Обзор игры watch dogs 2: теперь без сюжета

Attracting the Police

Due to the persistent presence of law enforcement in the streets, attracting police attention is somewhat easy. If the player commits a crime, there is a chance a pedestrian may call the police and report him for a certain crime, depending on the seriousness. A call will take only a few seconds before authorities will be alerted and arrive on the scene. Another way to attract police attention is simply committing a crime in front of a police car or a police officer.

Unlike in the previous installment, pedestrians will not call the police that often — they will call the police if the player has repeatedly committed a crime (Punching up to 2-3 pedestrians at a time, for example). Pedestrians may call the police if they witness the protagonist:

• Wield weapons on the street
• Hurting or killing civilians
• Fire weapons on the street
• Use explosives on the street
• Steal a car
• Run over multiple civilians in a car

To cancel a 911 call, the player has to use distraction hacking ability, walk to a pedestrian and drop his or her phone, driving by them too close or aim a gun at them. Killing them is an option as well which will increase the heat level if doing so.

If a patrol car or foot officer witnesses a crime on sight, they will immediately pursue the player and stop them by arresting them or using lethal force. If the player is losing them, patrol cars will drive around the player’s area, looking for him.

The following crimes will attract immediate police attention:

• Wield weapons on the streets.
• Harming and/or killing civilians.
• Fire weapons on the streets.
• Use explosives on the streets.
• Steal a vehicle.
• Climbing on top of police car.
• Insulting a police officer.
• Stealing a car and escaping from the Dealership with it.
• Driving a police car.

There are certain crimes which will NOT attract police attention, but will only increase the heat level, which are:

• Repeatedly using hacks on a patrol car.
• Killing police personnel by using certain hacks or stealth.

Гибель героев – это больно

Допустим, я не полюбил своих отважных болванчиков достаточно, чтобы запомнить их по именам, а не по профессиям. Но это не значит, что мне не было за них тревожно! Ну, на того строителя мне действительно было наплевать, но это исключение, честно.

Ограниченность личностей агентов вполне компенсируется естественной привязанностью. Какое-то время у меня была только одна специалистка по дронам – я не позволял ей сунуться на вражескую территорию, пока не убеждался, что все угрозы нейтрализованы

Шпион, разумеется, регулярно оказывался в жарких ситуациях, но и им я действовал относительно осторожно и рассудительно

Серьезные ошибки приводят к одному из возможных последствий. При аресте полицией агента на время посадят – бывший коп в отряде поможет скостить срок, а вот если у персонажа черта «Условное освобождение», то он попал надолго. В бою вас могут серьезно ранить – тогда герой отправится на лечение, которое ускорит завербованный медик. Но чаще всего агентов убивают, с концами.

Даже на средней сложности без смертей, скорее всего, не обойдется – финальные титры моего прохождения начались с пяти имен павших. Пять настоящих трагедий – что круто, совершенно неожиданных. Поскольку здесь нет постоянного протагониста, они могут умереть не только в финале, а в любой момент. Жаль, что сама игра ведет себя довольно бесчувственно: следующий выбранный агент кратко прокомментирует смерть коллеги и все, никакого траура.

Если ваш DedSec вымрет целиком, то настанет Game Over и прохождение придется начать заново. Концепт перманентной смерти в песочнице на 30-50 часов пугает, но сценарий полного провала все-таки маловероятен. Завербуйте хотя бы 20 людей на всякий случай, не прите напролом – вот и все.

(Моя команда по спасению мира)

Было бы куда страшнее, если бы Ubisoft не отказалась от индивидуальной прокачки каждого агента. К счастью, в финальной игре немногие улучшения – общие для всех агентов, так что при гибели вы не теряете ничего, кроме самого юнита. 

В крайнем случае, когда останется последний выживший, отключите перманентную смерть и выдохните. В противном случае не пользуйтесь этой трусливой опцией, иначе геймплей потеряет остроту.

