Watch Dogs 2

Developer/publisher Ubisoft (Montreal) Format PC, PS4, Xbox One Release 2016

Any job worth doing in Watch Dogs 2 is worth doing to music. And so, the best mechanic in Ubisoft’s hackeraction sequel is Marcus Holloway’s earbuds. Equippable at any time, they pump an eclectic stream of on-demand tunes – from Dizzee Rascal to Anti-Flag, KC & The Sunshine Band to Run The Jewels and more besides – into your ears. You can freely soundtrack any mission (attempting grand larceny while blaring Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik is one moment we won’t forget in a hurry) or simply wander the streets of San Francisco to your favourite songs.

One particular track so perfectly captures the philosophy of , it almost feels as if the game was formed around it. We blast Get Stupid as we have Holloway ride on top of a car like it’s a skateboard, driving it remotely via his phone. “Get stupid, it’s what we do good,” Mac Dre raps. “Ghost ride the whip while we, dude”. Credit to Ubisoft, then, for a tonal U-turn of such epic proportions that it singlehandedly saved a series. got stupid. And it worked.