[HTML1]
Since the first announcement of Watch_Dogs, Ubisoft has made it clear that Aiden Pearce will not be your usual video game protagonist - and his weapons will certainly not be limited to the firearms he can fit into his pockets. Thanks to the latest trailer, potential players can get a better sense of how a smartphone can be turned into a truly deadly device.
Helping to outline the massive digital framework encompassing the city of Chicago - ctOS - and Pearce’s specific ability to interact with it, the new walkthrough gives a clear sense of how the basic gameplay loops of Watch_Dogs will function moment-to-moment. Pearce’s guns may be featured prominently in marketing, but the trailer proves that hacking will be the player’s real weapon.
There’s no question that a man capable of hacking into every aspect of a city’s infrastructure - and every citizen’s bank account and personal email - is an idea deserving of more than just a single game; in fact, Ubisoft is counting on it. But for those who have stopped and wondered just how a single person could accomplish that, the video helps shed light on the fiction behind the mechanics.
For starters, the city of Chicago took a significant step towards getting hijacked before Pearce ever turned to vigilantism, implementing a city-wide network dubbed ctOS, charged with handling traffic patterns, bridges, roadblockers, and more. It’s that system that Pearce will be tapping into in order to take control, but doing so will require the player to travel across the city and unlock each portion of the system in person.
The result: the player can access any system, camera, or account tied to a hacked network (getting better at it in the process). As the trailer shows, that means peering into individual apartments via webcams, emptying bank accounts of those who deserve it, and keeping Aiden’s closest allies one step ahead of law enforcement. We may not know exactly what Pearce’s mission entails just yet, but the footage in the trailer is largely taken from demos shown at E3 2013 and our own in-depth previews, and remains as promising as ever.
Of course, those hoping to use their gunfire as effectively as their smartphone are also in luck; if you prefer a more direct route, cutting the lights in a particular part of the city, or luring enemies into an isolated spot is as good a precursor to all-out attack as any we can think of. And having seen both styles of play in person, we’re willing to bet most players will decide on a mixture of each.
Besides explaining how Pearce will gain access to the city’s infrastructure and financial networks, the trailer also shows how players will be using them most effectively. Thanks to the game’s ‘Focus Mode,’ players can slow time in order to more methodically select hacks (in case the speed and efficiency of their execution seen in trailers had you nervous). While the mode arguably breaks immersion for some, it’s hard to think of a better way for the developers to ensure that players take full advantage of their surroundings.
Of course, what would a sandbox game be without random procedural encounters? Given the growing emphasis on random side missions in the Assassin’s Creed series - Ubisoft Montreal’s most successful third-person action title to date - it’s unsurprising to see a similar system adopted here. The feasibility of Chicago’s ‘crime prediction system’ aside, players will seemingly be alerted to crimes in progress, which they may ignore or stop as they please. It’s all in the name of adding side content, but if Aiden Pearce is as all-knowing and all-powerful as he seems, stopping purse-snatchers may not be the best use of his time.
This is just the first of several gameplay trailers, so which aspect of Watch_Dogs are you most looking forward to seeing under a microscope? The combat, or more of Pearce’s tech arsenal?
Watch_Dogs releases November 19, 2013 for the PC, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii U. It will also launch for the PS4 and Xbox One this holiday season.
Follow Andrew on Twitter @andrew_dyce.
