User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 451 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 63 out of 451
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  1. Nov 20, 2016
    10
    He's dressed in a blue business suit. Tallish but a bit chubby. He seems arrogant in the way he walks and I am bored, so I decide to hack his phone and frame him for arson. Business Guy strides down the street and ignores me as I pass him, suddenly a cop car flashes by and two of S.F.P.D's best cops rush out of the car pointing accusatory fingers at this guy. He is clearly startled andHe's dressed in a blue business suit. Tallish but a bit chubby. He seems arrogant in the way he walks and I am bored, so I decide to hack his phone and frame him for arson. Business Guy strides down the street and ignores me as I pass him, suddenly a cop car flashes by and two of S.F.P.D's best cops rush out of the car pointing accusatory fingers at this guy. He is clearly startled and starts to back away when they tell him "Don't run you'll only make it worse for yourself!". But he is panicked and dashes down the street as quickly as his "flap pack" will allow. The female officer does not approve of that move and she quickly runs and jumps him with the full force of her very toned body. CRACK! The perp is down and the other cop draws his gun to cover down on his partner who cuffs the guy and is now walking him back to the car. I decide to pull out my phone and take a selfie just as the man, who looks to be crying, and the cop pass by me. As he's led off to his demise, I start feeling a bit bad for him. Lucky for this guy, I need a ride and that cop car is sans Hot Fuzz. I decide to hack the earpieces in both officer's ears and send a terrible ringing sound into their cerebral cortex disabling them both and allowing me to jack their car--flashing lights and all! VRooom! I love the feel of the cop car as I peel down the street towards the Golden Gate Bridge. It's only a matter of seconds before I am joined by three more cop cars and off to the races we go. I already know this won't end well and teh bay is coming up so I decide a waterborne escape is in order. I throttle the engine and then feel a second of weightlessness before smacking violently into the cold waters of San Fransisco Bay. I have no time to react to the water as I hear sirens even before I exit the sinking car. A cop boat! Damn, a cop boat is right outside the car searching for my dead body! Thankfully I am quick and pop to the surface and make a swim for the massive concrete pillar that is one of the supports for the bridge. Through my tech I know there are about a dozen officers guns drawn in my direction. WHOOOSH, WOOOSH! I can feel the bullets coming towards me. I lumber my way onto the pillar and try to take cover behind the immense structure as bullets zing and pockmark the base without regard for the term "ricochet". I've made it past the land-locked cops, but the two in the boat have bullets with my name on them. Unbeknownst to them I have a final trick up my sleeve. Suddenly the boat is flying as I take full power control of its engines and force it onto the concrete edge of the bay bridge lifting it into the air and onto its side. This most excellent move stuns them all allowing me to find the best cover possible. Soon I am cop free and a wide smile comes to me knowing the "suit guy" is probably on the line with the best lawyers in San Fransisco wondering WTF happened to him today!

    This all happened outside of the official storyline and that is why this game is 5/5, 10/10, two thumbs WAAAY up!
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  2. Jan 13, 2017
    10
    Love this game! I've beat the campaign on normal and have now started over on realistic to get the full WD2 experience. Marcus the main protagonist is a really fun character and I really love the way it tackles some social issues. Marcus is of course African-American as is one of the other hackers who are a part of his hacking team and there is a couple interesting exchanges during theLove this game! I've beat the campaign on normal and have now started over on realistic to get the full WD2 experience. Marcus the main protagonist is a really fun character and I really love the way it tackles some social issues. Marcus is of course African-American as is one of the other hackers who are a part of his hacking team and there is a couple interesting exchanges during the campaign that I don't think could have been written any better to be playful and take on a serious issue the way it was done. I thoroughly enjoyed the campaign and the freedom to tackle objectives in different ways.

