We are now exactly two months away from the May 27th release of Ubisoft’s hotly anticipated and very ambitious open-world hacker-themed title, Watch Dogs. The hype train is starting to shift into gear and today sees the release of a lengthy and informative new trailer.
It starts with some info on the new graphics engine that Ubisoft has come up specifically for the game, showcasing dynamic lighting, weather cycles and complex physics for numerous objects. However, things start to get really interesting when we see how every non-playable Chicago citizen will have accessible background information, and how protagonist Aiden Pierce can access such features as their phones, music, and accounts via hacking. Some scenes also hint at being able to unveil seedy secrets for certain characters, a likely indication that this will be a primary way to access side missions.
Aiden will have the ability to cause his own disruptions, such as prematurely raising bridges or changing traffic lights to create pile-ups. However, players will likely have to limit these, as the trailer shows that crossing the wrong people may cause a bounty to be placed on Aiden’s head. An element of constant mystery is teased at, too, mentioning that any character could be a killer, victim, or real-life player who can influence your game.
Everything we’ve heard about Watch Dogs sounds highly ambitious and interesting, and while such an expansive and detailed-sounding concept could very possibly end up flawed in its final execution, I’m hopeful for a quality product, given the large staff and long development time that the developer has apparently put into the title.
Finally, it’s worth noting that Ubisoft does apparently remain committed to releasing the game on Wii U at some point later this year, as the end of the trailer that displays the other consoles that the game will release on during its launch day (PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One) still mentions Nintendo’s system.
Check out the new Watch Dogs trailer below and see if you can spot the Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon arcade game.