There’s a character in Watch Dogs 2 who has an LCD screen over his face displaying different emoticon eyes to fit the mood. ~_^ Yeah, it is sort of awful but then the game’s so brash with its take on hacking culture - apparently powered by chai tea soy lattes and art school pixel graffiti - that it all works beautifully. As the new hero, Marcus is an unlikely fit for Watch Dog’s previously dour, grumpy-trench coat stylings, with his skinny jeans and jacket sleeves pushed up. He looks like a student. A skinny streak of a kid with his MacBook Air stuffed into a tiny shoulder bag (when he’s not sat cross-legged tapping away at its keyboard to bring down tha man with it). It’s actually this that makes everything so much more interesting in Watch Dogs 2 - this sort of character is usually the side kick, not the hero. The cover hugging, free-running action might look familiar but it’s actually hugely refreshing to see an Urban Outfitters model pulling it all off for a change instead of an angry jawline on legsIt’s a change that seems to have infiltrated the rest of the game.

Simply standing around in this Watch Dogs 2’s interpretation of San Fran is more fun than the previous installment’s Chicago. The city is colourful and lively in a way that makes it much more inviting to explore, while adding an almost Saturday morning cartoon level of innocence to the action. Marcus can be (extremely) violent but somehow it feels tonally wrong. The atmosphere actually encourages more creative solutions like hacking distractions or stealthy but brutally efficient takedowns, to full on gun action. Both are possible but somehow the trigger happy option here doesn’t feel right because of who he is.Take, for example, a mission where Markus has to infiltrate a penthouse to retrieve information being deleted by a corrupt politician. There is shooting but it mainly involves a taser. Instead, he’s ducking between cover, hacking cameras to gather info and using a tiny two-wheeled RC to buzz unseen past guards and steal data. If it was a grizzled spy, or muscled hero it would just be the usual neck snapping and rote shooting.

Here it’s daft and enjoyable, ending up with a display car hacked and revved through a window.“Aidan fit our version of Chicago and we wanted to tell that noir story that fitted well with a rainy North Eastern city” explains senior producer Dominic Guay. “You go for west coast San Francisco Bay? [The] free spirit and sunny fun kind of comes with it. So we built our character out of that setting. pug backpack amazonA positive side to him was something we wanted”. backpack amsterdam kopenFor a game about hitting people with a billiard ball on a string (Marcus’ signature weapon) there is a lot of that ‘sunny fun’ and it’s probably Watch Dog 2’s best feature. hsv backpackWhile this offers a vastly refined and improved version of the previous games hacking and combat, the brightness and irreverence adds a freshness to it all.north face backpack surge ii sale

It’s Eerie How Well Carl Sagan’s “Pale Blue Dot” Speech Works in GTA 5 by Jessica Lachenal Feb 2nd Duggy, a Grand Theft Auto 5 YouTube video creator, has found a way to perfectly portray Carl Sagan's mystifying, stargazingly humbling Pale Blue Dot speech in GTA 5. Things We Saw Today: Bayonetta Joins Super Smash Bros.! by Carly Lane Jan 31st Bayonetta is coming to Super Smash Bros.! tumi backpack sale amazonThe character was announced by Nintendo of America as the final DLC member alongside Corrin, both of whom will be joining the game on February 3rd. buy golite backpackBack in December, she was the "overall number one choice worldwide" when fans were asked to nominate their favorite characters for DLC, according to Nintendo. Things We Saw Today: This Back to the Future DeLorean Cake is, Well, Heavy

by Carly Lane Nov 1st This DeLorean cake was originally made for Back to the Future Day by Tattooed Bakers, but it's just so awesome that we can't imagine anyone in their right mind would want to cut into it and ruin the majesty. Things We Saw Today: Darth Vader Kill Count by Teresa Jusino Oct 22nd Lest you had any doubt that Darth Vader is an evil dude, Mr. Sunday Movies provides a Darth Vader Kill Count to tally up all of those who died directly by his hand. What's kinda surprising, though, is that he's been killing since he was a little kid, and that he apparently killed more people as Anakin than he did as Darth Vader. Things We Saw Today: Batman is Not a Happy Camper But he's got a killer backpack. by Teresa Jusino Sep 1st Batman is ready to go camping. And his backpack is INTENSE. Wreck All of Los Santos with this GTA 5 Hulkbuster Mod Because of course you can. by Jessica Lachenal Aug 10th Sometimes we have to sit back and just look at how creative modding communities can be.

Video Game Women With More Average Bodies by Anti-Eating Disorder Group by Dan Van Winkle Jul 23rd Characters in video games (and other fiction) might not be real, but that doesn't stop them from having very real consequences on the way we perceive ourselves and our bodies. This, of course, is often especially the case with female characters and can have an unfortunate impact on already-too-high numbers of girls and women with eating disorders. 13 Father’s Day Cards For Your Favorite Video Game Dads Or least-favorite, depending on your threshold for bad parenting. by Sam Maggs Jun 21st I got the gaming bug from my dad, who used to sit three-year-old me on his lap while he played Myst and Doom - which, in hindsight, may not have been the best plan, but hey. So what better way to celebrate Father's Day than with a collection of cards (lovingly made by myself and my fellow Weekend Editor, Becky Chambers) dedicated to our fave, most-devoted in-game dads?

