Ubisoft’s annual E3 2019 conference kicked off with the official reveal of a new Watch Dogs game. Watch Dogs Legion is the third title in the series and its main hook is that players don’t just control a single lead character, they recruit a roster of characters with different abilities and skills.
In the gameplay debut, we witnessed a character in Watch Dogs Legion named Ian as he explores London and investigates the other characters around him. He’s attempting to find someone familiar with drones and, when he finds him, the drone expert, Jimmy Shaw, starts a fight with security. Ian helps him out while Jimmy takes off. During the confrontation, Ian is injured and the player has an option to surrender or resist. Resist is chosen and Ian cloaks himself before escaping in a nearby taxi.
After a chase and crash, a firefight ensues and Ian is killed. This is where we’re shown a major change to the Watch Dogs formula for Legion. After permanently laying Ian to rest, the player can select from a roster of other in-game citizens with different abilities. A hacker and retired police engineer named Helen is chosen and she’s used to infiltrate an establishment using her skills and a small walker drone. She’s seeking out information on where Jimmy is being held and her drone hacks into a system to get files after taking down a few enemies.
We then shift to Naomi who uses Helen’s information to locate and rescue Jimmy in a place called Camden Market. Helen, Ian, and Naomi all feature unique voices, animations, and abilities and Ubisoft claims the vast collection of characters will be unique in various ways. All of the characters are guided along by an A.I. assistant named Bagley and also interact with each other based on shared objectives. After rescuing Jimmy, the young man joins DeadSec and you assume control of him in the game.
The main goal in Watch Dogs Legion is to build a resistance against a regime in London and every citizen in the game’s population can be recruited, including the police officers scattered throughout the city. The characters are unique and there are origin quests that you have to complete to recruit them. Watch Dogs Legion launches March 6, 2020, on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Google Stadia, and PC.