    As for gameplay and quality, I think in the 60+ hours I've played so far the game has only crashed once and I think it may have been tied to the combination of things I was doing. Detonating explosives, a gas main all while cruising at top speed in a fully raised scissor lift having a shootout with cops who were also being attacked by gang members I had called in (complete chaos). I could never recreate it and it never happened again. Vehicle controls took getting used to but once I got comfortable it was smooth driving. The only negative thing I can say is that on Normal, the AI is really bad. At that setting it was not difficult to lose cops, especially with a fast motorcycle. I've heard that changes significantly at Realistic, time will tell. It doesn't make the game any less fun. In fact you can have some fun bad AI if you have a few minutes and are just wandering round SF.

    Multiplayer/Co-op is a blast. I left my privacy to the default setting so anyone could invade my game at anytime. Some might not enjoy that but I liked the element of surprise when I was mid-way through an objective and suddenly someone is hacking me. At one point I was breaking into the FBI and suddenly getting hacked and I had to track down the hacker and avoid FBI agents at the same time. That feature is easily changed so if you are one that prefers to get immersed in the campaign, it is only a setting away from locking down. I had the most fun playing co-op with friends, tackling objectives, shooting up neighborhoods and escaping from the cops.

    Game is a blast! I know many who have been burnt by Ubisoft including myself but I decided to give this game a shot due to the nature of the game and the fact it was completely different from what I normally play. Well worth the money spent! As for which edition, I bought the Gold Edition off Amazon on sale and the extras were just ok. If you don't care about cosmetics and would prefer to wait to see where the season pass goes you can do everything I shared with the base game. See you in San Francisco!
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  3. Nov 16, 2016
    10
    After having very high hopes for the first one I had to go into Watch Dogs 2 not hyped.

    Cut a long story short my first sitting of the game lasted 8 Hours. Fantastic story, a protagonist I actually like and has humour (god how bad was Aiden pierce), A city that feels alive and it brilliantly detailed and the gameplay runs nice and flows.

    Very impressed with it so far.
  4. Nov 16, 2016
    10
    Watch Dogs 2 is an absolutely incredible Sequel, so far I'm probably only a couple hours into the Story but I've spent countless hours messing around in the Sandbox in Solo and in Coop, it's so much fun. The Story is currently flowing well and the gameplay is extremely fluid. Everything wrong about Watch Dogs 1 is gone or improved the hacking is also SO much better, allowing more fun andWatch Dogs 2 is an absolutely incredible Sequel, so far I'm probably only a couple hours into the Story but I've spent countless hours messing around in the Sandbox in Solo and in Coop, it's so much fun. The Story is currently flowing well and the gameplay is extremely fluid. Everything wrong about Watch Dogs 1 is gone or improved the hacking is also SO much better, allowing more fun and dynamic gameplay with Proximity triggers making taking people out easier and toys like the Jumper and Quadcopter makes mission more fun and interesting, Nethack, the game's Eagle Vision is also interesting, i like to think of it as Batman's Sensors from The Dark Knight, creating 3D visuals of the area, though I don't think that's their explanation of it. Also the Cops are so much better and harder to escape from, no more Lifting the bridges up to escape in seconds.

    The graphics are incredible and no notable FPS drops or Pop in problems.

    Multiplayer? I can only comment on how great Coop is as the WD2 Peristant Multiplayer has currently been disabled due to issues, but it's Hacker Invasion from WD1 is present so Obviously that is going to be great and the Bounty Hunter sounds like a blast! I will try to rememeber to update this when I have a chance to experience Persistent Multiplayer.

    TL'DR The game is a massive improvement from WD1, if you liked WD1 then it's a no brainer, if you like GTA 5 but wish it had hacking and proper Coop with missions then this is the game for you.

