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In every respect, Silent Hill 2 stands alone: in its crowded genre, in its long-dormant series, even in the medium of video games in general. Widely considered one of the greatest horror games of all time, critics have championed James Sutherland’s descent into madness as one of the high-water marks for video games as an artform.

Armchair enthusiasts and YouTube analysts have scrutinized every inch of Silent Hill 2’s dismal lakeside town for clues and symbols, and subsequent generations of horror games have imitated (and even parodied) its twists and tiny touches in equal measure. But while the classic series isn’t getting much in the way of love from Konami these days, a team of more than a dozen die-hard Silent Hill fans have developed an alternate version of Silent Hill 2 that is one of the most impressive fan restoration projects we’ve yet seen. This unofficial patch grants the buggy, broken PC port of the game the superior sound, control, and visual effects of the original PS2 version while also allowing the game to be played at modern resolutions.

“Silent Hill 2 is loved by many and considered the example of a horror game done right,” says one of the project’s key contributors, who goes by the online handle Ratiocinator. “For most who play it for the first time, they quickly realize what makes it so special: The visuals and art direction, the atmosphere, otherworldly audio, character stories, and more. This is what makes the game so special to me and important to revisit to allow others to experience it on modern displays/hardware.”

For those new to the series, Silent Hill can be tough to get into, and I’m not talking about those pesky tank controls. In an era where many classic games are getting remastered, remade, or at least ported to current-day consoles, the Silent Hill series is an unfortunate anomaly. (You can blame publisher Konami for this one; fans certainly do.)

Unless you’re willing to lug your old PlayStation 2 or original Xbox out of the closet, your only real option to play Silent Hill 2 is the PC port of the game, which isn’t available for legal purchase anywhere–save for second-hand copies of the original physical release. There’s also the Silent Hill HD Collection for PS3 and Xbox 360, but fans consider it broken in a variety of ways. Cajoling the original PC port to run on a modern PC without assistance is a Herculean labor; however, thanks to a team of fans behind the decidedly unofficial “Enhanced Edition” of Silent Hill 2, playing the game on PC now is simply a matter of overwriting a few files and editing a text document or two.

As Ratiocinator and project contributor Andrew Bondarenko attest, even at the time of its release, the original PC port of Silent Hill 2 was considered technically inferior–especially in terms of visual effects and audio bugs–when compared to the console versions, though not egregiously so. Such deficiencies were relatively common for PC ports of popular console titles at the time, and Japanese games were some of the worst offenders.

There are quite a few reasons why the PC port didn’t live up to its console counterparts. According to Dean Calver, who worked as the lead programmer at Creature Labs, the tiny UK studio that handled the PC version of Silent Hill 2, the porting effort was brutally short on both time and resources.

Though Calver notes that Konami gave Creature Labs “what [it] needed” in the form of source code and art assets, the team struggled to export many of the assets due to technical problems, and they ended up reverse-engineering much of the art from the game’s PS2 and Xbox versions. The source code came with its own set of complications: though the code was in English, its comments were in Japanese, meaning that the studio had to rely on primitive machine translation to explain how various aspects of the game worked. “It was not uncommon to hear one of us randomly laughing as we read some bizarrely translated comment,” Calver says.

The studio only had a scant five months to spend on the project, meaning that some bugs inevitably slipped through the cracks. (Some of these unintended technical shortcomings have made the PC version the preferred platform of speedrunners. For example, loading a quicksave restores James’ stamina, meaning that you can sprint endlessly with little effort.) Because computers of the era had yet to fully embrace the DVD drive–unlike the PS2 or Xbox–Creature and Konami decided to ship the game on multiple CDs instead, which meant that certain parts of the game had to be compressed, especially the audio. Calver also notes that the port targeted lower-end computers that simply couldn’t achieve everything the console versions of the game did.

“Our minimum spec was probably two to three times slower than the consoles, and we didn’t have the low-level tricks that the console versions could do,” he says. “That’s why the lighting and shadows are slightly different.”