Trivia

• The CTOS is mentioned in an Easter Egg in Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.
• Despite being called the «Central Operating System» in-game, in the eBook Watch Dogs //n/Dark_Clouds by John Shirley, it is referred to as the «City Operating System».
• CTOS vehicles are rare to come by after completing every district access mission.
• CTOS is the main antagonist of the Alone Digital Trip, where it takes over the city with an army of robots in a twisted form of martial law.
• In Watch Dogs 2, the Profiler has been redone to look more visually pleasing, including an emoji to reflect the NPC’s general mood. Vehicles also have their own UI box which states: company name, logo, car make & model, car category, and also its license plate number.
• While the Chicago Police extensively relied more on CTOS scan, the San Francisco Police rely more on 911 calls and rarely seem to use CTOS scans.

Events of Watch Dogs 2

DedSec in San Francisco.

❝ DedSec has given/will give you the truth, do what you will.❞ 

―DedSec’s slogan in Watch Dogs 2

There are at least one million followers/members of DedSec in San Francisco, California. Their belief is technology should not be used to control people; as a result, they are actively fighting against the San Francisco CTOS, spamming messages about themselves and their cause. Unlike the Chicago chapter, the San Francisco DedSec lacks a militaristic side and focuses more on nonlethal pranks and muckraking-in particularly, advertising their app, which allows their fans to lend their computers’ processing power to their operations. The protagonist, Marcus Holloway, is a member of DedSec. One of the goals in the game is to get more people from the area to download their app and join them, so that DedSec can gain more resources and processing power for bigger hacks; such can be done by doing certain missions to get the follower count up.

DedSec Hideouts

In Watch Dogs 2, DedSec has many hideouts, called hackerspaces, which include their main base in the basement of Gary’s Games and Glory, and a seemingly abandoned garage.

History

Before Watch Dogs 2

An unknown amount of time before the events of Watch Dogs 2, the Shuffler legend was conceived in the Bay Area as a creature that lived ‘between worlds’, and often followed leyline-like paths like railroads to steal people into its dimension for an unknown purpose. A few hundred disappearances around San Francisco can be attributed to this legend, though no concrete evidence ever surfaced until modern times, when four teenagers attempted to film a Shuffler documentary, only to go missing and leave behind a quartet of audio tapes that the SFPD confiscated.

Events of Watch Dogs 2

In 2016, Marcus Holloway stumbled upon one of the strange, bloody markings associated with the Shuffler. Upon taking a picture of it, he downloaded an audio message, presumably a copy of one of the audio tapes from the missing Shuffler Four. While T-Bone provides some insight into the legend, Josh is less than amused and seeks to prove that the Shuffler legend is only a myth. After following the trail of the Shuffler graffiti, Marcus was lead to an underpass north of the Umbarcadero Center where he experienced something akin to a hallucination or psychic assault, where upon awakening he was presented with a unique outfit covered in the Shuffler’s runes. This outfit gives Marcus an alternative takedown animation, where he crushes an enemy with a flurry of malevolent, crimson symbols and shuffling noises.

Skills and Abilities

• Genius Intelligence: He has been a capable technology engineer and programmer since his youth and developed advanced technology which enabled him to become the CTO of Blume.
  • Hacking Skills: He has said to Raymond Kenney that he kept modifying the original CTOS to better serve his purpose.
  • Master Strategist: He was able to manipulate DedSec into causing panic in Silicon Valley, which instead of turning people against CTOS, got them to buy the system instead.
• Vast Resources: Aside from having power over Blume Corporation’s near-limitless resources, he himself has vast resources as well. His income is $110,029,000. This gives him a massive stash of funds at his disposal. His wealth enabled him to hire private security contractors (Umeni-Zulu), the police, and even corrupt FBI agents to do his bidding.
• Combat Skills: He was able to cause the CEO of HAUM to shut up with a karate chop to the throat, which possibly damaged the latter’s vocal cords as he had difficulty speaking. He is almost always seen in some kind of physical training.
• CTOS 2.0 Manipulation: As the Chief Technology Officer of Blume Corporation, he has absolute control over CT

  Bellwether: Dusan used the Bellwether for at least two projects: to manipulate voters to get Congressman Mark Thruss re-elected, and to manipulate buyers on the New York Stock Exchange to create predictable (and therefore exploitable) market conditions.

  OS 2.0.

Abilities

Entering (Almost) Everywhere: The Quadcopter can obviously fly, and this means you can forgo the slightly laborious process of maneuvering around obstacles on the ground. It can provide reconnaissance information for the entire area, especially after you upgrade it with the Proximity Scanner _/Research ability. It can also enter every vent and gap that the RC Jumper can.