Over 50,000 People Want Target Australia To Stop Selling the Bible, Which They Don’t Actually Sell by Victoria McNally Dec 8th Oh well, let he who is without sin sign the first petition, am I right? Australian Gamers Challenge Target’s GTAV Removal By Launching Ridiculous Counter-Protests by Victoria McNally Dec 5th Remember a few days ago when Target Australia announced it would no longer be stocking Grand Theft Auto V on its shelves? Now there are several new petitions, presumably from people who are angry with the original decision, advocating that Target get rid of other things, too—like its name and logo, for example, which "encourage people to aim at and shoot things." Can't make this stuff up, folks. Dorkly Shows Us That Game Characters Are the Worst Customers Ever I'm STILL waiting for my plumber, guys. Never trust Mario's business. by Victoria McNally Sep 5th Man, you think it's hard working in the regular service industry?

Try working in the video game service industry. At best, your pocket's probably going to get picked by some unscrupulous Dovahkiin. At least Dorkly's looking out for the common working NPC. Forget Goat Simulator – Now You Can Play GTAV As The Animal Of Your Choice Apparently pigs are excellent drivers despite their lack of opposable thumbs. by Sam Maggs May 3rd Did you think Grand Theft Auto V not being out for PC yet would stop the amazing modding community? Of course not, guys, they live to amaze and confuse gamers around the world. In this GTAV mod, you can get your Goat Simulator on and play as animals. Turn Los Santos Into Rapture With This City-Sinking GTAV Mod For PS3 Would you kindly turn LS into a post-apocalyptic tsunami'd wasteland? by Sam Maggs Jan 27th Grand Theft Auto V is so expansive, I feel like you could play it endlessly and never get bored. But what if you've played it so much that the only thing left for you to do is to mess with the game so thoroughly that it becomes an awesome Bioshock hybrid?

Enter the GTAV Tsunami mod. 5 Things We Learned at the NYCC GTAV Panel No, none of them are "How to effectively hotwire a car in under 20 seconds," sadly. by Sam Maggs Oct 12th Yesterday, Geekosystem was able to hit IGN's GTAV panel at New York Comic Con, and it was probably the raddest thing of all time. Hosted by IGN's Greg Miller, GTAV actors Ned Luke (Michael), Steven Ogg (Trevor), and Shawn "Solo" Fonteno (Franklin) took the stage, and the gamers went wild. Here's what we learned (see, GTAV can be educational!) This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things: Guy Claims That GTAV Made Him Want To Steal Actual CarsYou're ruining things for the rest of us. by Victoria McNally Sep 24th Another day, another person complaining that video games make people do violent stuff -- except this time it's not a member of congress but an actual person who did violent stuff and got caught. Man, you know you're screwed when your best defense comes from a very special episode of Law and Order: SVU.

Watch Conan Attempt to Play Grand Theft Auto V and Fail Spectacularly [VIDEO] He's like the most epic n00b ever, and it's a beautiful thing. by Sam Maggs Sep 21st You might have heard that Grand Theft Auto 5 was released this week; probably because basically every single person in the world (myself included) bought a copy, and the game has already made over one billion dollars. In just one day, Rockstar made more money than the daily GDP of Singapore. The Easter Egg To End All Grand Theft Auto Easter Eggs Has Officially Been Found in GTAV by Victoria McNally Sep 20th Mild spoilers for those of you who haven't finished playing the game -- though if you're a longtime fan of the series, you probably know the exact Easter Egg we're talking about. Here’s the First Gameplay Video for Grand Theft Auto V, Feel Free to Commence Drooling [Video] Seriously though, you can do a whole lot of stuff in this game. by Rollin Bishop Jul 9th Look, Rockstar makes some very lovely video games, but prior to the announcement of Grand Theft Auto V, I was pretty much done with the franchise.

What more could they do after the last one, right? That's what I thought. Then the first gameplay video for Grand Theft Auto V dropped this morning, and now all I want to do is play it. Fans Piece Together Grand Theft Auto V Map, Try to Wait Patiently for Release Is it September yet? by Jonah Feldman Jun 4th Rockstar has already promised that Grand Theft Auto V will be bigger than Red Dead Redemption, GTA IV, and San Andreas combined, but it's not just about the size: It's how they use it, and right now, it looks like players will have plenty of space should they want to get away from the rush of the city. Fans of the upcoming game have constructed a full map of the game's world well before its September release. New Grand Theft Auto V Trailer Shows Off the Game’s Three Protagonists [Video] by Rollin Bishop Apr 30th It's finally here, folks. The trailer for Grand Theft Auto V that Rockstar has been teasing with the tagline "Michael. It's been released to the public, and if you're a fan of the Grand Theft Auto games, let's just say that this looks to be another fine installment in the storied franchise.