Closed E3 Showcase: Parkour, Opponents, and Mobile Client
You've probably already seen the E3 presentation of [Watch Dogs](/games?search=Watch Dogs) shown at the Ubisoft conference. If not, you absolutely must check it out now to not miss one of the biggest surprises of the past exhibition.
But not everything was shown to the public. [cut] Behind closed doors, Ubisoft demonstrated the same level of [Watch Dogs](/games?search=Watch Dogs) to journalists, but the gameplay differed from the video and several more impressive features of the game were showcased. Let's talk about those now.
When Pierce approaches the gallery down the street, he taps into one of the security cameras. This way, he gets the opportunity to peek around corners that are out of sight without attracting unnecessary attention.
After that, Pierce hacks one of the phones and listens to a casual conversation. An entirely ordinary one, where the wife asks her husband when he will come home, but the player hears clear dialogue from both sides. This is one of the main ways to gather information in [Watch Dogs](/games?search=Watch Dogs), and for the sake of realism, the player will have to eavesdrop on dozens of mundane conversations before hearing something important.
When Pierce leaves the gallery to meet an adversary, the action unfolds differently. In the public video at the 6:10 mark, you can see a certain structure. In the closed demonstration, Pierce climbs this structure in an [Assassin’s Creed](/games?search=Assassin’s Creed) style and stands on the rails running over the road. There, the hero activates a security camera to get a better view of the traffic lights and causes an accident from above. Thus, after the collision, Pierce has the opportunity to quickly deal with the guards while acting from above.
At the end of the presentation, Pierce's phone is unexpectedly hacked by an outside force, but the developers did not reveal any details about whether it was another player or a story adversary. The finale was also expanded upon, where a hacker stole a nearby parked car and began a chase against the police. Not only speed aided him, but also the ability to change traffic lights while driving to slow down the pursuit. Indeed, [Watch Dogs](/games?search=Watch Dogs) adds a new dimension to open-world games.
The closed presentation ended with a brief introduction to a mobile app that will be released simultaneously with the game (which was shown on the iPad). Through it, players will be able to interfere with their friends' games! For example, by switching traffic lights, hunting targets around the city, or simply exploring the world in search of secrets. A friend’s life can be both simplified and complicated in this way, and, most interestingly, the friend does not necessarily have to know that someone has intervened in their game.
The release of [Watch Dogs](/games?search=Watch Dogs) is still a long way off. The game was shown on PC, but Ubisoft refused to discuss the configuration on which the game was running, which certainly raises questions. However, there’s no doubt that [Watch Dogs](/games?search=Watch Dogs) as shown at the exhibition cannot appear on PS3 or Xbox 360 in any way—unless in a heavily stripped-down version.