Watch Dogs review: fantastic sandbox action crippled by its own hype
Unless you have been living in a cave, on the far side of the galaxy since 2012,
I don’t really need to introduce Watch Dogs, do I? Watch Dogs has been the most anticipated game this year, and probably also is the most anticipated console game of the last five years. Since its debut at E3 in 2012, it has been a fan favorite with its hacking features and Grand Theft Auto-style action.
Watch Dogs follows anti-hero Aiden Pearce as he digs through Chicago’s dirty laundry for his niece’s killers. Aiden takes on criminals, cops, and companies while exploring the dark heart of the city. But after so many years of hype, has Watch Dogslived up to its own reputation, or does it disappoint?
My verdict: it’s a bit of both.
Aiden, I don’t care about your family
The most disappointing thing about Watch Dogs is the plot which is staler than old bread. Aiden Pearce is a dull character who assumes the mantle of miserable anti-hero and glumly takes on missions to enact vengeance on those who wronged him and his family.
(See: Republique Episode One: Exordium review: Espionage and voyeurism have never been so much fun!)
Maybe it’s just because Hollywood plays the “family in danger” card so often, or maybe it’s because I am soulless, but I just don’t care. I don’t give a damn about the traumatised boy Jackson, or Pearce’s whiny sister.
There are a few curveballs here and there, and some of the characters (especially Lucky Quinn) are really interesting, but there’s nothing new.
I like Lucky Quinn, the aged gangster with walking stick that doubled as a knife, and I loved Jordi Chin the humorous assassin/thug/weirdo, and I found the Iraqi, the African-American army veteran, and the gang leader to be enthralling, but these guys get bumped for trivial family drama! I wanted a game about hackers, criminals, and the underbelly of Chicago. What I got was a crappy morality tale about the importance of family and sacrifice. Yuck!
(See: Agent RX review: a sexy, sneaky, stealth adventure)
Without the family element, Watch Dogs would have been a game about competing hacker factions, gang wars, and the clash between old and new as crime moves from the streets into cyberspace. That would have been way more fun than weepy phone calls to an irritating sister and an annoying kid with a face like a slapped arse.
How cool is hacking?
Hacking was the big draw of Watch Dogs, and I’m happy to say that it works well. If you’re driving, walking, or running for your life, you can raise bridges, blow up pipes, and hack into phones all at the touch of a button.
How you know what can be done is easy: everyone you see in the game is profiled simply by looking at them. Profiling gives you an NPC’s name, age, income, and a random fact, which lets you decide what best to do to them. Sometimes you can hack bank accounts for cash, read texts, and listen to conversations that occasionally open extra missions.
(See: Republique Episode One: Exordium review: Espionage and voyeurism have never been so much fun!)
It’s hacking during car chases and gunfights that Watch Dogs shines. Everyone has a favorite hacking story; my favorite was I exploded a steam pipe beneath a criminal’s feet and launched him 50 meters into the air while chasing him on foot. He landed with a very satisfying splat.
Another time would be during a car chase where I drove toward an island with revolving pedestrian bridges. Thanks to hacking, I made the bridge’s timing, and left my pursuers stranded on the middle of the river unable to chase me, and unable to escape my sniper fire. So yeah, hacking is fun.
However it’s also too simple. Reducing everything to a single button press is just too easy and it means that everything has only one option. Some guards can be distracted by using information from their profile, some can have their communications overloaded and disabled; some even can have their grenades activated, making them a human bomb. It’s cool, but after a few hours you realise that every person offers you only one option, or none, and the illusion of being an all-powerful hacker begins to crumble.
I can’t help but think Watch Dogs only scratched the surface of what could have been an awesome mechanic. I want options, people, is that so much to ask for?
I love the driving, but it’s not for everyone
I can’t drive. This is a statement that is true both in real life and in cyberspace. My friends love to watch me try because I turn vehicles into ping pong balls of death and blow up after a few minutes of smashing into law-abiding motorists. But I quite liked Watch Dogs’ driving because it was forgiving.
Crashing only slowed me down momentarily and getting from one side of Chicago to the other was never the chore it is in Grand Theft Auto games. However the general outcry (by people who can drive, obviously) is that it is too slow to react and not precise enough. For someone who lacks reaction speed and precision, Watch Dogs is perfect. Otherwise, look elsewhere for your driving fix.