    Side Note; I hope this is a turning point for Ubisoft, no more lying and more great games since they have the right tools to do so.
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  5. Oct 26, 2018
    10
    At first it didn't impress me much, but later on I became addicted to this game. It has a fantastic world with a pretty unique gameplay, giving the players tons of ways to experience it. It was an amazing experience that I won't forget.
  6. Nov 28, 2016
    10
    I had/am having a lot of fun with this game. I am loving the atmosphere and just messing around the world. Great detail with the NPC actions/life and little details like leaves on a parked car that fly off when driving away. Co-op has been great, done more of this so far than story but I have been sucked into this world they have created... Good game to have some fun with. Something a lotI had/am having a lot of fun with this game. I am loving the atmosphere and just messing around the world. Great detail with the NPC actions/life and little details like leaves on a parked car that fly off when driving away. Co-op has been great, done more of this so far than story but I have been sucked into this world they have created... Good game to have some fun with. Something a lot of games have been lacking as of late... I am fine with full price but some may wait for a sale. Just don't miss this one. Not GTA but above and beyond the first watch dogs. Expand
  7. Nov 16, 2016
    10
    muy buen juego mejoro en muchas cosas comparado con el primero le dieron mas carisma y por sobre todo diversión, ya que vamos es un videojuego. La representación de San Francisco es tremenda.
  8. Nov 17, 2016
    10
    Its unique premise of an open-world hack-em-up made the first Watch Dogs a hyped-up beast that, even had its gameplay and sombre tone gelled, would have been hard to match expectations. Watch Dogs 2 meets a more cautious audience with a far more irreverent tone - and it’s all the better for it.
  9. Nov 20, 2016
    10
    amazing open world, great mission design everything Watch dogs 1 should have been, then some. IN depth characters finally, not to mention Polished to a sheen
  10. Sep 18, 2019
    10
    Amazing city and graphics, such an improvement over the first game, also a really realistic San Francisco experience.
  11. Feb 16, 2019
    10
    Muitas missões, gostei muito. E os gráficos são muito bons também. O online é mediano.
  12. Nov 7, 2019
    10
    Watchdogs 2 is probably in my top 5 games of all time. I was one of the few who liked Watchdogs 1, but I did get a bit frustrated with the story and the bugs. Never the less, I was excited to try out watchdogs 2, and I was not disappointed. The story was fantastic, and I thought the map and overall vibe in the sequel were so much better. I would definitely buy this game if you are on theWatchdogs 2 is probably in my top 5 games of all time. I was one of the few who liked Watchdogs 1, but I did get a bit frustrated with the story and the bugs. Never the less, I was excited to try out watchdogs 2, and I was not disappointed. The story was fantastic, and I thought the map and overall vibe in the sequel were so much better. I would definitely buy this game if you are on the fence about it. Expand
  13. Feb 13, 2022
    10
    It took me a 2nd attempt at the game to see how much of a masterpiece it is. At first I thought, just another GTA open world clone but the more time I put in the game the more I see all the amazing aspects of it. The story is as good as any other, its not going for the most impactful story, it doesnt take itself too serious which keeps it light, fun and funny. I find the whole hackingIt took me a 2nd attempt at the game to see how much of a masterpiece it is. At first I thought, just another GTA open world clone but the more time I put in the game the more I see all the amazing aspects of it. The story is as good as any other, its not going for the most impactful story, it doesnt take itself too serious which keeps it light, fun and funny. I find the whole hacking topic very cool and interesting and more importantly their are some really funny lines of dialog and cool moments (Cyber Drive missions). It definitely has some old topics but if you're familiar with them, they're hilarious, with Tom Cruise and WuTang Clan album story material. The world is absolutely beautiful, packed with small details and filled with colorful landscapes & graffiti art covering lots of the city. It makes me want to pack my bags and move to California. You'll also hear lots