Watchdogs Legion

[PZ]

Had a good session this morning. Although the missions keep getting more difficult, there is usually a way to accomplish the tasks remotely should you wish to do so. It takes a bit of time, but it is quite satisfying.

One of the missions this morning was to infiltrate a building and wipe a server clean. While run and gun is a heart thumping option, for me it was much more fun to use security cameras, a spiderbot, and a drone to accomplish everything remotely.

The game has the same general feel of the prior versions, but is much more refined, the A.I. more realistic (not the supermen of FC2 style) and solving the puzzle of unlocking networks, finding alternate paths and methods is quite satisfying.

I've not been this engaged in a game in quite a long time.

[Art Blade]

that's good

[Dweller_Benthos]

As satisfying as the run and gun method is, that does sound very cool, getting in and doing the job with just a little robot taking all the risk. What happens though, if your robot gets caught? Do you just fail the mission, have to restart, etc?

[PZ]

When you hack a spiderbot or drone you see what they "see". Guards know that the bot has been hacked if they see it, and will track it down just as if it was you, so you should try to escape. If they shoot "you" (the bot you hacked), then it's wrecked and your optic returns to your character, but you personally do not suffer consequence. However they will announce that they need to find the driver of the bot and look for you.

Normally I now play as the construction worker because he can call the construction drone - I sit outside hovering somewhere in a safe zone while my bot takes all the blame. 

If you know which faction you are challenging (e.g., Clan Kelly or Albinon) you can recruit one of those members, and if successful, your new recruit can be played by you to infiltrate the restricted zone as long as you are wearing the right uniform.

About the construction worker: his melee weapon is a huge pipe wrench, and his silent weapon is an automatic nail gun which is easy to use to great effectiveness. You can also change out your character's gadget with anything you have purchased, and the list is long with useful equipment. 

[Art Blade]

that sounds fun And reminds me a lot of the Hitman franchise which has long been featuring "disguises" (you knock out or kill a guy whose uniform you need in order to pass through otherwise restricted areas) and there are some NPCs who are called "enforcers" which a reference to their ability to look through certain or even all disguises and to call you out if they spot you.

But your flying carpet act is really the best

[PZ]

Yes it reminds me of the stories you have told about Hitman. 

I'm in a a clock tower at this time in the game and it reminds me of some of the clock climbing in Assassin's Creed. They might have borrowed a things from a variety of games.

[Art Blade]

I don't mind "borrowing" at all as long as they only borrow "the good stuff" Like this, games are really getting better. In Cyberpunk2077 they also allow you to climb mostly everything and they borrowed the live hacking and remote-control of things from Watchdogs.

[PZ]

I like that! I can climb things but certainly not scale buildings like in Assassin's Creed. Even something in between would be good.

[Art Blade]

in CP, the climbing is.. well, more realistic. Unlike in AC that had handle bars everywhere so you could climb up anything that you wouldn't be able to if it was more real. So in CP you can climb up and down IF you find suitable places to jump up to or down from. And you can jump and grab ledges to climb up, but "real" ledges, not handle bars.

[PZ]

 

[PZ]

I'm almost done with the first play through, and have found the experience delightful compared to some of the other games I have played in the past.

My likes:

• No boss mission
• Only a single race, or timed event that is part of the main story line. It was rather easy to accomplish thanks to the "very easy" game play mode.
• So many different ways to accomplish a task. I prefer stealth, but have gone in guns blazin' and both are fun.
• The ability to play as anyone - never thought this would be a big deal, but it is revolutionary.

My favorite gadget is the infiltrator spiderbot that I have upgraded with an invisibility cloak (effect lasts about 3 seconds), and the ability to do takedowns. I have literally sat atop my construction  drone, hacked the cameras to tag all the enemy, and then have thrown down my spiderbot. He can distract or hack the optik so I have a chance to rush them and take them down (the spiderbot quickly climbs the clothing of the victim and attaches itself to the person's face). That animation is satisfying - it is like the face huggers in the alien series of movies. In some instances I have killed everyone in the area with this method.

This is the big deal about playing as anyone for me: in order to recruit someone, you need to accomplish a mission of some kind, so the potential is literally endless to do missions just by recruiting operatives into your group. Each has their own set of skills, gadgets, and weapons. You can go into an enemy camp, hack into the phone of an enemy and decide if you want to recruit them into your ranks. I have done that and left the mission just to complete recruiting a former enemy that has a menu full of unique gadgets and weapons. Because they were formerly a member of a faction, they still have a uniform so you can go into that faction's area with significantly reduced noticeability factor. You are not exactly invisible, but they will not "notice" you unless you get too close.

I read online where you can have up to 20 recruits, and up to 60 potential recruits in your list. If you want to go beyond 20 recruits, you can dismiss your least favorites and recruit someone you might fee is more interesting, and do their missions.

Games plus mode is reportedly coming along with the usual DLC packages  in 2021.

The negative sides (mostly with the UBI*bleep* business practices):

• There is only a single game save slot
• Games Plus should be out with the release of the game, not some time in the future. Like usual UBI*bleep* wants to hook you in so you come back to the game in the future and perhaps purchase more things.

[Dweller_Benthos]

Glad you had fun in a game long enough to finish it! Sounds like you're going for a second try, that's always a good sign.

[PZ]

Thanks D_B 

Yeah, it is the most fun I have had in a new game in a while.

[PZ]

I'm fine tuning my stealth skills, and for a challenge have adopted a practice of killing all enemy with my stealth spiderbot. For example, my mission was to steal a $p@rts car and deliver it to a location, which sounds like a race mission 

However, using the spiderbot I killed everyone in the area and simply drove the car out of the restricted area. It took a while to hijack all cameras to tag everyone, obtain keys, set electric traps, etc, but that is the fun for me. I sat atop my construction drone outside the restricted area and guided my spiderbot to each victim.

This video is only a 2 minute snippet of how the infiltration spiderbot functions.

[Art Blade]

nice