I just started playing the game and I am not sure if it is possible to play with "bad carma", like in inFamous games? The game informed me missions would grant me a bigger reputation bonusses if I take targets alive etc., so is that the only viable way to play (or otherwise progress slower)?

@quipido: I'm not so sure you really play as a good guy to begin with. But playing the game like any other open world game (like Jeff mentions in the quick look) will result in your reputation being in the red (bad). This makes the game harder (in theory). People will call the cops on you more often. They will be in news reports telling people what you look like and to watch out for you. Basically if you kill/hurt civilians, kill criminals instead of knocking them out, you get bad rep or less good rep on missions. There is no true bad or good karma system like in infamous. And there is no true good or bad play through style in the games mechanics. Its more of your choice in how you play the game, but doesn't ultimately have any real adverse affects on the game. Or so it seems so far. I just got to Act II.

I am unable to play as a bad guy in any video game. I have too many feelings.

The game is harder if you kill civilians because the cops will be called on you anytime you do anything, there are no benefits and there is no bad rep or good rep only ablities. You aren't a good guy at all though, you are a crazy dude doing criminal acts in the name of justice, just depends on how many innocents you kill whether you are considered good or bad.

The story however isn't changed at all and there are no moral choices, it's completely linear from what I've played so far (halfway through Act 2).

As far as I can tell, I don't see the benefit of having a bad rep so far. It also doesn't really fit the character or the story in any way.

This game suffers from the same problems that many open world games do, the karma system does not jive at all with the story. An evil Aiden/Delsin/Marston/Niko makes absolutely no sense with regards to the narrative.

There is one "moral choice" you get to make in a post-credits sequence where...

Wait, Delsin too? I haven't played Second Son, but I always thought they made Cole suitably come across like a total prick in the story should you go down the infamous path.

Niko I always felt was just typical video games narrative dissonance. I always considered what you do outside of any missions or whatever to be separate from the actual plot; after all it's also totally up to the player if they wanted to cause havoc, which I personally rarely engaged in during GTA IV, especially not for my first playthrough. Though it was really weird that they put in an actual morality meter in RDR; it made it so the game would acknowledge your choice to play as an immoral outlaw, yet never actually had it reflect in any way in the story. It completely clashed against John as a character and the themes of his arc.

@chaser324: That is way worse than having none at all for various reasons. Foremost being Ubisoft level of credits.

@yummylee: It is hilarious how out of place an evil Delsin is. Play through the intro of the game, then select the first evil choice. The following cutscene was so jarring, I burst out laughing the first time I saw it (I played through as a hero the first time). He just does a completely out of character heel-turn out of nowhere. The rest of the game follows suit if you play evil, most of the dialogue is exactly the same except for a few missions, so he keeps doing this weird shift in tone when he is talking, making him come off as completely in-consistent as a character and kind of bipolar. Hero Delsin on the other hand, I found to be very consistent and likable. He has a roguish quality to him that makes sense for the narrative.

@doctordonkey: that is the oposite of my experience - I played evil Delsin first and the hero on my second run felt much worse.

Thanks everyone for the replies for Watch Dogs.

Well in the hour I spent troubleshooting the graphics options I probably killed about 200 people and stole 50 cars.

But then I played a few missions and solved a few crimes and I am technically karmically a good guy. YAY!