Going Places You and Your Jumper Can’t: The Quadcopter has even more flexibility of movement than the Jumper, as it can immediately and quickly fly over perimeter gates and fences, head to rooftops, fly into open windows without needing to climb up difficult scenery, and it can hide under vehicles. It can hack security doors, push open unlocked doors, and scoot past every type of foe, usually at much closer range than Marcus. The Quadcopter cannot hack closed circuit terminals. Don’t forget the Quadcopter can also take photographs, if you want to see an area from a new angle, especially a ScoutX landmark. Looking down from the sky allows you to view an entire restricted area, much like the maps in this guide.

Enemy Interaction: Expect the same type of enemy interaction as you would when using a Jumper. Enemies spotting this craft will shoot or lob rocks at it. If the Quadcopter is destroyed, it requires a cooldown time (shown on your smartphone minimap). If the Quadcopter is spotted, use Boost and hide or simply fly up vertically, out of enemy range.

Trivia

• The car resembles the ASYM Desanne, an unusable vehicle in Ubisoft’s Driver: San Francisco, while the taxi variant slightly resembles the Torrex from Ubisoft’s Driver: Parallel Lines.
• Strangely enough, the Vessel features steel wheels by default. This may have been because the vehicle was originally intended to be released specifically as a fleet vehicle, and the vehicles seen under private ownership are decommissioned police cruisers and taxi cabs. The color of the wheels have been changed from black to light grey, and has a shinier center cap in the final version.
• The word «Vessel» is often used for naval vehicles, which is related to the word «cruiser», a term commonly used in police cars (police cruiser). This fact is reinforced by the existence of the police variant.
• Oddly enough, while the real-life Chicago Police Department frequently uses the Ford Crown Victoria (which is evidently the Vessel’s main inspiration), it is never been found patrolling around through the gameplay.
• The same goes for the San Francisco and Oakland Police Departments in Watch Dogs 2- Both agencies maintain numerous examples of the vehicle in real life. However, no SFPD/OPD variants of the Vessel exist.
• It is one of few vehicles in Watch Dogs and Watch Dogs 2 that is equipped with steel wheels by default.
• The Vessel also appears as a driveable vehicle in Ubisoft’s Far Cry 5, where it is rebadged as the Kimberlite Darrala. It is identified as a 2008 model. It retains the original design, while also having a similar beater appearance like the civilian Vessel in the Watch Dogs

  The car also appears in the narrative sequel of Far Cry 5 and spin-off, Far Cry New Dawn, where it is now known as the Reinforced Sedan. Compared to the Vessel and Darrala, the Reinforced Sedan features a more apocalyptic appearance, it is always painted in matte grey with white graphics on the bottom part of the vehicle, featuring a yellow rollcage surrounding most of its exterior, reinforced bars on the front and rear windshield, blue tires, and a roof rack with roof lights.

  series, but with a few exceptions of being having a pushbar from the police variant and a rear spoiler as standard options. A special version of the Darrala with an unique paintjob can be unlocked through the game’s storyline, it is known as the Bump N’ Grind.

Открытый мир

Как и раньше, игрок может вполне свободно перемещаться по городу, который создан по образу и подобию Сан-Франциско.

После мрачного и унылого Чикаго новое место действия воспринимается сугубо положительно. Это намного более живое место, с кучей разных людей и автомобилей.

Геймплейная реализация выполнена на рядовом для Ubisoft уровне. Повсюду разбросаны различные мини-задания, сумки с деньгами, любопытные заметки и другой вторичный контент.

Безусловно, это здорово, что в игре можно заняться чем-то еще помимо прохождения сюжетной линии, однако не стоит ждать откровений: изучение мира быстро наскучивает, как в The Division, Far Cry 4 и в других играх с открытым миром.

Analysis

Police Heat Level.

There are five triangles with an exclamation mark in them and with depending colors, a black triangle with white sidebar indicates the player has committed a crime but is not being chased by the authorities, on the other hand, if the triangle is red with black sidebar, this indicates the player is currently being chased by the authorities.

CTOS Heat Level.