The fan-made Enhanced Edition that picked up the baton that Calver and co. were forced to put down has come a long way since the project’s inception in 2016. The patch comes in at several times larger than the original game, which is only a couple of gigabytes. As the team tells it, the endeavor started when the project’s producer, Ratiocinator, began to investigate how to play Silent Hill 2 on modern machines, having found that trying to play PS2 or Xbox games on a LCD television produces a muddy, blurry image compared to the intended CRT experience.

What Ratiocinator found was a constellation of different fan-developers working on competing fixes to the game, including one to adapt the game for widescreen monitors by two modders going by the names ThirteenAG and Aero_. Pooling their collective knowledge of the game, Ratiocinator began to submit development tickets on the project’s page, when it was then known as the “Widescreen Fixes Pack.” Over time, as the breadth of these fixes began to sprawl, other developers who were interested in fixing the PC port found the project and began to share their fixes to other aspects of the game, such as its compressed sound. At that point, the project began to resemble a total overhaul of the game from top to bottom, from DirectX integration to controller support.

In order to achieve their goal of restoring the PC port of Silent Hill 2 to console quality, the fan-developer team had to dump more than 1,500 audio files from the “definitive” PS2 version of the game and transcribe them into the PC version. This required lead developer Elisa Riedlinger to construct custom tools to convert the files into a compatible format, as well as delving into the game’s code to increase its memory buffer to allow it to work with larger audio files.

As a horror game that relies heavily on its atmosphere, the default PC version of Silent Hill 2 has many bugs and visual shortcomings that can tarnish the experience. For example, Riedlinger just recently figured out a way to remove the annoying click sound that plays when the game ends a sound effect prematurely. This involved installing a new DirectSound wrapper into the game to detect when an audio file gets cut off, and then forcing it to fade out and stop without the noticeable click.

Some of the changes required the team to fix issues caused by the forward march of technology. Some modern Nvidia GPUs cause black shaders to appear as white at certain points in the game, for instance. That fix required the team to make their own custom black texture and implant it into the game as it runs. Project contributor “Silent” has focused on upgrading the port’s controller support, allowing the right-stick to be used for limited camera control, which is a must-have in a game where skittering horrors are constantly sneaking up on James. (Interestingly, Silent says they aren’t even a Silent Hill fan–they just enjoy the camaraderie of working on the team.)

Like the above texture fix, many of the tweaks are so subtle that a first-time player might not even notice them, but together they add much to the atmosphere of the game. In the famous opening sequence of the game, which sees James composing himself in a dingy bathroom, the shot that pans from up from a urinal to reveal James uses a cinematic depth-of-field effect that was considered cutting-edge at the time. Such unsettling special effects that were entirely missing from the original PC port were reverse-engineered and implemented by Ratiocinator, Aero_, and Bondarenko.

Some of the improvements have proven to be more elusive than others. For example, Ratiocinator only recently uncovered the memory address that controls Silent Hill 2’s iconic fog, which allowed him to adjust its movement speed to a more natural flow reminiscent of the PS2 version. Project contributor “FrozenFish24” spearheaded an effort to soften the hard-edged shadows of the PC version into something more sophisticated, which eventually resulted in console-accurate shadow behavior after months of playtesting.

Though the project has massively increased the quality of the port of every level, it’s still not quite complete. Ratiocinator is currently investigating how to implement proper shine effects–also known as “specularity”–to some of the game’s scenes and assets. The team is also working on high-resolution versions of all of SH2’s static images, including maps, riddles, and memos, which would essentially make the game entirely high-definition.

For the team working on Silent Hill 2 Enhanced Edition, it really doesn’t matter what Konami does, short of sending them a cease-and-desist letter: They’re going to keep maintaining it.

