Title: Watch Dogs
Format: PS4(reviewed), PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC
Release Date: May 27, 2014
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft
Price: $59.99
ESRB Rating: M
After a hefty six month delay, many felt that Watch Dogs wouldn't be able to live up to the enormous hype that was built up around it. From my 20 or so hours with the game, I can say that the game was well worth the wait.
You play as Aiden Pearce, a hacker turned vigilante. The city of Chicago has installed a new unified operating system that basically controls everything in the city. Traffic lights, cameras, bridges, and more are all controlled by one OS. Obviously that wasn't the best idea for the city, and it gave hackers the golden opportunity to take control of the city. You instantly jump in on a hacking job that goes wrong, and it sends Aiden on a quest for revenge to figure out who double crossed who. The narrative doesn't feel cheesy at all, it feels inspired and ended up being pretty engaging throughout the end. Visually, the game looks fantastic, in my opinion. There was a lot of hoopla regarding the "downgrade" from the original showing of the game, but when I played through the game, I don't understand why. Chicago and the surrounding areas aren't exactly one to one with the real city, but Ubisoft did get all the major landmarks down pat. The real time lighting and dynamic weather effects look great, and this is only the first start of a long run of open world next gen games. The visuals are extremely polished as well, I never really encountered any technical bugs that stood out. The framerate held solid, even during chaotic car chases and huge gun fights. The voice acting is very well done, with a multitude of solid performances throughout. Aiden is a great character, and he doesn't exude the typical tropes of a protagonist seeking revenge. Each character you meet along the way is different, each with their own backstory you learn about the more you interact with them.The soundtrack is solid, even though I found the licensed music a bit lackluster. It does however feature a number of Chicago inspired tunes, which is a nice touch for native Chicagoans.
Watch Dogs features a number of traditional gameplay mechanics of a third person shooter, an intuitive cover based system, and some great shooting. This is one of the biggest highlights of the game. There are ton of weapons in the game including pistols, assault rifles, SMGs, grenade launchers, and sniper rifles. Each gun feels great to shoot, and you can definitely feel the impact when you acquire some of the beefier weapons. Melee isn't a big of the game, but Aiden can quickly take out enemies with his baton takedowns. That's the full extent of Aiden's melee skills, and it proves to be all he needs. Hacking is the big new mechanic found in Watch Dogs, and it ended up being a pleasant surprise. After the many demos of the game, the hacking just looked too complicated a bit overwhelming, but that wasn't the case. You can control most of the city with the Aiden's phone, which can be accessed with just a press of a button. The hacking managed to amplify many missions that would be boring without it, like chase missions. I've always loathed chase missions in open world games, but in Watch Dogs, the ability to hack bridges and traffic lights make chases scenes that much more exhilarating. Just like with every Ubisoft game, there is a lot of content included in the package. The main story missions can last you 8 or 9 hours, but with the inclusion of side missions, the game ended up being a 20 hour experience for me. Side missions offer special rewards upon completion, so there's a lot of incentive here to finish them all. Completing each of them nets you XP as well, which goes to improving your hacking, driving, and shooting. In the end, these elements come together well and made a truly fun experience.
I'm sure that this is only the first in the series, and if it is, this is a great first start. Watch Dogs had an enormous amount of hype surrounding it, and I feel it lived up to it. This game shouldn't be missed, and it ended up being one of my favorites of the year so far.
+Engaging Story
+Addictive Mission Structure
+Solid Shooting Mechanics
+Hacking is a Welcomed Innovation
-Side Missions Will Repeat
S&S Rating: 8.5/10 @whatsPlay