of good music throughout the city, you start with a handful of songs for your Playlist but you can also "shazam" songs you hear on the radio, in bars, or played from other people's phones and then add those songs to your personal play list which can be played from your phone in and OUT OF THE CAR (Im looking at you GTA-V, why no music on the smart phone?). And the city is filled with lots of interactivity and not just because you can hack basically anyone & anything but also because you can talk to people, do all sorts of expressions (I recently gave a police car that almost hit me double middle fingers and they threatened to arrest me lol) oh and you can even pet animals! Youll find secret stashes, end up roaming into the qrong area and potentially fighting a gang or intentionally starting a gang-war or even a cop vs gang war. The game has a great balance of stealth & gun play, and the shooting feels very satisfying with a good cover system. If you choose to focus on stealth you'll have plenty of hacking options and gadgets to keep out of sight. The driving is easy to pick up and it's very forgiving which makes it fun while still a challenge to really master each vehicle. There's plenty of customization, you can pick each piece of clothing for Marcus and paint your cars. You get a wide selection of guns which can also have paint applied to them. The more time I spend with the game the more I wonder why it didn't all click the 1st time I tried it but now I sit here and I can say, it's my favorite game of all time and hands down the best open world game in a modern setting. Expand
  14. Jun 22, 2020
    10
    Me recuerda a muchos lugares de San Francisco me encanta poder visitarlo una vez más, la historia no es tan atractiva como en el 1 pero es un buen juego en general
  15. Aug 13, 2020
    10
    História Boa primeiro jogo de hacker que eu joguei e amei pronto pra watch dogs legion
  16. Dec 11, 2020
    10
    BEST WATCH DOGS IMO. Great map, great story, although nothing too great. And the city of San Francisco is as bright and lively as ever. Not as good as GTA, but definitely close to it.
  17. Nov 11, 2021
    10
    Awesome game it's amazing how interesting this is it's incredible and cool bro great graphics
  18. May 13, 2023
    10
    My favorite game of all time, the amount of hours I've put into playing this is off the chain. I was recognised by UBISOFT for being one of the best players on and offline, in which I received a Wrench figure, and cool green Dedsec hoodie. This is my go to game to chill out after completing it a few times and maxed out on all cheevs it will never get boring to me, the graphics the gameplayMy favorite game of all time, the amount of hours I've put into playing this is off the chain. I was recognised by UBISOFT for being one of the best players on and offline, in which I received a Wrench figure, and cool green Dedsec hoodie. This is my go to game to chill out after completing it a few times and maxed out on all cheevs it will never get boring to me, the graphics the gameplay the map is just perfect. To this day the graphics still hold up and that being enhanced with fps etc on next gen consoles such as my Series X had just given a new lease of life especially when it's available on gamepass. So I recommend WD2 to anyone that wants a fun open world experience that's bright vibrant and has lots of funny story's within the game and the characters are not to be taken seriously it's a bit all tongue and cheek and that's a good thing because life doesn't have to be taken so seriously while gaming.
    All in all I rate this game a solid 96%
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  19. Jun 25, 2017
    9
    Wow, this game really surprised me. The first one was mediocre and underdelivered. The second one redeems the series with humor, graphics, and gameplay. It was a super fun game from start to finish for about 30 hours. I would definitely recommend it over Assassin's Creed or Far Cry. And if you can push it to ultra (like on a 1080ti), oh my does it look gorgeous.
  20. Jan 24, 2017
    9
    Graphics 8
    Gameplay 10
    Replayability 9 Fun factor 10 Sound 9 Visual quality on x1 less than the other console or PC but it's fluid and very playable. Open world NPCs hilarious and fight, jump and shoot mechanic better than GTA. Exploring San Francisco is amazing with monuments, famous sites etc looking great and it makes you want to visit in real life. Racing drones, cars,
    Graphics 8
    Gameplay 10
    Replayability 9
    Fun factor 10
    Sound 9

