Ubisoft came to impress with Watch_Dogs this year. Although the Wii U version wasn’t available at E3, we were shown a presentation that utilized the PlayStation 4 and a lot of gameplay.

The demo took place in a highly accurate version of Chicago, complete with citizens, traffic, and an open world environment that allowed ample side-questing. The amount of detail that has gone into the environment was amazing. Every citizen has a basic biography assigned to them which you can view through a facial recognition feature. You can listen to conversations, read emails, and even hack into their phones and steal their money.

In this world, everything is connected and hacking equals power. At the start of the demo some people had a red X over their head, which meant we couldn’t hack them yet. We had to upload our software to the district’s CTOS, which is part of the city system that controls everything. In order to take it over though, we first had to break into a government facility to find the boss with the access codes.

The developers really wanted to allow people to play in whatever style they wanted to. You can build up either your hacking or shooting skills, buying new weapons and accessories with your earnings. Our representative started out stealthily, distracting a guard by hacking a forklift and causing it to move. While the guard looked away, a takedown maneuver could be performed. While using the facility’s security cameras to look around, guards were overheard talking and revealed to us where the boss was.

With a clear path in mind, now was the time to switch strategies and get the job done. Our character shot a guard, alerting others to our presence, and continued to run in, guns blazing.

Once the CTOS was in our control, criminal activity could be monitored. The city utilizes a system that analyzes movement and facial patterns to predict crime and alert authorities. This gives players the opportunity to help citizens, but could also lead to ramifications later. However, if a criminal is stopped successfully, and without being killed, your reputation increases. Having a good reputation means citizens are more likely to turn a blind eye when you perform criminal actions, like stealing a car, instead of calling the cops.

Speaking of alerting the cops, word travels fast in the game and your character can even show up on the news. During the demo, a gun shop owner recognized us from the news playing on a nearby television and pressed a panic button. The police could use a scanner to track us and we had to escape quickly. All actions can lead to realistic reactions from citizens, so be careful where you pull out a gun.

By far the best feature of the game is the use of multiplayer. At any time, a friend can covertly enter your game. No alert appears and nothing seems to change until your friend attempts to hack information from your system. You must then attempt to find and stop them before a time limit runs out, leading to car chases, gun battles, anything you choose. Friends can explore your game as long as they want before hacking, either blending in or causing endless havoc.

The seamless connection between systems was perfect, and the possibilities are exciting. We promptly retaliated by connecting to our friend’s game and hiding in a car while hacking their system. This unfortunately ended in us getting killed in a gun battle and sent back to our own game.

Watch_Dogs' open world environment promises an immense amount of gameplay options, creating custom game experience for every player. The use of internet connectivity is brilliant and really pushed the game further than we could’ve imagined.