14 DAY TRIAL // Watch Dogs has a reputation system that tells players how the citizens of Chicago feel towards their actions, but Ubisoft has revealed that it won't lock down certain aspects of the game based on it, like in other experiences.
Watch Dogs is set to debut later this month and puts players in the shoes of vigilante Aiden Pearce, a hacker who explores Chicago on a quest of vengeance against those who did him wrong.
However, players have free reign in regard to how Aiden pursues his objectives, meaning that he can be violent towards anyone and everyone, including the citizens of the city, or he can try to look out for the common man and woman, while hunting for his foes.
His reputation can be examined via a special menu in Aiden's phone and depending on what type of deeds he does, the citizens of Chicago and the media will have a different attitude to him.
If he behaves well, citizens will be more optimistic about his actions and might even turn a blind eye to possible bad deeds like stealing cars. If he's more violent, they'll run away or report him to the police, while the media will air his image more often.
"The media will still report on you, but maybe not in such a negative tone," Lead Writer Kevin Shortt told Ubiblog about good situations. "It will be more questioning. Is he a good guy? Is he a hero? Is he a terrorist? They are going to start raising these kinds of questions."
However, going either full on good or bad isn't going to lock away content in the game, like missions or certain choices, as it's ultimately about what opinion the citizens have about Aiden, not how he really is during the story.
"The reputation system isn’t really a good-versus-bad kind of system. We really wanted it to just be the citizens reflecting back on you and what you’re doing so that you think about it more. The game doesn’t suddenly tilt one way if you get a bad reputation. It doesn’t make it exponentially harder. It should just make you consider your actions and what you’re doing," Shortt added.
What's more, redemption is always possible, although players will have to work for it after doing something bad.
"If you’re seen as a really good guy and you start shooting cops, the meter is going to go down pretty fast. If you do the crime detection a lot and you save people to redeem yourself, your reputation will go back up, but you have to work for it. It will take some time and good deeds."
Watch Dogs launches on May 27 worldwide for PC, PS3, Xbox 360, PS4, and Xbox One.