The Watch Dogs series went from one extreme to the other. At first, it was a serious story with a gloomy main character in a cap and a cloak. In the sequel, everything turned upside down – it turned into a hipster adventure in a sunny city with jokes. And in Watch Dogs: Legion, even the mood is difficult to determine, in particular due to the absence of the main character. The third installment Bloodline tried to blend sadness and fun by telling a new story in the setting of the latest game. Oddly enough, it turned out well.
Speedone
Come in large numbers
The main plot takes place before the events of Legion , but much later than the finale of the first part. That is, Day Zero has already committed terrorist attacks in London, and DedSec was accused of all mortal sins, but a new resistance squad has not yet gathered. We are briefly transported to Chicago, where the beaten-up Aiden Pearce (he is already 55 years old!) Receives a call from Geordie – he asks Aiden to visit London for an important business. Although at first the hero denies, saying that he is no longer a mercenary, he has a reason to agree – his nephew Jackson lives in the capital of Great Britain.
The deal is connected with Thomas Rempart, general director of the company “Security Systems Rempart”. He made a merger deal with the AI corporation Broca-Tek, after which he engaged in illegal machinations. We need to find out the motives of Rempart and steal the device with the strange name “Broca-bridge”. At the last moment, an easy mission ends in failure – Rench fromWatch Dogs 2 (the same guy in the spiked jacket and mask) takes the thing from under our noses and disappears.
The heroes will intersect more than once in the plot.
At first, it seemed to me that Bloodline would be a banal fan service – we take two favorite characters from old games (although it would be better if Marcus was in Rench’s place), prescribe a couple of dialogues and send them to perform the same missions as in the regular Legion . In a sense, this is so – for example, London was not expanded in the expansion in any way.
But if we talk specifically about the plot, then in this regard, the addition exceeded expectations. The development of events is very interesting to watch, and although there are only ten story missions, the developers have time to tell a lot – they shed light on what Aiden’s nephew was doing, and show the attempts of family members to establish contact, and Rench is given enough time, and several references to fans have time to insert. In the second half, the plot generally turns in an unexpected direction, after which I want to call Bloodline a real sequel to the firstWatch_Dogs .
Aiden will retire in about ten years, but is still a sprightly man.
It’s funny that the main idea of Watch Dogs: Legion , around which the original was built, is not used in the expansion in any way – and the game only benefits from this. Although it is possible to scan passers-by and guards here, there is no need to do this – the recruitment system is disabled. And there are only two playable characters: Aiden and Rench, between which after the final mission they will be allowed to switch freely. That is, no matter how well the opportunity to play for any person is realized, it is impossible to tell personal stories without a predetermined hero.
Legion of two
The rest is Watch Dogs: Legion with a cut out recruitment. Divided into several districts of London, the ability to teleport to an open metro station, missions with penetration into closed areas – you can shoot at everyone, you can do everything secretly, knocking out the guards. The add-on is launched in a separate menu, and the city here is not as rich in entertainment as in the original – you cannot take part in any mini-games, for example.
You involuntarily start walking around the city with your hands in your pockets – like in the trailers of the first Watch Dogs.
But both main characters differ from the crowd by unique abilities. In particular, both have a multi-drone – a device that moves exactly like the mechanical spider from the original, but can turn into a flying drone at any time. A useful thing that would come in handy more than once in the main campaign, especially when hunting for collectibles.
One of Aiden’s main skills is active cooldown, which has recently begun to be added to many games. Empty the clip, reload your weapon, press the Triangle on your controller in time – and the bullets inflict more damage on opponents for 15 seconds. Another combat skill is called “Concentration”: if you hit an enemy while holding a weapon, and then hold L2, then time will slow down and Aiden will automatically target the next enemy. The second is almost never used, but the first is a great innovation. And, of course, Pierce has the Fatal Failure ability, which hacks into everything around: cars, drones, weapons, and so on.
Meet Sergey.
Rench has a less interesting set. In melee combat, he uses a hammer and, when pressed on the “Triangle”, makes a crushing blow that breaks into neighboring vehicles – there has never been a situation when this would be useful. He also carries with him ninja grenades that stun targets, and to climb to the roofs of buildings calls for a cargo drone, which he calls Sergei. Compared to other drones, this one not only looks very stylish, but also flies noticeably faster – ideal for traveling around the city if you are tired of ordinary cars.
It is commendable that the developers tried to diversify opponents – in addition to all kinds of guards, there are now humanoid robots. A special approach to them is required: first you need to achieve overheating with shots, and then run behind your back and shoot the battery. And they not only spray you with lead, but also use ultrasonic attacks, from which you cannot hide behind cover. Fighting robots is fun and hasn’t been put into every shootout so they don’t get boring.
Robots, like humans, can be finished off hand-to-hand.
In between story missions, you can be distracted by good side missions, but even without them, the DLC leaves a positive impression. An unexpectedly good story that makes you feel nostalgic and tells about familiar heroes is a nice gift for fans of Watch Dogs . No innovations, the city is needed only to drive from mission to mission, but you still don’t regret the time spent. And after the ending, you can hire both Aiden and Rench in the main game and go through the story for themLegion – it won’t be that hard to find them in London.
Pros: an interesting story with familiar characters; quite diverse missions, in which there are more types of enemies; active reloading makes gunfights more fun; good side quests.
Cons: there are no new ideas, and the main “trick” with the game for any person has been completely cut out.
