At BTR we are keenly anticipating WATCH_DOGS 2 when it is released for PC on Tuesday, November 29. We expect it will become BTR’s latest benchmark. We really liked the original WATCH_DOGS which released over two years ago as one of the first next generation titles.
Like the first game, WATCH_DOGS 2 is a very large third-person open-world action-adventure game which is open to exploration on foot or by vehicle, but it is now set in a virtual re-creation of the San Francisco Bay Area. Ubisoft listened to player reactions to the first game and they have completely overhauled the driving mechanic, and they even consulted successful hackers for more authenticity.
Nvidia is bundling WATCH_DOGS 2 for the holidays, and gamers who buy a GeForce GTX 1080 or 1070 desktop or notebook GPU between now and December 19, 2016 will receive a free key code for WATCH_DOGS 2.
WATCH_DOGS 2 also features GameWorks technology as shown in this tech video.
Of course, the PC would be the first choice for most gamers to play WATCH_DOGS 2 at a higher resolution and with more options than what are available to console gamers. And Nvidia’s GameWorks has allowed the WATCH_DOGS 2 devs to implement additional features into this game:
- Ansel is a new way to capture in-game photography beyond taking simple screen shots. Ansel alows a GeForce gamer to compose shots from any location allowed by the dev, use post-process filters, capture HDR images, and share screenshots in 360 degrees via a smartphone, PC, or VR headset.
- Percentage Closer Soft Shadows (PCSS) are a good way for devs to add more realistic soft shadows to their games. Imitating real life, PCSS shadows progressively soften as the distance from the casting object increases. A further benefit of PCSS are the addition of high-quality shadow filtering techniques that reduce the prominence of shadow aliasing. And Nvidia Hybrid Frustum Traced Shadows (HTTS) are a hybrid of Frustum Traced hard shadows and PCSS filtering for the soft shadows.
- HBAO+ adds more realistic Ambient Occlusion shadowing around objects and surfaces with better visuals and less of a performance hit compared with older real-time AO methods.
- TXAA is an anti-aliasing technique which reduces temporal aliasing (crawling and flickering with the camera in motion) at the expense of blurring the images slightly with a cinematic look overall. TXAA combines high-quality MSAA, post processes, and Nvidia-designed temporal filters.
Related Links:
- WATCH_DOGS 2 bundle details
- Game vs real life comparison shots for WATCH_DOGS 2
- WATCH_DOGS 2 web site:
Happy Gaming!