    Visual quality on x1 less than the other console or PC but it's fluid and very playable.
    Open world NPCs hilarious and fight, jump and shoot mechanic better than GTA.
    Exploring San Francisco is amazing with monuments, famous sites etc looking great and it makes you want to visit in real life.
    Racing drones, cars, bikes,gokarts , sail boats with wind mechanics all good but not worth over visiting.
    Finding the hidden upgrades with your drones etc amazingly well done with great puzzles.

    Up there as one of the most fun single player open world games ever for me with GTA, shadows of mordor, farcry4 and just cause 3.
    A definite 9/10 once you get an hour or 2 in since initial tutoria isl a bit drab (I've played over 60 hrs).
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  21. Nov 15, 2016
    9
    Extremely Fun, No Grumpy characters o/
    Solid Performance on Xbox One. Very nice colours
    Walking around the world is fun in its own right. but hacking stuff is cool.
    Great amount of customisation. And Driving is much improved from the first game.
    If you can get this for 20-30% off right now... go for it.
    It's worth full price but sales are good too... right. :)
  22. Aug 2, 2017
    9
    For starters, I was one of the few who really liked watch dogs 1, and I loved this one even more. This game has likeable characters, a fun open world, and lots of stuff to do online and offline. The only problem is the narrative which I find weak in writing, however it's a must buy for next gen console owners
  23. Jan 9, 2017
    9
    Great game game overall, the character writing could be better, but overall the story is decent and i've enjoyed playing every minute of it. Online works 100% fine for me 2 months after release.
  24. Sep 20, 2020
    9
    Quality game, lots to keep busy with. Try get all DLCs, especially with T-Bone, good expansion of game’s story. Highly detailed landscapes to explore.
  25. Nov 15, 2016
    9
    Watch Dogs 2
    Ubisoft Listened
    Everything people had issues with from the original watch dogs has been addressed here, and the game wastes no time letting you know by immediately giving you the task to buy some clothes after you wake up in some girls bed hung over and half dressed, and there’s a great variety as there are shops all with their own unique gear… Watch Dogs 2 takes place in
    Watch Dogs 2
    Ubisoft Listened
    Everything people had issues with from the original watch dogs has been addressed here, and the game wastes no time letting you know by immediately giving you the task to buy some clothes after you wake up in some girls bed hung over and half dressed, and there’s a great variety as there are shops all with their own unique gear…
    Watch Dogs 2 takes place in sanfransico this time and You play as Marcus Holloway who joins a group of hacktivists to take down a corrupted security corporation named blume that uses ctos technology…
    So you set out to expose them
    And how do you do this?
    By gaining followers and sending out videos with information you acquire as you go throughout the game…
    The story sounds silly, but that’s because it kind of is… It doesn’t have the serious tone the original had... You feel much more like hacker kids doing hacker kid stuff…
    Using your skills for the betterment of the world
    and every character here has personality, from your hacker group to the characters you run into…
    The villain here has a man bun does yoga, making you hate him instantly…
    The entire game screams san fransisco and it really brings the city to life...
    People call you names... talk about their diets… you’ll see people arguing with each other… taking a bat to their no good exes car, the world in watch dogs 2 if so fun to explore, and thankfully there’s a lot to do here…
    You’re rewarded for gaining followers with research points that you can spend in your skill tree to balance your character to your play style, and to gain followers you can go out and take selfies in front of crazy people, monuments, and buildings… you can go out and race karts and boats, do time trials with dirt bikes or a drone, do side quests or mess with people online…
    Watch_Dogs 2 features seamless multiplayer where you’ll randomly run into people in your world that you can team up with, or run over for being a jerk when they deny your team up request…
    And you’ll occasionally get the option to go intervene in an ongoing chase with the bounty hunter mode…
    These moments can create random chaos in the world and it’s a nice addition