While the Enhanced Edition remains undoubtedly the best way to experience Silent Hill 2 today outside of the PS2 version on a CRT television, it still comes with a major caveat: Most who play it will have obtained their copy of the game under legally dubious circumstances. The latest release of Silent Hill 2 came in 2012’s misleadingly named Silent Hill HD Collection, which brought Silent Hill 2 and 3 to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Unfortunately, Konami allegedly failed to maintain the original source code of the games, meaning that developer Hijinx Studios had to use a beta build of SH2 as the starting point for the new version, which introduced a raft of complications.

“The HD collection is incomprehensibly broken in the visual/audio department,” Bondarenko says. “It’s not possible to confirm any of the theories [of how it ended up that way], but the Silent Hill 2 in the HD Collection can’t even compare to the default, vanilla PC port.”

Though most of the team members I spoke to say they wish that Silent Hill 2 were easier to obtain in a legal fashion, they also doubt that the situation will change anytime soon. However, it doesn’t affect their desire to work on the project, though Ratiocinator says that wide availability of a legitimate version would make it easier for the team to troubleshoot bugs. Ratiocinator notes that fans often request that Konami release Silent Hill 2, 3, and 4 on the retro gaming storefront GOG. For his part, Calver says that Konami should license the Enhanced Edition from the modding team and re-release the original port on Steam for some easy revenue, especially considering the recent interest in the legendary horror series.

Given the addition of Silent Hill 3’s Heather and Silent Hill 2’s own famously symbolic antagonist Pyramid Head to the anthology horror game Dead By Daylight–and recurrent rumors of a new Silent Hill entry, perhaps even with staff from the original Team Silent–it’s possible that Konami might make it easier for fans to experience what is arguably the definitive horror video game. But for the team working on Silent Hill 2 Enhanced Edition, it really doesn’t matter what the publisher does, short of sending them a cease-and-desist letter: They’re going to keep maintaining it, despite each having their own full-time jobs and responsibilities. They’re currently hard at work on a new version of the patch that will implement all of their latest fixes.

“The thing I enjoy most is the team and how we have all come together over the past couple of years to work on this project,” says Riedlinger. “Secondly, knowing that I am helping to preserve one of the old classic games. Without work like this on older games, these games would be lost in time.”

With the launch of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S right around the corner, people want to know what the launch lineup looks like for each system. As many have already discovered for themselves, the list of launch titles for both next-gen consoles is not exactly strong when it comes to new releases, but there is more to consider for these new consoles.

That is because Microsoft and Sony have taken new approaches to make this console transition much smoother and more seamless than before, thanks to backwards compatibility and free upgrade programs. For Microsoft specifically, it has also instigated a change in business practices to place less emphasis on exclusives and more of a focus on meeting customers wherever they are.

Backwards Compatibility

Starting with backwards compatibility, each next-generation platform will play thousands of games from the back catalog, and in many cases, older titles will perform better on the new machines thanks to their improved horsepower without any extra effort on the developer’s part. Simply put, many games will look and perform better by virtue of being on the new machines.

For Gears 5, developer The Coalition has been able to dramatically improve the input lag and offer frame rates up to 120fps, which is a first on console for the game. Another Microsoft game, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, is getting 120fps/4K support, which is an exciting thing to think about for Halo fans looking to continue playing the game but now with superior speed and performance. Even Halo 5, which is not getting a dedicated next-gen update, will look and perform better on Series X. On Sony’s side, the library of PS Plus Collection games–which include the likes of God of War, Uncharted 4, and Resident Evil 7–will have faster loading times and better frame rates.

Microsoft seemingly has the edge when it comes to breadth of content, as the Series X will play titles from Xbox One, Xbox 360, and the original Xbox. Basically, it’s everything except Kinect games. The PS5, meanwhile, will play 99 percent of PS4 games–and many more through PlayStation Now streaming–reaching thousands of games in all. For comparison, the Xbox One and PS4 launched with no backwards compatibility support, which created friction for fans looking to upgrade. Now, fans can buy into next gen with the confidence that they won’t lose their games and game saves–and hey, even Rock Band 4 controllers work on PS5 and Xbox Series X.

