5 Things Watch Dogs: Bad Blood Does Better Than Watch Dogs

5 Things Watch Dogs: Bad Blood Does Better Than Watch Dogs

I’ve decide to call this series of posts “Some Things Better.” I think it’s a lovely play on words. If you like the setup of these posts, or want me to go die in a hole, let me know in the comments.

Anyway, I picked up Watch Dogs: Bad Blood a bit early because I have the season pass. In Bad Blood you play as T-Bone/Raymond Kenney, the redneck hacker with an obscure nose piercing. I gave Watch Dogs a 6.5/10, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that its DLC was much better. Five things better, in fact.

1. Combat

I hated the combat in Watch Dogs. The game put you in close quarters, and made you use terrible controls to navigate them. Don’t misunderstand, the controls in Bad Blood haven't changed but the circumstances under which you fight have.

For the most part, the arenas in Bad Blood are more open spaces, with plenty of hacking opportunities that help make every fight a different experience.

2. Hacking

Bad Blood brings an element of creativity to hacking. With the new robotic car named Eugene, players can access and hack unique areas that were previously inaccessible. Also, the hacking mini-games have become more challenging. I once spent a full six minutes on one connect the dot puzzle.

3. Characters

Aiden Pierce, the main character of Watch Dogs, tired to hard to be Batman. He was constantly grim, melodramatic, and had an annoying gravelly voice. “I am the night,” he seemed to say to me. Not to mention, he was constantly surrounded by more interesting characters than himself, like T-Bone.

The thing I like about T-Bone is that he is his own person. There is no one else like him. I appreciate the originality Ubisoft had when they created him. Also, because T-Bone is more relatable than depressed Aiden, I grew to care for him more.

4. Side Quests

Remember the obnoxious clutter of Watch Dogs’s map. It’s gone in Bad Blood. “I can deal with a little clutter,” I hear some of you say. Well I couldn't! Someone with my level of OCD just can’t cope with all those side quests filling up the map.

I know it may seem odd to praise less content, but I am a firm believer in quality over quantity, and Bad Blood is a perfect example of that ideal. Although there are fewer side quests overall, they are more fun and diverse than any of the ones that were in Watch Dogs. Besides, the new “street sweep” missions (which are glorified gang hideout missions) are all connected by a subplot that clues to T-Bone’s love interest…. I think.

5. Level Design

Most of the areas in Watch Dogs felt to me like haphazard messes. In Bad Blood, every area feel ripe for the hacking. There is no obvious path the game wants you to take. Everything feels smooth, and players are free to experiment with play-styles and make their own game.

The feeling of riding the cameras from a mile away to the desired area, and eliminating all your enemies by hacking their hardware is…. bliss.

Score

Most people read (or rather, don’t) these things for the score. Here you go guys. I give Watch Dogs: Bad Blood an 8.5/10. It fully expresses what I wish the original Watch Dogs could have been. *Sigh*