    Hacking invasion is back where you can enter a world or someone can enter yours to steal information, and you have to stay hidden or kill whoever is hacking you, but with the added tools and hacking options this time makes things even trickier… and there are also co-op missions that can be played with a friend or on your own… multiplayers not my thing, but it’s there…
    And there’s actual use from the money you get from tasks or for selling good at a pawn shop this time as you can buy insanely expensive weapons from your 3d printer at headquarters, or buy cars from a dealership to call using your car on demand app.. Which you’ll want to do before you’re able to hack inside of a car and go… The citizens calling for cops aren’t as annoying as they were in the original watch dogs... but they can still be pretty annoying…
    And a cop chase or a chase in general isn’t really something you want to get involved in as the hacking in watchdogs 2 got much more complicated and opportunities seem to have almost nearly evaporated…
    Chases used to thrilling, but here I hardly ever crashed a cop car chasing me as again opportunities seem to hardly exist, and when one does appear the indication and windows of opportunity is far smaller, really hurting what I felt was a near perfect chase system, taking away all of the fun…
    This evaporation of opportunities can be seen throughout missions as well…
    Watch_Dogs 2 for better or for worse feels like a completely different game than Watch_Dogs 1
    The developers scrapped the idea of camera hopping for a jumper and a drone…
    Clearly a much less stealthier approach and of course creates way more opportunities to get detected...
    Watch_Dogs 2 seems to be more about punishment than mayhem this time around...
    I never really felt like levels were designed with the hacking in mind. Sure there are tons of hackable items... but these items are for the most part a nuisance for you as a player to deal with like security systems and robots rather than opportunities to take advantage of...
    Id occasionally get an enemy to line up with a car to remotely run them over, but moments like these were far too rare….
    Most of the time forcing me to have to physically enter restricted zones when I could do everything from the sidewalk with little to no risk in the original…
    But they for some reason want you to physically stealth around to try and trick you to getting into a gun fight…. When the whole premise of the game was hacking the world around you…
    And now it’s mostly turn off the security around you to proceed or else…
    The game throws far too many hurdles at you stopping hacking from being a satisfying and fun option to turning it into a chore.
    And when you do get detected it’s no fun at all as the gun play feels bad, the combat is slow and leaves you vulnerable for too long and enemies constantly call for back up… and they do so insanely fast, so the waves of enemies and cops never stop.. they’re going to kill you because you slipped up…
    You can take them out by attracting them to electrical boxes… or setting traps for them to walk into, and you can set a police or gang hit on them which could potentially have them do all of the heavy work for you… which I actually had a lot of fun with
    And the missions are all still great despite this nuisance emphasis…
    Every last one feels unique and challenging, there’s so much charm to this story and mission design…
    The campaign feels hand crafted rather than formulaic and is now a standard I will judge other open world games of its type by…
    Stuff gets crazy, and it’s a blast throughout...
    And occasionally in these missions you’ll run into some pipe mazes
    they’re back, this time in the environment rather than being just a black screen with lines...
    Things can get a little award at times with angles, but I grew to love running around areas or camera hopping trying to align everything….
    Watch_Dogs 2 is the perfect example of what can be accomplished with love and care by a development team. Of what happens when you listen to feedback
    The gameplay isn’t perfect, but the overall package is pretty close and is miles better than an already great game in the original…
    I give Watch_Dogs 2
    a 9/10
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  26. Sep 28, 2017
    9
    Watch dog 1 was a bland game featuring the most unlikable protagonist , repetitive game-play and boring story. Watch dogs 2 fixes most if not all the problems with the first game.

