A 14-minute long narrated demo shows off the open-world gameplay in Ubisoft's upcoming Watch Dogs.
In the beginning of the video, animation director Colin Graham emphasizes that this is not a mission but emergent gameplay in an open world. It begins in the Wards, a lower-income neighborhood in Watch Dogs' Chicago where Graham says players will find rusty cars and abandoned homes. Protagonist Aiden Pearce has not yet hacked into the local CtOS network yet, so he is unable to access the mobile devices that tap into it in the area.
Pearce decides to rectify that, casing the local CtOS station to get the security key off a guard and infiltrating the compound. He sets traps to take down unsuspecting guards before opening fire; Graham says that the developers have tried to make all play styles rewarding whether the player prefers stealth or rushing in guns blazing.
With the CtOS system under his control, Pearce is able to access the local crime prediction network and successfully foils a potentially lethal domestic violence incident, chasing down the assailant and incapacitating him for the police. This boosts his reputation; Graham says that different acts will change Aiden's reputation among the citizens and news, determining whether they see him as a common thug or a well-intentioned vigilante.
Moving in to the more prestigious Loop district of Chicago, a news report on Aiden causes him to have to flee from the police after a shopkeeper triggers a silent alarm. He evades the police and hacks the bank account of an apparent single mother with a young baby; as no one sees him do this his reputation remains unchanged. Graham says that this is one of the game's shades of grey where it won't penalize you itself, but your conscience might.
The gameplay demo ends with seamless multiplayer as another player joins our iteration of Chicago and begins to hack Aiden.
Watch Dogs hits Windows PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii U on Nov. 19 in North America and Nov. 22 in Europe. It will be a launch title for both Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
Check out our hands-on preview of Watch Dogs from Gamescom, including many of the features shown in this video.