The heat level will be cleared completely after a successful evasion from the authorities or other factions. If the player has outstanding heat levels from authorities, they will be slowly cleared one by one as time passes by without committing another crime.

The Heat Level has been expanded to other faction members as well. If a faction member(s) commit several crimes in a row (i.e Shooting and killing several police personnel) the heat level on them will be increased slowly at which point the police will send tougher forces to stop them (i.e SWAT). The player can also receive a heat level if they are actively chased by other factions such as Unemi, Tezcas, Bratva, etc which can be increased if the player kills several faction members. If two or more factions are in conflict each other, the heat level will give a hint to the player indicating the certain factions in conflict each other but will not necessarily mean the player is being chased by the factions unless the triangles are flashing red color with exclamation marks as stated above.
Aside from the Heat Level, the game also uses some symbols to indicate the state of an enemy, and what actions the faction is currently doing.

Yellow exclamation point: The enemy has detected the player, but hasn’t engaged them into combat. The enemy will hold the player at gunpoint and slowly walk over to his location to apprehend him. If the player lets the faction member apprehend him, it will be game over and the player will respawn in a location, just as if the player died. Like dying, no penalties will be issued upon the player.

Red exclamation point: The enemy has engaged the player in combat and will start
attacking him. When this happens, the message “(Faction Name) has engaged you in combat” appears. If the enemy has detected a co-op partner, the message “(Faction Name) has engaged your co-op partner in combat” appears. During this phase, any members belonging to the hostile faction will attack the player/co-op partner on sight.

Yellow interrogation point: The enemy has lost sight of the player and is searching for him. When this happens, the message “(Faction Name) is searching the area for you” appears. If the enemy has detected a co-op partner, the message “(Faction Name) is searching the area for your co-op partner” appears. During this phase, any members belonging to the hostile faction will start detecting the player/co-op partner on sight, even if the player/co-op partner is outside a restricted area or doesn’t hold anyone at gunpoint.

In addition, when the enemy finds a knocked out/dead comrade, they will walk over to them and try to wake them up, the player will have a few seconds to defeat the enemy before they notify their partners of this. If the enemy manages to notify the other faction members, the message “(Faction Name) is searching the area” will appear, and instead of walking passively, the enemies will start actively searching the area for any threats, but they will stop searching the area if they don’t find any hostiles.

The factions and their reinforcements seem to become more powerful by default as the player progresses through the storyline. For example, in the beginning of the game, enemies tougher than a Gunman rarely appear, and each reinforcement call only brings 1 vehicle (Or two faction members) at Heat Level 0. But, by the time the player completes Motherload, Armored Gunmen, Elites and Enforcers are quite common, and each reinforcement call brings at least 3 cars or at least six faction members at Heat Level 0, and those faction members are usually Armored Gunmen, Elites or Enforcers. Marksmen, Jammers and Grenadiers can never call reinforcements, likely because they are more of a specialized enemy instead of a foot soldier. The enemies summoned by a reinforcement call are unable to call new reinforcements, no matter what type of enemy they are.

Behavior

The behavior of the FBI is largely similar to the Police’s, only that they can’t summon helicopters, K-9s, Coast Guards and SWAT Teams due to their Heat Level being like a gang/Umeni’s though they can arrest the players. However, when calling reinforcements, instead of summoning more agents, the FBI can contact the Police and pit them against the players, making them fight two factions at the same time. This is extremely difficult considering that now K-9s, helicopters, Coast Guards and SWAT teams may arrive depending on how high the player’s Heat Level is. This also means that the player will have to escape a Police Heat Level, which is much harder than a gang/Umeni/FBI Heat Level. Due to this, attacking the agency stealthily and preventing them from calling reinforcements is critical. Also, due to them being a law enforcement agency, agents cannot be framed for an arrest and the Police will ignore them if they attack Marcus and other civilians.

The FBI also drive more aggressively than the police. However, they cannot spawn roadblocks, like the police. Also similar to the police, if the FBI detect the player in a restricted area, they will attempt to arrest them. If the player moves, they will open fire.

