Watch Dogs First Look Preview and Demo (VIDEO)

In our first look at the new Ubisoft action title Watch Dogs, we're given a lengthy prologue that references the 2003 NYC blackout and other real life conspiracy theories about how personal information is handled. It's suggested that we aren't people but rather data clusters on a grid. Credit cards, medical records, books we've read; one system controls it all. CTOS.

This is a game?

The intent behind Watch Dogs is that this is a game lets you use the city as a weapon. My  earlier Twitter reference to Eagle Eye wasn't too far off it seems.

The main character walks down a street in Chicago that looks accurate down to the brick. A control wheel style of interface brings up options of electronics you can control. Traffic lights, mobile phones and other items are options. There's no pattern to the list of items you'll be able to control so it seems there will be many relevant types of controllable items rather than general categories. We saw a mini EMP kill everybody's cell phone and broadcast camera equipment. Our main character is then able to slip into a building/event.

Turns out you're there to kill an artist named DeMarco and this is his exhibit. You're using yourself as bait so he'll come out of hiding but it's not happening fast enough. Using more of that data technology, you start searching people in the crowd and getting readouts on their age, occupation and income. This ability eventually allows you to tap into one woman's phone conversation because you've identified her as DeMarco employee. He's not at the exhibit but you're trafficking in information in this game. You now know to get him outside. When it comes to security guards, the info reading tell you their "violence probabillty percentage." All security guards have combat/military backgrounds too. It doesn't matter. You own them.

Controlling traffic lights turns out to be a huge advantage: you can cause your target to crash his car. The rest of Watch Dogs is very action oriented with hood slides, jumping attacks, slo-mo effects, explosions and gunplay. It's how you'll get to these fights that'll set this one apart.

And before we're done it turns out our character's name is Aiden Pearce. He's the one that's been doing all of the traffic light manipulating and cell phone monitoring. But wait, the camera pulls out and A. Pearce is being watched  --spied on really-- by some dude named Bixxel who seems to have a problem with Pearce.

This one seems like it's going to be way beyond good guys and bad guys.

Keep it here for more on Watch Dogs because this one looks like it could do something special.