Memoirs of a Granny Spy: Watch Dogs Legion

I didn't wanna play it, but Ubisoft is nothing of not prolific and the Gold Edition of Watch Dogs: Legion is on sale on the PS4 so...yep, I bought it. I gotta say, I love the whole James Bond turned hacker feel of the first mission. I mostly got it to play online with friends. Yeah, I know. I'm not the most social of gamers, but sometimes it is fun to play as a group. And I've had nothing to do since I found FFVII Remake underwhelming, aside from grinding on Warframe. And that game necramech-blocking me with their railjack exclusive materials is p!ssing me off. Honestly, NO ONE LIKES RAILJACK. Sorry, back to the game at hand.

As I said I didn't want to play it and I definitely didn't think I'd like it. And I don't like it...I LOVE IT! No, the story isn't genius, but it's a lot of fun. What is brilliant about this game is that you can play as anyone, absolutely any character in the game. What makes this so thrilling is the search for characters that are packed with perks. There's no skill progression so your operatives abilities at the end of the game are the same as the game's beginning. Fortunately the game tasks you with building a team of skilled operatives so you are prepared every type of mission.

I do admit I used my spy for 85% of missions. Despite the game being based around "hacking", nothing beats a good old-fashioned hand cannon with a silencer. My spy also had the physically fit perk which made her very durable for the many, many shootouts: some built in to the story and some due to my inept stealth. In the online version I also managed to snag a hitman with light step. SWEET!

Aside from the characters you earn just by playing the game, there are so many cool individuals just going about their in-game lives. I managed to recruit an uber-hacker with the physically fit perk, fast hack, drone summon and key steal. Very useful operative indeed. Unfortunately the non-lethal weapons in the game are $h!te as the Brits would say. There are however lots of well-armed folk in this futuristic UK. One of my favorite unique weapons was my construction worker's nail gun and his heavy wrench for melee definitely got the job done.

While I'm not always an Ubisoft fan, with their slap and dash style of game production, I will say this game felt much more fully baked than even AC Valhalla, despite the fact that it was much less anticipated. The richness of the world, the variety of gameplay and the solid storyline all made this one of my favorite games of 2020 (even though I didn't play it until 2021). I mean, seriously, what's not to like about a badass Granny spy who is a fan of drill tracks and drives a missile-equipped car?

And the drones. Oh the drones! There are so many cool types of drones in this installment of Watch Dogs. While the ones peppering you with buck shot or zapping you with electroshocks are a PIA at first, the betray hack and drone summon abilities make them yet another weapon in your hack-tivist arsenal. And the cargo drones are much more fun the those damn scissor lifts when it comes to reaching high places.

The clothes are a bit hit or miss, but there are some very cool items in the game. Fabrics infused with led lights, holographic accessories and the plethora of mask styles add to slick and stylish feel of dystopian Britain.

So I suppose I've gotta say it: Bravo, Ubisoft! I'm eager to see how they develop the online play. So far, it's almost as fun as the story.