Watch Dogs 2 review: Hacking for the right reasons

Imagine hackers using their skills for good. That’s the idea behind Watch Dogs 2, in which protagonist Marcus Holloway aims to take down the state-run surveillance system that’s branded him a criminal. He joins forces with DedSec, a team of endearing San Francisco weirdos who play cyber-pranks on Big Data, Big Pharma, Big Banking and other Big forces trying to control our lives. The simplest tasks involve tapping into someone’s home computer, finding something embarrassing and releasing it to the public. More complicated scenarios require Marcus to physically infiltrate heavily guarded facilities so he can bleed their databanks dry. Some require outright theft (like stealing a high-tech car from a movie studio) and then running like heck. Watch Dogs 2 won’t ease your fears of living in an always connected world. But it does deliver the thrill of exploring a world most of us don’t know, and you don’t need a degree from MIT.