After participating in a preview of Watch Dogs Legion I can see why Ubisoft didn’t call it Watch Dogs 3 cause that wouldn’t have the same impact on how new and improved the third entry into the series looks.
Watch Dogs Legion contains many family elements like playing as members of DedSec, hacking and open-world action. Watch Dogs Legion has the tagline of ‘play as anyone’ which helps push the recruitment system in which you can add new recruits to your roaster. You can take on ‘recruit missions’ during the course of the game to acquire the help of professional hitmen, baristas, professional shoppers, construction workers, and even opponents known as Albion.
I had a chance to sit back and watch about two hours of the game unfold in front of me from the comforts of my living room. The combat system seems to be very modern with satisfying stealth attacks, chunky sound effects, and even some pretty slick ‘gun-fu’ as seen in the John Wick movies. Probably the most impressive thing to see during combat was how intelligent the opposition was – like they have the ability to ‘hack you back’ and don’t just come running at you in a straight line but flank and try to attack around corners. You’ll find yourself in some sticky situations watching troops surround you while a drone above tries to stun you.
Another aspect of Watch Dogs Legion that stood out as part of my demo was how diverse and inclusive the game can be. The action takes place in a near-future London and you will experience a wide variety of citizens to encounter. You’ll also hear a variety of accents as well, so noticeable, I asked the person running the demo if accents were reflective of different parts of the map and he confirmed that to be true. This attention detail is very welcome in a video game and will help break up NPC characters from sounding the same all around even when you are in different parts of London.
The Watch Dogs game franchise has always felt like a ‘smart game’ from the first two entries in the series but this time around Watch Dogs Legion really takes things up a notch. Much thought will go into who you decide to ‘recruit’ as part of the game because you are limited on how many people you can have at your disposal. Each new recruit has their own special abilities like a construction worker may have better stealth tactics at a construction site. Combat also changes in which recruit you chose – like a construction worker will have more brunt melee attacks while a hacker may use a wire to choke someone out instead and then there is also the professional hitman who looks like something straight out of the Kingsman movie series.