Variants

• Taxi Vessel: There is a taxi variant of the Vessel that appears to be the cheapest taxi in the company. In Watch Dogs, it spawns either in a yellow or white color and in Watch Dogs 2, in a red/white, yellow/white or green/white color. Both are operated by Rapid Cab.
• Viceroy Vessel: The Black Viceroys own modified Vessels with white, blue, and orange paint jobs, orange interiors, customized rims, and symbols on their front and rear. It only appears in Watch Dogs.
• Police Vessel: The Chicago Police Department use the Vessel along with the Police Cavale and the Police Sonarus LX. It is distinguished by its rear-facing sirens located inside the vehicle, which are visible when the sirens are turned on. The police version of this vehicle is no different from its budget version, as it can be disabled easily with little or no effort; just try to avoid getting boxed in. This version remains unchanged in Watch Dogs 2, but this one only appears in a mission.
• Damaged versions can be only found in the Alone Digital Trip, in Watch Dogs.

Events of Watch Dogs: Legion

❝ We shall never surrender.❞ 

―DedSec

Albion is ordered by the government to hunt down and execute DedSec members.

Up until Operation Westminster, DedSec operated away from the public eye, as they had always done in the past. However, the general society turned against DedSec when Zero Day, a zealous neo-luddite hacker cell which splintered off from London’s Branch of DedSec, set off bombs across London, killing thousands, and DedSec was framed for the attacks. Following this, DedSec was declared a terrorist organization and the British government contracted Albion, a private military firm, to track down and kill DedSec members. Meanwhile, DedSec is attempting to clear their name while seeking justice for ordinary people, by fighting the various factions trying to rise to power in London, including Albion and Clan Kelley.

Description

Self-described as the «world’s foremost innovator of high-tech, high-performance communications and security technology», Blume Corporation specializes in everything from wireless phone operating systems, home computers, to digital imaging processors, and linked-by-network security systems. They take great pride in the fact that they helped create most of the markets they now dominate. Blume stands poised to reshape the way people think about Information Security Architecture (ISA).

Blume had its own security contractors in Watch Dogs to protect the company’s major interests like CTOS Control Centers, Blume property, etc. These security members could be identified with CTOS signs on their gray uniforms. They were notorious for various criminal records of its members. In Watch Dogs 2, Blume hires Umeni Security Corps to provide security to their facilities. It is unknown if this was only for the Bay Area or if Umeni Security Corps were also contracted to replace Blume facilities in Chicago after the events of Watch Dogs.

Blume made many sketchy deals with organizations by giving them access to CTOS data and related technology like the Bellwether system, in exchange for funding and information. This in turn created one of the largest corrupt corporate monopolies that even included U.S. government agencies such as the FBI.

Хакерство по-хакерски

Несмотря на то, что Watch Dogs 2 — игра про бунтарей, хакеров, взламывающих государственные системы, ее нельзя воспринимать всерьез. Особенно это касается истории. Игра показывает хакеров такими, какими они хотят выглядеть, ни грамма реализма тут нет, и это правильный подход. Ведь что интереснее: сидеть трое суток в полумраке в подвале за компьютером, пытаясь хакнуть сайт зловещей корпорации, или проникнуть на гигантскую баржу и украсть оттуда гигантский сервер, улетев с ним на не менее гигантском квадрокоптере? Герои отрываются, пьют пиво, а хакается все как-то само. Каждый хакер мечтает о том, чтобы их взломы протекали именно так.

Беззаботным духом пропитан вообще весь сюжет. Сильно интересной истории или каких-то внезапных поворотов не ждите, игра не об этом. Зато, разрушая планы корпорации Blum по внедрению в массы системы ctOS 2.0, игроку предоставляется возможность позорить гендиректоров, портить частную собственность, вываливать на публику грязные секреты политиков и вообще активно заниматься уморительным членовредительством. Все это чертовски стильно подано и срежиссированно, а каждое «дело» заканчивается роликом от DedSec, где хакеры рассказывают, кто и как провинился и как был за это наказан. Стилизация такая, что каждого видео ждешь, как праздника, совсем как фоловеры DedSec.

Но на фоне всего этого раздолбайства редкие драматичные моменты действительно цепляют за душу, к героям привязываешься и происходит это быстро.

