The original Watch Dogs is a dark game, all about revenge, death, and the slow collapse of society under an oppressive, data-gathering government. After a short introduction mission, all of San Francisco and some neighboring areas like Marin county and Oakland open to you. I also like that you can explore the entire area right off the bat. Even if you don’t want to play any of Watch Dogs 2’s missions, you can have fun exploring the city. You’ll see all of the famous landmarks, such as Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. While it doesn’t feature the exact same buildings and locations, the layout of the city is familiar. The digital version in Watch Dogs 2 is fairly accurate, and I had a lot of fun just revisiting the sights I see on my trips there.

Now, I work out of Ohio, but I still travel to San Francisco enough to have a decent feel for the city. Watch Dogs 2 takes place in the famous California bay city of San Francisco, which happens to be where GamesBeat’s office is located. But at least Watch Dogs 2, unlike its predecessor, isn’t too busy brooding over itself to have some fun. The big difference between this series and GTA is that you can hack things, so you can tap into nearby cameras or change traffic lights. You drive cars, steal cars, race cars, shoot things, sneak around things, and so on.Ĭheck out our Reviews Vault for past game reviews. The change in scenery is nice, but you’re still doing the same things you do in most of these Grand Theft Auto clones. While its predecessor takes place in Chicago, the sequel has players running around Bay Area locations like San Francisco and Silicon Valley. Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs 2 is another open-world city game, similar to series like Grand Theft Auto and Saint’s Row. Watch Dogs isn’t quite that good, but it’s close. Just look at Assassin’s Creed II or Mega Man II both improved upon decent originals and created long-running series. Ī sequel can turn a mediocre game into a superstar franchise.

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