Yet saving them, and yourself, isn’t something you can just get up and do. That’s not how the world works, and while Marcus’ altruism is certainly commendable, misguided hope and aspirations can lead to a world of trouble. Luckily, you have Watch Dogs 2’s hacking mechanics to help you navigate the issues that arise. They work the same way as they did in  the first game, marking hacks in your vicinity as you approach them, making all of your options instantly visible at a moment’s notice. However, thanks to the advancements made to CtOS by Blume, more devices are connected including construction equipment and vehicles. Before, when you could only hack gates and certain parts of the traffic system, you could now take quick control of every vehicle on the road turning them into obstacles, distractions, and, my favorite, motorized weapons. And that’s the crux of Watch Dogs 2’s gameplay, everything, particularly the hacks, has more than one use. There’s the obvious one (such as moving a car remotely to get it out of your way), but then, if you let your imagination run with it, there’s a ton more. For instance, instead of just moving that car, why not throw a mine onto it, hack it into being a proximity explosive, and then deliver it directly to a group of enemies? Mixing multiple hacks for one big payoff is what the game is all about and the idea helps to support the different playstyles on offer.

The developers are pushing three different playstyles as optional approaches that you can fit into as much as you’d like. Trickster relies on hacks to set up traps and confuse enemies, Aggressor is all about bringing the fight to their front door, and Ghost is for players who like to go unnoticed. You’re not locked into anyone at anytime, and you’re never punished for playing how you see fit. You’re limited only by what you want to do and how well you can think of ways to do whatever that is. One moment I found myself hacking into a government organization’s database without anyone ever being the wiser, and the next I was in a gang fight in the middle of Oakland. It wasn’t because the game said it had to be that way, I chose it both directions on a whim. While certain confrontations are forced, the way you handle them never is.

Where this sort of emergent gameplay approach really shined was when I got to experience multiplayer. I’ll be honest, I was most skeptical of playing with others than anything else the game threw at me. The first game was interesting, and the developers started to figure it out around the time Bad Blood rolled around, but it never actually gelled with the rest of the experience. This time, San Francisco along with Oakland and the Silicon Valley are your playgrounds.

In the last days of my time with the game, the seamless component of the multiplayer – which allows strangers to enter your game world – was disabled to be patched in time for launch. Prior to this, however, I had already spent days experiencing how it builds upon and improves the base game with no issues. I found myself running into a friendly player completely randomly as we both tried to figure out a puzzle. Eventually we decided to team up and take on the world, approaching Side Operations and other activities. We had spent different amounts of time playing up to that point and our skills showed it. I was fresh out of the first couple of missions. Had barely any skills and only one weapon. My partner had an assault rifle and the ability to hack helicopters. With that, we coordinated and came up with plans to tackle each objective, keeping each other alive as Hunters (enemy players who are summoned if you cause to much havoc) joined in and succumbed to our hacking prowess.

Tying it all together was the world and the mission structure. As you could probably tell from trailers and images, San Francisco and the surrounding areas are much more open than Chicago could have been. This lends itself well to the new style of traversal where cars and running aren’t all you can rely on. Parkour is very much a part of Marcus, but don’t worry, it doesn’t ever get as silly as you scaling buildings like a madman with no fear for life and limb. That openness is magnified by the nature of how missions are given to the player. Everything falls under Operations, which are basically story arcs that incorporate several objectives and activities around the city. You have that moment to breathe between every major component so you can either continue or go about doing your own thing, and that’s where a lot of the game’s fun lies, but it can also lead to Watch Dogs 2’s one standout issue: pacing.

Open world games with a narrative are always difficult to rein in because the ebb and flow of the story isn’t solely controlled by the director(s) and the development team. While being given a respite between every major action was welcome, the option sometimes seemed detrimental to what I was experiencing. But then again, that’s telling of how good the story can be at times. I was let loose often, but many times I found myself just wanting to dive back in to see what happened next. I enjoyed my time causing mayhem and hacking the world, but the characters and the thickening plot called out to me in their moment of need and who was I to ignore them?

When all was said and done, I was left pleasantly content with what Ubisoft Montreal had accomplished in the two years since the first entry’s release. They managed to retain that core ambition that they had the first time around, but adjusted quite well to the criticisms levied against their project. What resulted is a game that is the same at heart, but is alive with variety and a hero we could actually stand behind without question. Watch Dogs 2 is what a sequel should be in every sense. A bigger, better, bolder take on what the first entry only treads.

Score: 4.5/5 – Great