И это не мудрено, ведь Эйден Пирс, главный герой первой части был не только хакером, но и хладнокровным исполнителем куда более грязных заданий. Он взламывал сети и стрелял людям в лицо — это было обосновано сеттингом и сюжетом. Маркус совершенно не такой. Он — самый обычный парень в постподростковом периоде, любящий выпить пива, повеселиться и посмотреть боевики из 80-х. Когда он хватает гранатомет и начинает убивать полицейских, задевая заодно и мирных жителей — игра разваливается. Ее уже невозможно воспринимать легко, в голове что-то начинает жужжать: так не должно быть, это неправильно.

Интересные факты

• У него есть робо-сын — Ренч-младший;
• Так же, как и Клара Лилл, Ренч имеет татуировки на своем теле;

В русской локализации Ренча озвучивает Николай Быстров;

Возможное имя Ренча — Реджинальд. Это имя всплывает во время побочного задания «Игра в имена», когда Prime Eight сливала информацию об участниках Dedsec через телефонные будки. В конце миссии Ренч спросит о том, что не было ли его имени в том сообщении, на что Маркус назовет имя «Реджинальд». Ренч разозлится, что косвенно подтверждает его имя;

День рождения Ренча 4 апреля (как написали сценаристы Ubisoft), но он любит шутить, что родился 1 апреля.

Город в стиле диско

Повествование по сути осталось таким же. Имеются отдельные миссии, скорее даже сайд-квесты, чтобы набрать больше классов фолловеров, ведь основное задание так и говорит «Набрать как можно больше фолловеров, чтобы сокрушить Blume». Как это связано, непонятно до самого финала игры. Но несмотря на то, что события в единую цепочку составить сложно, выполнение заданий не превращается в рутину.

Во-первых, потому что Ubisoft отказалась от своих легендарных вышек. Теперь весь город полностью открыт для исследования. Именно весь. На карте сразу отмечены все магазины, забегаловки, автосалоны и прочие интересные места.

Во-вторых, сам город, представляющий из себя выжимку самых интересных мест Сан-Франциско, повсюду яркие граффити, достопримечательности, арт-объекты и причудливые жители. То попадется чудак, прячущийся в кустах, то увидишь живую скульптуру, то группу людей, одетых пончиками.В этом городе интересно гулять. Кстати о передвижении. Маркус обучен паркуру и знает достаточно трюков для эффектного преодоления препятствий, а физику авто неплохо подтянули, пусть и не до идеала.

А в-третьих, в любой момент можно бросить надоевший квест и заняться чем-нибудь другим, подобного тут в избытке. У Маркуса есть множество других побочных дел, которые ждут исполнения. Например, можно почувствовать себя арт-художником и рисовать провокационные граффити на высоких точках города. К каждому месту будущего рисунка необходимо найти подход, в этом могут помочь как простой подъемник или лифт, так и стоящий по соседству башенный кран. Тут есть и традиционная для игр с открытым миром забава — «Я таксист». Но здесь и она переосмыслена. Один клиент попросит прокатить его с ветерком, прыгая с высоченных трамплинов, другой предложит обогнать его беспилотный автомобиль, а третий и вовсе заманит в западню, из которой придется делать ноги. Ubisoft постаралась сделать однообразные и клишированные квесты в играх с открытым миром интереснее и неплохо с этим справилась.

Итог

Watch Dogs 2 выполнена в духе юношеского максимализма. Наши герои тусят, ссорятся, отпускают шуточки, ругают Blume, веселятся. Хакеры здесь показаны отнюдь не скручивающимися около монитора гениями, которые, сидя в гараже, пытаются взломать сайт злой корпорации. В Watch Dogs 2 надо пробираться на закрытые территории, заводы, баржи, управлять квадрокоптером, выбирать крутую тачку, одеваться поярче, а взламывается все как-то само. Одним нажатием. Никакой скучной рутины, только веселье и романтика. Вот только главный герой совершенно непримечательный, второстепенные персонажи лучше раскрыты, чем Маркус, угловатая физика машин, иногда странное поведение NPC и чрезмерное паразитирование на затертых интернет шутках все портят. Почему нет ни слова про главного злодея? Он такой же как Маркус: блеклый, невнятный,  да и в качестве антагониста в игре выступает целая корпорация Blume, а не отдельный ее представитель.

80

Отличная, пусть и не полная, работа над ошибками. Поможет скрасить ожидание очередной части GTA.

Кирилл Молоканов@KefirCO (81 lvl)