Launch Games

Simply looking at the number and profile of launch titles, neither Sony nor Microsoft is releasing a giant catalog of exclusives. Sony’s marquee launch titles are the Demon’s Souls remake, Astro’s Playroom, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and Sackboy: A Big Adventure. However, only the Demon’s Souls remake and Astro’s Playroom are fully exclusive to PS5, with Spider-Man and Sackboy also releasing on PS4. And in a blow to the PS5 launch lineup, Destruction All Stars was recently delayed from November to February 2021.

Looking at the Series X, Microsoft has Gears Tactics–a title originally released for PC earlier in 2020–as its only major new release as a launch title for the console. The launch lineup is sparse because Microsoft’s original plan was to lead with Halo Infinite–the retail boxes for the Series X even come emblazoned with Master Chief–but due to development complications related to COVID-19 and other factors, the game was pushed to 2021.

It was a big blow for the Series X’s launch lineup, as Halo is one of Microsoft’s crown jewels, and it would have marked the first time since 2001 that a Halo title launched with new Xbox hardware. But as Xbox marketing spokesperson Cindy Walker told NYT, Microsoft does not need a marque title like Halo Infinite for the Series X to have a successful launch.

“Having Halo at our launch would have been tremendous,” Walker said. “[But] we are not reliant on massive exclusive titles to drive console adoption. Our players will have thousands of games from four generations of Xbox available to play on launch day.”

Looking back in time, the PS4 had Killzone: Shadow Fall and Knack as first-party launch titles, while the Xbox One had Dead Rising 3, Ryse: Son of Rome, and Zoo Tycoon as in-house exclusives for the console. The third-party lineup of launch titles included the likes of Battlefield 4, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, and Need for Speed Rivals.

Those consoles also included sports games like Madden NFL 25, NBA 2K14, and NBA Live 14 as launch titles. The launch lineup for both consoles was strong relative to this new console generation, but as GameSpot’s Alessandro Fillari laid out earlier this year, both Sony and Microsoft are rethinking the importance of launch titles this time around.

The Game Has Changed For Microsoft

Microsoft is playing a different game. The commonly held idea historically is that you need a strong pipeline of exclusive games to sell consoles, but Microsoft is taking a different approach this year. As Phil Spencer has said in seemingly every interview he gives these days, Microsoft doesn’t care much if you buy a new Xbox this holiday because the company has diversified its offerings and made its games also available on PC and mobile. The name “Xbox” no longer pertains to a gaming console, either–it’s the overarching umbrella name for Microsoft’s gaming strategy all-up. Spencer recently laid this out in an interview with GameReactor.

“Our high-level goal inside of our team, of how we measure ourselves, is how many people are playing on Xbox,” Spencer said. “And when we say ‘playing on Xbox’ it doesn’t mean an Xbox console. It means somebody who is logging in and playing a part of our ecosystem, whether first-party or third-party. And it could be on an Android phone. It could be on a Switch. It could be on a PC. That’s how we think about it.”

If Microsoft’s strategy comes to fruition, it can have its cake and eat it too, by selling every console it can make this year and also bringing more people into the Xbox fold with Xbox Game Pass and its cloud streaming component (formerly known as xCloud). Next-generation consoles–the PS5 and Series X/S–are expected to sell out of stock completely this year. As Spencer recently said, “I am going to predict that we are both going to sell every console we build in 2020.” If Microsoft had its marquee game, Halo Infinite, the situation would have been the same, the only difference being that the Series X would have sold out faster.

Looking at Microsoft’s financials shows how much of an impact content and services–the bread and butter of the games business–has on the company’s bottom line. For the July-September 2020 period, Xbox content and services revenue rose by a whopping $649 million compared to the year prior. There is no question that COVID-19 is driving increased spending on games as people stay home more than ever, but what this really demonstrates is how much money there is to be made from selling games and subscriptions; it’s such a big number that Microsoft doesn’t need to push people to buy a new Xbox (which is a money-loser, anyway).

