A scene from Watch Dogs.
The queue of frustrated travellers has stopped moving. They're staring, pointing and whispering grumpily. And it's all my fault.
I've just placed a suspicious silver briefcase on the x-ray machine at Sydney International Airport, and a stern Customs official is holding everyone up by examining its contents through his monitor with raised eyebrows.
Tense seconds tick by, but just as TimeOut starts to think we might not make it through with our case intact, a smile spreads across the official's face.
READ MORE: HANDS ON SESSION WITH WATCH DOGS
"A controller, an HDMI cable and a console ... I know what's in there - it's a PlayStation 4," he laughs. "What games have you got for it bro?"
Just one actually. TimeOut has been sent on a secret mission to Sydney with a special "debugged" PlayStation 4 console to play Watch Dogs, the ultra-hyped hackathon originally expected last year as a launch title with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
Despite the delays, Watch Dogs is - alongside Titanfall and Destiny - one of the year's biggest next-gen events, and suitably, for a game based on acquiring confidential personal information, paranoia surrounds it.
TimeOut was invited to a small Sydney media session only at the last minute after signing a non-disclosure agreement and promising the briefcase wouldn't leave our grasp. Even now, less than a week from release, we're not supposed to tell anyone what we've been up to.
But it's hard to lie to an inquisitive Customs guy - especially when he's buzzing about the game too. When told the PlayStation is loaded with New Zealand's only copy of Watch Dogs, he nods at it and says jealously, "I want that."
He's not the only one. Watch Dogs was delayed to give developers time to "deliver the fantasy as intended" and fix a bug that would ironically have allowed the game itself to be hacked, but it's only increased anticipation for the ambitious open-world adventure.
Pre-sale demand reportedly broke Ubisoft records and gameplay trailers on YouTube have been viewed millions of times. As Herald gaming contributor Troy Rawhiti-Forbes puts it: "If it plays as good as it looks then we've got an instant classic on our hands." Interest seems to be peaking because Watch Dogs is a game for - and of - our internet-addled times. It's based around super-hacker Aiden Pearce, a vigilante who patrols the streets of Chicago using his phone to manipulate anything plugged into CtOS, the region's electronic grid.
Need money? Want to turn those traffic lights from red to green? Keen to see footage from those security cameras? Stuck behind locked doors and looking for the clearance code? Need to distract police with some well-placed explosives?
Even if you're just after a free can of soda, it's all available to Pearce at the touch of a button.
At a time when the security of personal information creates daily headlines - just this week plans to use facial recognition software on an Auckland-wide CCTV system sparked controversy - Watch Dogs' timing couldn't be better.
"It's great to feel that the game we worked on feels so relevant to our reality," creative director Jonathan Morin tells TimeOut when asked about the game's relationship to recent headlines surrounding Wikileaks and the GCSB.
Video: E3 Trailer: Watch Dogs
"I think Watch Dogs is contributing to the public discussion about privacy and the big data situation. We want to touch people through our creations so the fact that our core themes are making headlines is both exciting and slightly frightening at the same time." It's also scary to imagine the game's simple hacking process being used in everyday life. As Pearce roams the city, personal information about passers-by - name, age, occupation, love life, plastic surgery history - appears on his phone, along with options to hack bank accounts and other personal details. Yes, Watch Dogs' real time world is hyper-connected and gamers are given constant streams of new information, much of which requires snap decision-making that can alter the course of Pearce's missions and the game's outcomes.
It's because of this developers chose Chicago for the game's setting, Morin says.
"In 2006, Chicago implemented Operation Virtual Shield, an initiative that created the most extensive video surveillance network in the United States by linking more than 10,000 security cameras to a centralised monitoring system that captures and processes video feeds in real time," he says.
"We wanted to build a game that would explore the impact of technology in our society, and it was fundamental for the team to deliver a credible reflection of this fascinating city.
"Recreating its atmosphere is something we took very seriously."
Because of its open-world nature - which blends a mission-based story mode with free-roaming gameplay, multiple console options and multiplayer aspects that allow players to hack into others' games - Watch Dogs has drawn comparisons with last year's crime epic, Grand Theft Auto V. But Morin sounds offended when asked about the similarities, denying developers simply bolted hacking options on to GTA's style.
"We did not build Grand Theft Auto then push it further," he says. "That would be pointless. Watch Dogs is focusing on very different subject matters and therefore is pushing deeper in certain directions.
"In the end there are a lot of unexplored territories in open-world games and it will take several games driven by very different goals to fully explore this fascinating canvas.
"I see Watch Dogs as one take on this vast game design canvas."
Back in Sydney, a taxi driver has spotted the metallic briefcase sitting on his back seat.
"What's in there?" he asks, having already admitted he and his son are massive videogame fans.
But after the Customs incident, I've learned my lesson.
"Just some paperwork," I reply.
Let's just hope his cab isn't fitted with x-ray cameras, or we might get hacked.
Creative director Jonathan Morin and senior producer Dominic Guay offers answers to key questions surrounding Watch Dogs.
Why was the release delayed by six months?
We did not delay the game to change it. We simply wanted to deliver the experience and fantasy as intended. When we started to feel we needed to cut corners to ship it in time, we decided to delay its release.
How long will it take to complete Watch Dogs?
The game is very big and dense. A normal player will easily hit 35 to 40 hours to finish it. If you want to complete 100 per cent of its content you will reach 100-plus hours easily. It is not a small universe to conquer.
Just how open is Watch Dogs' open world?
Freedom is very important in Watch Dogs. From the beginning, you are as free as a bird. The world exploration is varied and the way you approach missions is also open to your playing style. Between missions, you can do as you please.
Why did you choose Chicago for the game's setting?
Chicago is one of the world's great cities. It symbolises modernity and progress alongside crime and corruption, great wealth and high culture alongside abject poverty and brutal violence. Those contradictions make Chicago the perfect location.
How should gamers approach Watch Dogs' online components?
When you play an action-adventure game, you want to go on a journey with a hero. We think you can do this while crossing paths with other players. Our seamless multiplayer is an open door to innovate and offer unique gameplay moments.
What: Watch Dogs
When: Released May 27
Platforms: Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC
For fans of: Grand Theft Auto, Infamous: Second Son, Max Payne
- TimeOut
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