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decide how they want to play the game:
guns blazing, as a ghost or as a trickster who
manipulates people and systems.
Why San Francisco?
Obviously it is a beautiful area with
inspiring, diverse locations and people. It is
also the birthplace of the tech revolution,
notably in Silicon Valley, the place where
many of the technologies that will change
our lives tomorrow are being invented today.
What prompted the change
of protagonist?
It starts with the choice
of setting – Marcus
is a brilliant hacker
who is from the San
Francisco Bay Area,
grew up in Oakland
and experienced
the injustices of the
ctOS 2.0 system first
hand. In
Watch Dogs 2
,
the hacking culture is a
central theme and Marcus
links up with a powerful group
of like-minded hackers in DedSec.
Marcus operates as part of a hacking group
and came to care deeply about his friends –
he is definitely not a lone wolf. By deciding
to focus on Marcus and DedSec this time
around, we went for a cast of characters that
present us with a different perspective on
the Watch Dogs universe.
What changes have been made to
multiplayer?Where did the idea to
include co-op come from – is that
something you've always wanted
to include?
Watch Dogs 2
is building on
the seamless online components
developed in the original
Watch
Dogs
. We are improving on the best
the museum of mechanics
If you're a fan of robotics of any kind,
prepare to be freaked out at San Fran's
Museum of Mechanics. A collection of
privately-owned, mechanically operated
instruments and arcade machines, it's
quite creepy.
winchester mystery house
No, it isn't anything to do with
Supernatural
, but it is still pretty spooky.
The Winchester Mystery House is
the home of Sarah and WilliamWirt
Winchester, and is believed to be haunted
by those that Will murdered.
The burlingame museum
Ever wanted to see every PEZ dispenser
in the once place? You can do just that at
the Burlingame Museum, with over 550
unique PEZ characters housed inside its
walls. It even has the world's largest PEZ
dispenser – a 7-foot-tall snowman.
brain wash
Quite possibly one of the coolest
business names ever, the BrainWash café
and laundromat allows you to fill your
caffeine requirements while you wait for
your clothes to finish their cycle. There are
even comedians, open mics and musical
performers doing the rounds.
competitive experiences of the first game,
but also adding friendly encounters with
other DedSec hackers in the city.
We felt that the seamless online
gameplay from the previous game was
fun but that many players would enjoy less
competitive additions. Co-op allows you
to play with friends and strangers without
the pressure of “player versus player”
gameplay. The chance meeting with other
players in the world is also something we
felt was exciting. It adds a sense
of surprise and emergence
to the game world.
On the competitive
side we refined our
“hacking invasion”
gameplay, where
a player can try
hacking another
game in his
game completely
seamlessly. We also
added a Bounty Hunter
gameplay, where you
can join with other players
and the police to take down
another player who has received
a bounty on his head. Again, this is
seamlessly integrated in the game.
However, players wanting a solo
experience can disable and customise their
online preferences.
Where do you see the franchise going
from here?
In a way, this is for the time being in
players hands. As we are putting the
finishing touch on
WD2
, our head is
filled with ideas. We are excited by
the game, but now is the time for
players to make it their own. We
will be watching closely and letting
ourselves be inspired by how
people play!
spooky
San Fran
•
Watch
Dogs 2
is out Nov 15
[San Francisco]
is the birthplace
of the tech
revolution, notably
in Silicon Valley
GAMES
FEATURE
26
jbhifi.co.nzNOVEMBER
2016
GAMES
Fly
Wall
on
the
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