we all imagine nerdy hackers to be. The playable character, Marcus Holloway, is a fun and sometimes relatable character who doesn’t take himself too seriously.
The carefree banter between characters is filled with pop culture references which, while funny at times, are mostly cringeworthy.
However, this carefree cinematic tone does cause tonal dissonance problems between the narrative and gameplay, which is built in a genre centered around destruction and killing.
While Watch Dogs 2 is as much a stealth game as it is an action game, there’s nothing pushing you to play a stealthy game. Besides the challenge of stealth being harder and getting to use all the fun tools at your disposal, there is no real reward or punishment system in place to choosing a stealthy play style over a guns-blazing play style.
This means most players will fall into a more Grand Theft Auto play style of large explosions and mass killings. While the game makes playing this way satisfying and enjoyable, it is hard to imagine the happy-go-lucky characters in the cutscenes being the same ones who just caused massive property damage and dozens of deaths.
Of course the main draw of this game is the hacking. Watch Dogs 2 doesn’t add a whole lot to the hacking gameplay of its predecessor, except for throwing in a few updates like a drone. The hacking is still fun and unique, though, since no other game series has touched a mechanic like this.
What I like best about the hacking and technology is how seamless it can all be. The menus and gameplay mechanics are largely run through your phone, yet they also give the same heads-up display of hackable devices and information on people we saw in the first game.
This massive amount of information is displayed elegantly, and I never felt like the screen was cluttered. On top of that, picking and choosing what piece of information you want to take action on works well. I rarely experience an accidental action.
Outside of the hacking gameplay, we get the same familiar Ubisoft style of game — an open world with main missions, side quests and collectibles, which you are free to tackle at your own pace.
A lot of these missions are pretty clever. Several use strong comparisons to real world events and people I’m not going to spoil for you.
As far as complaints go, I don’t have many. Watch Dogs 2 does most things fine, but not great. The driving feels off and unsatisfying, but serviceable, and shooting is plagued by a sticky cover system.
Watch Dogs 2 will not blow you away with any of its gameplay or story, but it has the most important quality of a video game — it’s fun.
Ubisoft obviously made it its mission to produce an entertaining game, distancing itself from the drab Watch Dogs. While the game still hits on deep issues of privacy loss and technology-enhanced police states, it does so this time without taking itself too seriously.
The carefree banter between characters is filled with pop culture references which, while funny at times, are mostly cringeworthy.
However, this carefree cinematic tone does cause tonal dissonance problems between the narrative and gameplay, which is built in a genre centered around destruction and killing.
While Watch Dogs 2 is as much a stealth game as it is an action game, there’s nothing pushing you to play a stealthy game. Besides the challenge of stealth being harder and getting to use all the fun tools at your disposal, there is no real reward or punishment system in place to choosing a stealthy play style over a guns-blazing play style.
This means most players will fall into a more Grand Theft Auto play style of large explosions and mass killings. While the game makes playing this way satisfying and enjoyable, it is hard to imagine the happy-go-lucky characters in the cutscenes being the same ones who just caused massive property damage and dozens of deaths.
Of course the main draw of this game is the hacking. Watch Dogs 2 doesn’t add a whole lot to the hacking gameplay of its predecessor, except for throwing in a few updates like a drone. The hacking is still fun and unique, though, since no other game series has touched a mechanic like this.
What I like best about the hacking and technology is how seamless it can all be. The menus and gameplay mechanics are largely run through your phone, yet they also give the same heads-up display of hackable devices and information on people we saw in the first game.
This massive amount of information is displayed elegantly, and I never felt like the screen was cluttered. On top of that, picking and choosing what piece of information you want to take action on works well. I rarely experience an accidental action.
Outside of the hacking gameplay, we get the same familiar Ubisoft style of game — an open world with main missions, side quests and collectibles, which you are free to tackle at your own pace.
A lot of these missions are pretty clever. Several use strong comparisons to real world events and people I’m not going to spoil for you.
As far as complaints go, I don’t have many. Watch Dogs 2 does most things fine, but not great. The driving feels off and unsatisfying, but serviceable, and shooting is plagued by a sticky cover system.
Watch Dogs 2 will not blow you away with any of its gameplay or story, but it has the most important quality of a video game — it’s fun.
Ubisoft obviously made it its mission to produce an entertaining game, distancing itself from the drab Watch Dogs. While the game still hits on deep issues of privacy loss and technology-enhanced police states, it does so this time without taking itself too seriously.
The clever writing, carefree characters and the creative missions scattered throughout this game cover any blemishes of what had the potential to be boring and uninspired gameplay. Watch Dogs 2 will be sure to keep you entertained for the 15 to 30 hours it takes to beat the game.

Gallery • 2 Photos

Courtesy of Ubisoft

Ubisoft's narrative for "Watch Dogs 2" follows hipsters in the San Francisco Bay Area.