Third-Party

The real meat and potatoes of the next-gen launch lineups for the PS5 and Series X will be third-party games, and there are plenty of those coming. Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs: Legion and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will be there at launch, while Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is basically a launch title, as it releases on November 13, just days after the Xbox Series X/S and PS5 are released. The enduringly popular battle royale game Fortnite will be available for the PS5 and Series X at launch, while Borderlands 3 and Destiny 2: Beyond Light will as well. EA’s marquee sports titles, Madden NFL 21 and FIFA 21, will miss the next-gen launch dates, but they’ll arrive within the launch window, debuting for the consoles on December 4. In short, there will be plenty of options for people on day one, and this is before you even factor in the literally thousands of other games that are playable through backwards compatibility.

None of these games are brand-new titles, but they are getting a new lease on life thanks to the power of the new consoles. You might have already played dozens of hours of Fortnite or Madden, but with the new consoles–with their faster processors and solid-state drives–you’ll ideally get a better experience. As Alessandro said in his earlier piece, Microsoft and Sony appear to be moving into an iPhone-style approach where the content you already own moves with you when you decide to upgrade hardware, and you enjoy the benefits of the increased horsepower. And importantly, in many cases, it won’t cost extra to upgrade your games.

Free Upgrades

Another important factor for this console generation is the free upgrade paths that both Sony and Microsoft, as well as third-party publishers, are offering. Microsoft’s Smart Delivery program makes it so you can buy select games today for your Xbox One and get the upgraded editions on Series X at no extra cost. Not every title supports this, of course, but the list of supported games is extensive and impressive, including the likes of Cyberpunk 2077, Destiny 2, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Far Cry 6, Halo Infinite, Gears Tactics, Marvel’s Avengers, and Borderlands 3, among many others.

Sony doesn’t have an official free upgrade program, but titles like Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Sackboy: A Big Adventure, and Horizon Forbidden West will all offer free upgrades from PS4 to PS5. Individual publishers have upgrade promotions, too, such as EA, which has its Dual Entitlement program covering titles like Madden NFL 21 and FIFA 21. This is a marked change from the last console cycle with its $10 upgrade fees (if upgrades were available at all). That being said, not every game supports free upgrades, and some next-gen games will cost $70.

Looking Ahead

The PS5 and Xbox Series X might have ostensibly weak launch lineups, but things are different these days. The goalposts for success have changed, for Microsoft in particular with its platform-agnostic approach. Sony, too, doesn’t need a marquee launch title in one of its major established franchises because the PS5 (and the Series X, for that matter) has been positioned as a box that will play the current-gen games you already have with higher fidelity and improved load times. And if you don’t buy in right away, compelling games like Halo Infinite and God of War: Ragnarok, and any number of other exciting exclusives that are in the works, might be enough to draw you in next year and beyond.

For more on what’s to come with PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, be sure to check out our Generation Next hub, which focuses on all the latest news, features and videos focusing on the new era of gaming.

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GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

The big selling point of Watch Dogs: Legion is that just about any character you encounter in its futuristic open-world London setting can be added to your squad of hackers, provided you put in the work. But anybody who’s taken a profiler out onto the street knows that there are a lot of people who wouldn’t be all that helpful to DedSec as it fights fascism and organized crime. Some people are more talented and more useful than others, and finding them is a job unto itself.

There are some shortcuts you can take, though. If you know where to look and you’re willing to put in the effort, you can grab some high-quality recruits. Legion also helps out by making good recruits a little easier to come by at points. But really, the trick is to build a well-rounded team that can fill a lot of roles. To get that, you’ll want to explore London and learn where you can find different kinds of people with a variety of perks and weapon loadouts.

