Watch Dogs 2 PC-O-Rama: A Delay, But Fancy Features

As is customary with their all-singing, all-dancing, all-icon-collecting megagames, Ubisoft have delayed the PC version of Watch Dogs 2 [official site]. While the Hackers reboot's console launch will go ahead on November 15th, the Windows release is now due on November 29th. Ubi want to polish it up so it doesn't suck on PC at launch, see. On the bright side, it does sound like they're paying attention to the bells, whistles, and sliders some demand - an uncapped framerate, field of view options, 2160p resolution support, an optional high-res texture pack, and so on.

"With this extra time, we'll be able to ensure that Watch Dogs 2 runs smoothly across a broad range of hardware, as well as add that extra polish to those features which matter the most to our community," Ubi said in today's announcement.

That's a decent goal but I'm always tickled by Ubi's apparent last-minute realisations that their PC versions aren't up to scratch. Either Ubisoft are really bad at planning or they're really sneaky about holding back bad news to keep a tidy marketing message.

Maybe they have two Daves and when someone says "Dave is on top of the PC version" each Dave assumes it's the other Dave then refuses to check in case they get landed with a whole heap of work then four weeks before launch everyone realises the two Daves have screwed it again and must scramble to make up for lost time but the Daves can't be fired because they have some serious dirt on Ubi executives? Maybe.

Anyway! As for those fancy PC features, Ubi do paint a pretty picture. Check the announcement for the full list but here are some highlights:

• Stuttering/lag framerate optimization – We made all controls much more responsive and less framerate-related. We've optimized resource creation, GPU VRAM upload and required VRAM for the game.
• No FPS cap
• Full SLI/Crossfire support at launch
• Extra Details Options – Increases the level of detail for all objects in the game, and adds more details to objects in the distance.
• FOV sliders
• Ultra Textures pack available at launch
• We're using raw mouse input to reduce latency and use the Windows hardware cursor throughout the game without any additional signal filtering to smooth or accelerate mouse movement by default
• Advanced keyboard support - Keyboard hotkeys for every menu and app for faster access. Additionally, all hotkeys can be remapped.
• Mouse-centric UI – any UI screen, menus or smartphone app supports full mouse interaction, so the player can finish any UI task with the mouse only. Everything is clickable and has appropriate button states.
• Driving has been adapted to suit the keyboard controls, with adjustable steering sensitivity. Same goes for driving camera sensitivity and auto-centering camera behavior.

That all sounds dandy in theory, though the PC version could still be wonky in other ways. We'll see! The announcement also details system requirements, by the way.

I am still hugely enthusiastic for the ha-ha-hilarious over-the-top goofyness of Watch Dogs 2. It looks like the Hackers sequel I've always wanted. It definitely is not intended to be even remotely serious - don't you dare shatter my illusion. But I'm gutted that, by the time I get to play, console players will already have spoiled the big twist that the fella in the emoticon mask is actually Aiden Pearce.