Genre: Third-person, open world adventure game
Console: PC, PS4,PS3, XB360, XB1
Watch Dogs - Xbox One
Watchdogs has been on my radar since the day it was announced. It was originally intended to be a Xbox One day one release. However, just days before the big two released their new consoles, Ubisoft announced that they would be delaying the game until the first half of 2014. I was disappointed to say the least.
Watchdogs is an open world, third-person adventure game where you play the role of Aiden Pearce, a grey hat hacker who attempted to steal from the wrong people and as a result your family has suffered. Now that you have a few clues that could lead to the people who wronged you, you set out on a personal mission to make them pay.
On May 27th 2014 Watchdogs was finally released for all of the systems and I attended the midnight release party. Once I was home, I waited for it to install and played for about an hour before heading off to bed. The next day I played off and on and then finally finished the game just last week. Here are my impressions:
Story
The story, as described above, is at the heart, a story of retribution, while uncovering the mystery of who sent assassins that lead to the death of your niece Lena. It is a very weak story and by the end of the first act, I was already tired of the story. While I know that you have to have some sort of character motivation, this was very loosely created to keep you moving from mission to mission.
While we are on the subject of missions, they get old quickly. You have mission where you intercept convoys, you have missing persons investigations and collectibles to name a just a few. They were boring to say the least. Although there are a few interesting missions, the gang hideout and ctOS tower puzzles are fun. The digital trips are also fun. Being the spider tank and causing all kinds of mayhem gives a perverse sense of fun. Watchdogs also features an online component where you can jump into other Watchdog players games and attempt to hack their data and then attempt to escape before being discovered or eliminated, even that feature gets repetitive.W
Game Play
I did have problems with the duck and cover and hurdle buttons. Often times I would find myself crawling over an object when I wanted to stay hidden from an enemy causing me to be seen and I would have to "go loud" in order to complete the objective.
Watchdogs does feature the worst driving mechanics found in a Triple A title in a long time. For a game based around the premise of having to lose people tracking you, I found loosing the police early on in the game nearly impossible as the cars in the game turn like bricks on a frozen pond. No matter what speed you find yourself driving your vehicle, you will never turn your car around a corner like you should. GTA V has some issues but in Watchdogs escaping from people chasing you is difficult until you unlock some of Aiden's skills. The ability to burst steam pipes in the middle of the street is very effective when trying to ditch someone. However, you still have to try and turn the care around corners. If I had to describe the driving mechanics in one word it would be dreadful.
Graphics
Just a few days ago it was reported that that PC version has the files needed to make the game look more impressive (better shading,brighter colors, etc.) like the first teaser trailers for the game back when it was originally released. While they are not accessible on the console editions, I do find the graphics to be just slightly better than the graphics you would find on the 360 or PS3. I don't think that they are a huge leap forward and don't show the abilities of the consoles.
Audio
Like GTA V, Watchdogs features a wide variety of musical choices. When you hack NPCs phones you occasionally receive a new music track you can access from the car you are in. In my opinion, the tracks you have available are all terrible. Every time I jumped into a car I would immediately turn the radio off. While it is a neat little feature to rip music off from the people around you, the music isn't worth having in the first place.
Verdict
While I am still a huge fan of Ubisoft's games, Watchdogs was a huge disappointment. Unless you are really hurting for a new title to play, I would advise skipping this one. The story is weak, the missions extremely monotonous and the replay value is minimal.
Score 6/10
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