We’ve compiled a few quick tips that can help you get a quality DedSec team together without spending hours profiling every Londoner walking down the street. Here’s what you need to know to get good hackers, drivers, and brawlers in short order to build your resistance. We’ve also got a bunch of tips for starting out in Legion that’ll help you build your resistance.

1. Liberate Districts For The Best Recruits

You can use your profiler to scan anybody in London and evaluate how useful they’d be on your team. It’s something you should do often, as you never know when someone might have an interesting skill or an item that turns out to be very helpful. But the most reliable way to get some of the best operatives on your DedSec squad is to complete objectives in each of London’s eight districts in order to turn them “Defiant.”

It’s worth noting that liberating a district can be a lot of work. It usually requires you to complete several objectives, with some being a little easier (like hacking Albion billboards in unguarded areas) and others requiring some infiltration (like freeing prisoners from a police station). Once you’ve done that, you’ll usually open up a special mission related to that district. In Westminster, for instance, you’ll sneak inside Big Ben and use a spider bot to hack the clock’s holographic displays to knock out some Albion propaganda.

Completing all the work in a district gets you a high-level operative with special perks. Westminster earns you a spy with some slick combat moves and a host of special gear, including a spy car with hidden missile launchers, a silenced handgun, and a spy watch that can disrupt enemy electronics. Other district operatives include a getaway driver, a roboticist who can summon drone bees to attack people, and a hacker with a bunch of passive perks that make all your network infiltrations go a lot smoother. While your other operatives will largely come from random encounters in the world, liberating districts is a reliable way to get some of the best characters in Legion.

2. Bagley Tags Recruits You Should Check Out

As you progress through the story in Legion, Bagley will start to make recruitment a little easier. Running around London, you’ll start to see recruits marked with green dots over their heads and on the map. This marker indicates higher-tier potential agents you should check out, who usually have useful skills to round out your team. There’s a catch, however–these recruits only appear for a limited time, and if you don’t profile them when you can, you can miss out on them or find them harder to win to your side.

When you see green dots, you’ll definitely want to profile them and see if they’re useful to you. It seems that you can save these recruits to chase them down later, circumventing the ticking clock–but you do have to at least locate and profile them before the timer runs out. Once you do, you can complete their missions and bring them aboard at your leisure.

3. Some Recruits Are Tougher Than Others

You’ll notice when profiling recruits that they sometimes have a red “thumbs down” icon near their names. That indicates that the person is not a fan of DedSec. The more thumbs down, the worse their opinion of the group is. Members of the authorities such as police or Albion soldiers usually have a lowered opinion of DedSec, but it can apply to anyone, and you can’t recruit that person until you raise your standing with them.

This is where the Deep Profiler comes in. You’ll need to buy this upgrade in the Gear menu, but once you have it, you can unlock more information about potential recruits. You’ll see a few ways you can help them, like erasing their debt with a loan shark, to raise their opinion of the organization. After that, you can use the Deep Profiler to see the person’s schedule and find them in the city, where you can talk with them to initiate the recruitment process.

Characters in London are reactive, though, so just as your actions can raise their opinion of DedSec, you can also lower it. Hit somebody with your car and they will be less willing to join the resistance, for instance, so it’s worth being careful how you treat people.

4. Look For Team Perks As Well As Individual Ones

As you’re decking out your DedSec team, you’ll be tempted to look for players with cool guns, special hacking capabilities, and unique items. Those will be good when you control those characters on particular missions. But some characters get perks for the whole team as well, and while they might not be the best operatives to take into an Albion base or a Kelley gang hangout, they can still be very helpful to your resistance movement.

If you fail a mission, get too hurt, or find yourself grabbed by the cops, the character you’re controlling when you’re injured or arrested will be put out of commission for a set period of time if you’re playing without permadeath mode engaged. Recruit characters like doctors or lawyers and you can reduce those timers–a doctor will help your team recover from injuries more quickly, while a lawyer can reduce arrest times. There are other handy perks that can help your whole team more effectively escape cops or earn more money from hacks, so keep in mind the benefits of some recruits that might go beyond using them on your next caper.

