Let's be real for a second. There have been some amazing stealth-oriented games released during the past half decade, from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain to Hitman: Absolution, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution to Dishonored. But in virtually every case these games emphasize action over stealth; not only is it easier to jump into an environment and immediately start taking out enemies, but in many cases it's more fun.
Watch Dogs 2 wants to change that.
Today, SCEE published a blog post about Watch Dogs 2 that focused on its stealth elements. As argued by the article, there's a strong presence of choice within the game, offering both stealth and action fans unique ways to tackle situations. In the case of stealth, it's more than just being able to choke out enemies and hit them with tranquilizer darts. As with the first Watch Dogs, hacking is a big piece of the puzzle that offers something distinct from competing games, and since there are new ways to interact with the environment players can go beyond what the first game allowed.
One example was given where the player can use a drone to scout areas and acquire intel along the way. Once you're ready to make your move, the drone is capable of interacting with objects to perform maneuvers that traditional games only allow the player character to perform. In other words, you can complete entire missions using the drone, provided you're skilled enough.
But it's expected that a large portion of players, even those who plan to get into scuffles early and often, will prefer to use hacks to break equipment, make noise, and manipulate the environment to provide a tactical advantage, such as turning off the lights to provide better cover from sight. In the cases of these types of tactical interactions, there are a great number of choices. Environments have been built purposefully to be a tool for your creative purposes
This was best demonstrated during the E3 Dedsec Infiltration Mission gameplay walkthrough, which summoned unanimous praise from gamers. The gameplay section, seen above, was more than 10 minutes long with raw gameplay.
What's here looks great, which is to be expected considering Ubisoft has a history of hitting home runs with it second installment of new IPs. Color me intrigued.
Watch Dogs 2 will release on November 15th for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