    Lets start with the story you play as Marcus a member of ded sec who is trying to expose blume and ctos for all the crappy stuff they are doing too the public. This takes Marcus along with the other members of
    Watch dog 1 was a bland game featuring the most unlikable protagonist , repetitive game-play and boring story. Watch dogs 2 fixes most if not all the problems with the first game.

    Lets start with the story you play as Marcus a member of ded sec who is trying to expose blume and ctos for all the crappy stuff they are doing too the public. This takes Marcus along with the other members of dedsec on a wild ride with ups and downs but the team gets through it all. All the characters this time around are quite likeable as the actually have personalises and react to events like normal people do on top of this all characters have some form of character development throughout out the story.

    The game-play is where this game truly shines at first it feels like the first game forcing you to sneak around using a suppressed gun the whole time, This completely changes when you start spending research points allowing you to tackle situations however you for example you could go all guns blazing using the environment to your advantage or you could cause a gang war and sneak past as the too factions battle it out ultimately it is up to the player how they want to play. The missions are quite a bit varied from the first however do begin to feel a bit repetitive towards the latter half of the game which quite a few open world games suffer from.

    Since the good has been covered lets go over the bad first the side missions arent that great some like the one requiring you to hack atms then allowing the player to give or take money is fun but goes on too long and the mission of going around San Francisco getting to high points to paint the dedsec logo sucks and isn't fun. Another problem I have with the game is the music it just isn't my taste luckily you can set the game to automatically turn of the music when you get in a vehicle. This brings me on to my final complaint the game has a car on demand service which allows the player to have a vehicle delivered to them but there is no point to this as you unlock a perk early on in the game that makes stealing parked cars have no consequence meaning there is no point to have a car delivered.

    Overall this game is a huge improvement over the first in nearly every aspect meaning I would recommend this to any gamer out there even if you did not enjoy the first game/
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  27. Nov 15, 2016
    9
    Yes sure Watchdogs 2 can be compared to GTA 5 but it's a weird comparison. So far it has scored less than GTA 5 did though it feels more polished in many ways. The game doesn't feel as cluttered as GTA does though there is still a ton of stuff to do & more gadgets at your disposal. There is way more PURPOSE in WATCHDOGS 2 fighting for the greater good & its has a much better story line toYes sure Watchdogs 2 can be compared to GTA 5 but it's a weird comparison. So far it has scored less than GTA 5 did though it feels more polished in many ways. The game doesn't feel as cluttered as GTA does though there is still a ton of stuff to do & more gadgets at your disposal. There is way more PURPOSE in WATCHDOGS 2 fighting for the greater good & its has a much better story line to match. I'ts a shame the game is a lower resolution than PS4 & I I think it's time UBISOFT & other developers got with the times & jumped on the 1080p wagon as there's been plenty of great looking games in 1080p of late on xbox one. There is a little ALIASING unfortunately even on the ps4 version & while the game looks good it falls a little short if compared to The Division. this is a very welcome sequel however & is every bit the game WATCHDOGS 1 should have been & should provide PLENTY OF FUN TIMES AND LAUGHS for some time to come. Expand
  28. Nov 17, 2016
    9
    Watch Dogs should be about hackers, well first part was not exactly, it was more about unspecific character and his unlogical bad/good guy moods. Ubisoft has made step forward and, well, Watch Dogs 2 is real hacker-mood game. Game has everything positive from the first game, but character and story philosophy has been changed. This game is just about a crew of hackers, who want to doWatch Dogs should be about hackers, well first part was not exactly, it was more about unspecific character and his unlogical bad/good guy moods. Ubisoft has made step forward and, well, Watch Dogs 2 is real hacker-mood game. Game has everything positive from the first game, but character and story philosophy has been changed. This game is just about a crew of hackers, who want to do something useful, but also want to have a lot of fun and bee cool like true hi-tech geeks. That is it, no more complicated background. Well, Ubisoft have made good step forward in the open world game concept, so no more towers, no more districts and less grinding. But much more parkour with cool animations, smoother gameplay, better game design and stable FPS(!). Graphics is not the best on the Xone, but it looks good, better then the first part. Driving model is also ok, nothing special, nothing bad, just true working arcade model. There are few new, but well implemented, gadgets, that give gameplay fresh air, specially using RC models or robots as hacker tools. I think, this is a new generation Ubisoft open world game and I am glad to say, good job Ubisoft, this is the way. Expand
  29. Nov 29, 2016
    9
    A game whose best quality is that it understands its audience and its social anxieties. All the missions resemble current events, and it's very easy to relate yourself to the characters, who aren't your traditional action heroes. I also liked how they're always having fun despite finding themselves in danger. These guys are friends first and allies second.

    Gameplay-wise it's not that
    A game whose best quality is that it understands its audience and its social anxieties. All the missions resemble current events, and it's very easy to relate yourself to the characters, who aren't your traditional action heroes. I also liked how they're always having fun despite finding themselves in danger. These guys are friends first and allies second.

    Gameplay-wise it's not that different from the first Watch Dogs, but it changes quite a lot in its narrative approach, since it's more lighthearted and focused on political themes.

    San Francisco is a beautiful and diverse city to explore.