5. Learn The City For Good Recruits And Watch Your Environment

As you start to put together the team you want, you’ll probably find gaps in your roster that you want to fill with characters who have specific skills. There are a bunch of unique types of potential characters–not just skilled hackers, but powerful brawlers, skilled drivers, drone-controlling roboticists, and more. When you find you need specific skills, you might also discover that profiling random people on the street isn’t an efficient way to find what you’re looking for. There are tricks to finding operatives of various types, however.

First, if you’re looking for characters with a particular occupation, look around the environment for likely places to find them. Construction workers let you call highly useful cargo drones, so having one on the squad is a good call–and as you might have guessed, you can find them on construction sites. Look for hospitals to recruit doctors and police stations or Albion sites to recruit authority figures. Complete brawling challenges to find strong fighters.

Certain kinds of people also hang around particular London districts somewhat reliably. Tech-focused hackers like Camden and Nine Elms, while government types are usually in Westminster. Places with parks and tourist attractions, like Camden and Westminster, also have their fair share of street performers like magicians or living statues (who have some fun, useful perks–like the ability to hypnotize onlookers or hide in plain sight). Explore and pay attention to where you are so you’ll know what kind of recruits to expect in a given area.

6. Uniforms Make Life Much Easier

Perks and weapons from certain recruits are great, but don’t overlook how handy the clothes of a given profession can be, as well. A lot of areas in London are restricted to people off the street, and you can get yourself attacked, arrested, or even killed if you wander into them. But with the right look, you can infiltrate many of those locations much more easily, and the right recruits can get them for you.

As you might expect, among the benefits of getting a cop on your side is their ability to blend in with other cops; the same goes for Albion soldiers, construction workers, and doctors. Prioritize getting some useful uniforms early on and you’ll make it easier to finish some tougher missions or to reach lore items or tech points hidden in restricted areas where you would otherwise be hunted.

7. Avoid Crappy Perks

It might not be immediately obvious if you’re not looking closely, but not every perk is positive. Some operatives might have drawbacks that can make them tougher to use in certain missions. This doesn’t necessarily mean you should dismiss them out of hand, but it’s important to pay attention and know what you’re getting into with certain recruits.

There are a host of features of different elements that can make your operatives harder to use. Gambling Addiction and Shopaholic will see you losing money at random moments as your operatives use DedSec funds to feed their vices; Low Mobility means an operative can’t move as quickly or climb as easily, which can make getaways tough; and Hiccups make staying hidden during stealth difficult. You’ll also see characters with Death Wish or Doomed characteristics–these are people who are much more likely to die on missions. Doomed characters can keel over at random times, while Death Wish characters are more likely to get killed in action when fighting. They may have useful perks or aspects that you need which make the tradeoff worth it, but make sure you know what you’re getting before you do the work of recruiting a new character to the team.

Now Playing: Watch Dogs: Legion – Recruitment Mission Gameplay

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The wait is over. The Mandalorian’s Season 2 premiere has arrived on Disney+. That means more great moments with The Child, aka Baby Yoda. Of course, there’s also the story of Din Djarin, aka Mando (Pedro Pascal), traveling the galaxy in an attempt to return his young companion home and the shenanigans they get themselves into along the way.

In the new episode, Mando and The Child wind up back on Tatooine in search of another Mandalorian and wind up in the middle of a conflict between the citizens of Mos Pelgo led by Marshal Cobb Vanth, the Tusken raiders they tend to war with, and the Krayt dragon trying to eat them all. There are also a number of Easter eggs and call backs to all corners of Star Wars lore to find. from an unrecognizable John Leguizamo cameo to Gamorreans to possibly Boba Fett, Here are 21 references from “Chapter 9 – The Marshal”.