10 Awesome things you’ll be able to do in Watch Dogs

By now you’ve undoubtedly seen some of the absolutely stellar and riveting gameplay footage from Ubisoft’s “Watch Dogs”.  Needless to say, it’s one of those games where it seems like there are endless opportunities awaiting us inside a massive and very realistic city.  Combining the more successful elements from several franchises, Watch Dogs might even end up being one of the initial mega-sellers which ends up further pushing PS4 sales higher (yes, the game actually looks that good).  At this point, one might even be inclined to remark that “Watch Dogs” is taking the basic GTA formula, turning it on its head, adding a wealth of additional details / activities, and serving up a dynamic open world feast to eager gamers.

Of course “Watch Dogs” isn’t meant to be released until late November of this year; until then, why don’t we explore some of the things you’ll be able to do in game…

10.  Engage in some friendly (or not-so-friendly) multiplayer hacking

Whereas most games clearly draw the line between what is considered to be “multiplayer” modes and action vs. that of a single player experience, Watch Dogs seeks to be the exception to the rule.  To sum things up, as someone playing on a mobile device, you’ll be able to access the city network and really screw around with your friends’ game(s).  We’re talking about infecting their stuff with viruses, stealing their funds or even take control of things like traffic barricades.  To make long story short, it’s very likely that people are going to take quite a bit of interest in this “sabotaging” element of the game (expect to see specific groups springing up on the internet devoted to trolling people in Watch Dogs for fun).

9.  Infiltrate a Comm. Building

When it comes to entering a structure and clearing out enemies / completing objectives, we all should be able to point toward a specific style of play which we tend to gravitate toward more often than not.  For instance, perhaps you like to simply run into a situation headlong, guns blazing, with little regard for what you’ll find outside of the challenge and excitement of taking a position by force?  Conversely, you might be the more cautious and wise type who loves sneaking around all stealthily (a la’ “Sam Fischer”), ready to silently take down all those who stand between you and assuming control over the facility.  Well, in Watch Dogs you can approach communications buildings either way.  Moreover, you can even choose how you’re going to utilize the environment when inside, which adds yet another layer to the fun.

8.  Use the traffic itself as a weapon

Perhaps one of the coolest propositions of Watch Dogs is the notion that you’ll be able to hack into traffic lights and even instigate crashes and incidents.  Aside from using this mechanic to even take out unassuming targets, you might also be able to use this as a means of escaping from a bad situation when someone is in pursuit.

7.  Mess around with the game within the game

It’s rather ironic, but there’s actually an ARG (altered reality game) built into the mobile phones of the residents of the city.  You’ll see them behaving strangely on occasion, perhaps in an attempt to shoot down the “flying creatures” being projected around them.

6.  Delve into the lives of any random person you happen to meet

Playing games like GTA IV or V you’ve probably thought to yourself “what would it be like if I could really profile any random person I meet out there”, right?  Amazingly enough, Watch Dogs is actually going to allow you to study individual NPC’s, even so far as trawling through all their data and personal histories.  Moreover, you can even use this tactic to randomly find potential targets and missions.

5.  Tap into NPC webcams

In addition to being able to learn pretty much everything about individual NPC’s, you’ll also be able to hack their Wi-Fi networks and even spy on them through their activated webcams.  Sometimes this might provide you with very useful tactical data, but more often than not it will allow you to catch some of the more amusing moments and antics of the characters themselves.

4.   Go crazy and then parkour / hack your way to safety

Occasionally you just want to see how much trouble you can get into and still get away safely (maybe some sort of latent Assassin’s Creed fixation, or something).  Well, aside from being able to create distractions, Aiden, your character, is quite agile, meaning you can usually out-maneuver nearly anyone.  Furthermore, when you also consider that you can hack virtually anything on the fly, it’s often possible to create diversions which can artfully aid your escape (like professor Moriarty eluding the clutches of Sherlock Holmes, perhaps).

3.  Explore a detailed, vibrant and fairly realistic-looking city

With the release of any major open-world title comes the opportunity to fully explore the map.  Since Watch Dogs looks so incredible on the PS4, simply taking the time to soak in the atmosphere and all the details is akin to another activity in and of itself.

2.  Level up your character

As with RPG’s, Watch Dogs also allows or requires that you earn experience in order to level up your character.  Since it’s assumed that leveling up will be necessary to take on certain more difficult enemies at this point, one might be able to say that the game will provide enough of a challenge to keep luring you back in.  Admit it, one of the best things about any open world game is the satisfaction you receive from building up a character from scratch.

1.  Become a “Super Hero”

Sure, there are plenty of games where you assume the role of a bona-fide, near-immortal super hero with amazing powers and whatnot.  But what about the truly human hero who starts from the bottom and works their way up to the top?   All along the way you’ll hear the vaunted whispers of the passerby’s regaling their friends with tales of your amazing deeds.  Even the authorities will come to view you based on the details of your previous actions, so there’s quite an interesting dynamic taking place that’s simply not present in other games.

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