Watch Dogs PS4/Xbox One/PC review

[originalbadboy]

For me its just what was shown on the original E3 trailer and what we have now that it most telling. Its pretty obvious Ubisoft thought they were getting a certain amount of power with next gen consoles and PC, and the reality just wasn't there. Either that or someone at Ubisoft towers was smoknig the crack pipe that day.

Maybe within a couple of years we might get the original vision but I doubt it.

[teddymeow]

I'm not 100% sure what to think about this.

I'm kind of enjoying it but on the other hand it feels like I'm being constantly slapped in the face by pop up messages and tutorials. I feel that there is no way I'm ever going to remember them all.

The stealth is a but harsh. Insta-fail isn't what I had hoped for in a game that was all about hacking and turning the world into a tool for you to use. I'd have preferred something a little more organic.

Really, it's a modern day Assassin's Creed with GTA overtones.

What is it with games these days that make you liberate / unlock a viewpoint / tower so you can see what side missions there are in the vicinity?

[originalbadboy]

I think that making it for 6 platforms was the problem.

That certainly doesn't help, but then I can see the business justification for it. We are still in a transition phase between consoles currently. There are always crossover titles that were primarily meant for current gen as well as next gen. In the end to maximise sales they are going to spread it over as many platforms as they possibly can.

At some point games need to be made for new gen consoles only, and it will happen.

[Neon Ignition]

To be honest I don't even think it's anything to do with next gen expectations, I think it's merely that you can split cross generation releases into two camps:

-Current Gen games ported to Next Gen
-Next Gen games with downgraded Current Gen adaptations

And Watch Dogs is very much a current gen game ported to Next Gen, it's no more next gen than the Tomb Raider rerelease or Thief port was hence all the unfixed blemishes and limitations being intact. AC5 is definitely going to be the first we see of anything next gen from Ubi so Watch Dogs is best approached against its literal current gen peers where it holds up much stronger.

The stealth missions have held up well so far and the slightly more involved hacking appeared which has kept me intrigued. It'll need to keep it coming though as the limitations show up quite fast. To be honest I don't like all the AC like glitch/hacking aesthetics of the game either, it's an awful boring tale told in a very cold and forgettable manner. Ubi need to improve that side of things for WD2. Still overall a few hours down and its looking like a better release for what has so far been one of the most lackluster years for games in many.

[JU!]

Its GTA + AC + SR
GrandTheftAssassinsCreedRow.

With all the annoying bits of those games amplified it seems.
Am struggling to get into it personally.

Played the chess challenges for an hour though

Not played those yet sounds good. I did play the carmageddon style mini game with the electronic trips and it was brilliant, really wanna play the others now like the spider one and hunted one.

[BIG EDD]

For anybody who didn't notice,there was an upgrade for the sony gold (2.0)headphones with a Watch Dog sound preset

[teddymeow]

Played a couple more hours today but there's just so much to do in terms of the side missions that I'm struggling to enjoy now. I find it quite overbearing.

Put it up for sale in my thread

[BaronSqwelch]

I'd like to sit in on a meeting at UBISOFT...

"Hey guys! You know how everyone loves those insta fail tailing missions in Assassins Creed??...let's use those in Watchdogs. But make them extra enjoyable by removing the ability to hide in bushes"

At that point I would machine gun them all.

[Panta Rhei]

I am already fed up with this. The story isn't worth it, the online is rather broken and the overall shoddy quality doesn't do the game good. There are some AC1 merits shining through, every crime pans out the same and in the story its always a case of finding the guard with the security code. You could go guns blazing, but with the sticky cover, bad AI and somewhat slow shooting I don't enjoy doing that. Its like playing a worse version of a 2006 shooter all over again. Hacking is press Square everywhere. This is just another mediocre game.

I have put this on sale, shouldn't be a problem to sell this. Glad I didn't trade the superior Wolfenstein for this.

To be honest I don't even think it's anything to do with next gen expectations, I think it's merely that you can split cross generation releases into two camps:

-Current Gen games ported to Next Gen
-Next Gen games with downgraded Current Gen adaptations

And Watch Dogs is very much a current gen game ported to Next Gen, it's no more next gen than the Tomb Raider rerelease or Thief port was hence all the unfixed blemishes and limitations being intact. AC5 is definitely going to be the first we see of anything next gen from Ubi so Watch Dogs is best approached against its literal current gen peers where it holds up much stronger.

The stealth missions have held up well so far and the slightly more involved hacking appeared which has kept me intrigued. It'll need to keep it coming though as the limitations show up quite fast. To be honest I don't like all the AC like glitch/hacking aesthetics of the game either, it's an awful boring tale told in a very cold and forgettable manner. Ubi need to improve that side of things for WD2. Still overall a few hours down and its looking like a better release for what has so far been one of the most lackluster years for games in many.

Watch Dogs is in no way next-gen. If this is the definition of next-gen, then bring along that crash.

WD plays like an early 360 gen game. The free run has been taken from Creed and the cover system is very 2006. Todays games, like TR and TLoU utilize organic cover, no more use of a button that glues you to the environment. But not next-gen Watch Dogs. It feels silly and its annoying.

Other than that, some things are simply glaring. Such as lanterns always getting knocked into 5 or so pieces. Even after minimal impact. The shooting too, even if you hit the legs targets just die. There are hardly hitboxes. The driving feels like the red headed stepchild of GTA IV.

The more I played it, the more I noticed how utterly terrible this actually is. The guard with security code thing really started to grow old on me in an AC1 like fashion. Watch Dogs is the most unpolished game I've played on the PS4 by far (yes, I own BF4 but I still think its more polished than this, network issues of pre patch BF4 are on par with WD anyway). This doesn't bode well for other games, but its still early days of these systems. Looking back the 360 and Ps3 weren't all fine and dandy during its first year either. A few years down the road we're looking back at WD1 as that rather forgettable effort much like AC1 is nowadays.

[Neon Ignition]

I'm almost into Act 3 now, its fun but I do get distracted very easily from it. Its very... Samey. Enjoyed some of the knowing digs at Ubisoft games littered throughout so far though

[smouty]

It feels like the spiritual successor to DC Headhunter.
I just looked up Headhunter and it looks great for its time.

[BaronSqwelch]

Finished it yesterday...enjoyed it in the end. Last mission was thought up by a sadist though

[Team Andromeda]

Finding the game to be as dull as dish water , looks nice though but too boring and dull to play

[dvdx2]

having great fun with this

really funny bit last night - i used hacking to activate a guys explosives and he started panicking shouting 'tell my wife I...' He quickly managed to get rid of them then continued.... ' I slept with her sister'

those graphics at nighttime in a thunderstorm...wow

[Neon Ignition]

Just starting Act 4, hoping it improves as Act 3's back end was horrid. Reliant on shootouts which is WDs weakest aspect