    Overall, a very entertaining experience, and I can't wait to see where the series goes.
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  30. Jun 4, 2017
    9
    It always struck me Ubisoft was onto a loser with the Watch Dogs series. The first game a victim of its own hype and in the end a slightly souless affair, and Watch Dogs as a whole was always going to rightfully or wrongfully draw comparisons to GTA.

    Well, Watch Dogs 2 gives the series the adrenaline shot it so badly needs and in doing so sets itself apart from all the other sandbox
    It always struck me Ubisoft was onto a loser with the Watch Dogs series. The first game a victim of its own hype and in the end a slightly souless affair, and Watch Dogs as a whole was always going to rightfully or wrongfully draw comparisons to GTA.

    Well, Watch Dogs 2 gives the series the adrenaline shot it so badly needs and in doing so sets itself apart from all the other sandbox offerings on the market. Firstly it's hugely improved cast is noteable throughout, not only from protagonist Marcus but equally from a fantastic supporting cast. They help to end genuine meaning and emotion to the cutscenes and to the game's story as a whole.

    Missions also wrap up very nicely and rarely over stay their welcome thanks in part to the various hacking and combat options available. At the end of each core mission, a video plays put together by Ded Sec informing the people of various corporations wrong doings which sit very nicely in context of the game. Tongue in cheek references to real life companies will also raise a smile with the likes of 'Nudle' and social media network '!nvite' being big factors in the game's plot.

    Graphically the game looks excellent. Set in San Fransisco the ScoutX app on your in game smart phone allows for all of the city's landmarks to be discovered and for marcus to find time forba selfie! Performance wise the xbox one is not the console for those seeking optimal performance and occassionally frame rates dips can be seen when lots is going on but overall this did not spoil the gaming experience.

    To go back again to the personality of this game. It really feels like Ubisoft knew the identity it wanted to give Watch Dogs 2 and playing the game I felt part of the revolution the game creates. The blue skies of San Fransisco fade away to reveal a dark underbelly to the city and you are the anti-hero taking the city back for the people. From start to finish it's packed with a solid soundtrack, and grafitti stylisation on the load screens and littered throughout San Fransisco. It makes for genuine atmosphere and a meaningful gaming experience.

    Ubisoft have also massively revamped the controls for Watch Dogs 2 and although may be not immediately recognisable to the Ubisoft veteran it undoubtablely sets Watch Dogs 2 apart and keeps offering fresh gameplay options throughout. I'm really pleased they made the mechanics of the game how they did, I worry without this design the game could have got lost in the mriad of titles throws at us. Here though it feels like they have focused on delivering a genuinely rich gaming experience.

    As we often see with big sandbox games there are a huge amount of side missions, online missions and other operations on offer. Admittedly for me these were of varying quality and in some instances didn't feel necessary. Personally racing is not something I feel the need to partake in simple because these games are never made with the vehicle controls at the forefront of the game's design. Online aspects do tie-in quite nicely although I did not feel they are as strong as Ubisoft would maybe have us believe.

    To finish this is an outstanding single player experience that doesn't tire in its story or its gameplay and when you're done it won't be quickly forgotten. I hope this is a series we see go from strength to strength.
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Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 11
  2. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. Jan 26, 2017
    70
    Watch Dogs 2 wastes its incredible, realistic world and believable characters by leaning on boring gunplay, basic cover-shooter mechanics and tonal-inconsistencies that upend every part of it. Watch Dogs 2 has the opposite problems to its predecessor then. Acts of aggression (in whatever form they may have taken) made sense for vigilante Aiden Pierce, his mission thrived on it; and oh god now Watch Dogs 2 is making us defend and justify the existence of the blandest protagonist in videogames. But that’s Watch Dogs 2, a game that will make you question everything you thought you knew about open world game design, because clearly something needs to change.
  2. Official Xbox Magazine UK
    Jan 1, 2017
    80
    An intelligent and self-aware sequel, this successfully shifts the tone of the series' debut. [Jan 2017, p.80]
  3. Nov 27, 2016
    90
    If you love games that offer superb gameplay and can live with the fact that the story might not be as great as other open-world titles, then Watch Dogs 2 is a must-buy.