Watch Dogs 2 will, hopefully, be a far superior game to its dour and drab predecessor, which ended up taking itself far too seriously. This game, on the other hand, looks like it will know how to have fun- which is always a good thing in a game, and especially an open world game.
That said, it does sound like it could still get a bit too intense at times. In its ESRB rating, Watch Dogs 2 has been described to have nudity, sexual themes, coarse language, and violence, among other things, as well as references to potentially controversial subject matter.
“This is an action-adventure game in which players assume the role of a man (Marcus Holloway) who joins forces with a hacker group intent on exposing corruption in the San Francisco Bay Area,” the rating says. “As players explore the open-world environment, they can complete mission-based objectives, interact with characters, and engage in combat with criminals and rival gangs.
“Players use machine guns, shotguns, assault rifles, and explosives to kill enemy thugs and/or civilians; killing civilians, however, may negatively affect their progress. Fire fights are often accompanied by realistic gunfire, large explosions, and blood-splatter effects. Some sequences contain additional acts of violence: a man bleeding out and dying from a stab wound; a man shot and killed by an officer.
“The game contains some sexual material: a man selling child pornography over the phone (no sexual acts or nudity depicted); a strip club depicting pole dancers and topless women; brief instances of male and female full-frontal nudity (e.g., a woman in body paint; a man standing with a woman outdoors). During the course of the game, characters are depicted smoking marijuana and using needles to inject themselves with drugs; in one sequence, the player’s screen warps and blurs after consuming mushrooms laced with acid. The words “f**k,” “sh*t,” and “a*shole” are heard in the dialogue.”
Some of this could end up becoming a bit problematic- hopefully the game tackles it all with grace. That said, most of it sounds par for the course for open world games, as well. Watch Dogs 2 will launch on November 15 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.