One thing which stood out as strange about driving around Chicago is that the Chicago police department does not give a fuck. I must have killed about a thousand civilians as they crossed the road, walked on the pavement, or strolled through parks. And the police have never come after me.
The one time they chased me, I hacked a gate, it closed, and they crashed. It was over in 30 seconds, and I haven’t seen any police outside a mission since. I understand that Ubisoft wanted to keep the game less about police chases and more about vigilante action, but it still feels weird the police aren’t more concerned about my blatant law-breaking murder sprees. Maybe it’s because they only really see Aiden Pearce in cutscenes?
Aiden Pearce is a god of battle
Because there is a huge difference between the Aiden Pearce in cutscenes and the Aiden Pearce we play as during the game.
For one thing, Aiden Pearce in cutscenes is mortal. He avoids combat, uses hacking skills, and only ever carries a pistol. Aiden Pearce in the game is a walking tank. He can get shot more than a dozen times and heal in a few seconds, carries an unimaginable numbers of guns in his trench coat, and massacres opponents with ease.
I can’t help but feel that combat in Watch Dogs takes place in a different universe, where all the rules have changed. It’s possible to focus on stealth and the game pushes you to do so by giving you lots of gadgets and gizmos to help your sneaking. But if you get caught, it’s way too simple to blast your way out of the situation.
Once you get the automatic shotgun and the ability to knock out Enforcers (the big bad guys scattered around later confrontations), any challenge the game had is gone.
Don’t get me wrong, this is fun. I had many a good time massacring my enemies, but I can’t help but wish I had more encouragement to use things like lures and sticky bombs. I rarely do, because I just don’t need them. But that’s not what ruins the combat.
Oh my god, these guys are dumb
Watch Dog’s greatest failure is its AI. The enemies are so dumb, it becomes impossible to take them seriously. A great example is the body discovery mechanic. If a guard discovers a body is, what do they do? Do they take cover, call for backup, or begin patrolling?
None of that! They go and stand next to the body and mumble things like “we got a man down,” or “who is this guy?” They react in the most passive of ways. This means that with a silenced pistol and a good vantage point, you can take out every unarmored enemy in an area with ease. To be honest, this never gets old. I loved popping guys in the head over and over again. It was like shooting fish in a barrel and that’s always sounded like fun! It is. But it isn’t challenging, it isn’t interesting and it certainly wasn’t what I was expecting from a game that was in development for eight years!
Value for money
In spite of the plot, most of you will spend more time playing around in the city than you will with your family. The main campaign itself is well over 12 hours long and Chicago is full of activities and missions.
(See: Republique Episode One: Exordium review: Espionage and voyeurism have never been so much fun!)
There are random criminals to stop, convoys of bad guys to take out, and human trafficking rings to bust. Doing these missions unlocks more special missions, abilities, or experiences, so as you complete them, Aiden gets stronger. What’s more, if you complete missions to protect the citizens of Chicago, they will like you more and more. Eventually, you become a celebrated champion of the people and bask in their adulation.
Watch Dogs is brimming with content and unlike Infamous: Second Son _, it will keep you occupied for a long, long time. It took me days of solid game playing to complete the main campaign and I have barely touched on the myriad of extra missions the Chicago offers. If you’re looking for value for money, _Watch Dogs is a must-have!
Next generation graphics are finally here
At the very least, though, Watch Dogs is sexy. The characters look good and Chicago looks amazing. I first noticed the effort put into Watch Dogs’ visuals when driving through the game’s rural section and noticing that all the trees are unique! While playing the game with a friend he exclaimed: “wow, look at that dirt road!” and when a dirt road causes admiration, you know you have a very pretty game.
It’s the same everywhere. I never noticed copy and pasted buildings, and the attention to detail, whether it’s trash cans that vary in fullness or the variety of people you meet, is staggering. This comes together to make Chicago feel alive, fresh, and dynamic.
But by far the most impressive feat of the game’s visuals is the light. Driving around during sunsets and watching the orange light bounce of rain-slick tarmac is something I will never forget. Seeing headlights penetrate the darkness, or gunfire illuminate the dark corners of a room, still blows me away.
If you are looking for a game to really show you the potential of your Xbox One or Playstation 4, then look no further than Watch Dogs
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