Watch_Dogs reviews

So we can take it that this game is a great game?

People that had their expectations to high will be burned. But if you didnt follow it, because you were not on the hype train, you will have a lot of fun playing it.

That's what it sounds like to me.
 
At least now Ubisoft has proven they can make a good first episode to a new franchise

Judging from the jump between Assassin's Creed and Assassin's Creed 2, Watch_Dogs 2 should be GOTY, then
 
JLeack said:
"Hacking is just pressing buttons."

Well, uh, this is a game that you play with a controller or keyboard. You input commands with buttons. So, uh, you kinda need to press buttons to do anything in any game.

I respect others' opinions, but that comment is just ludicrous. They'd have been better off just saying they found hacking repetitive.
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That's a good point. It came across as criticism for criticism's sake. One of the reasons one should never rely on just a single review to govern purchase decisions
 
Looking like it will average around the same as the first AC, which is what I expected. I'll take a look at the Gamersyde footage and the Giant Bomb quick look tomorrow. I wonder how skeptical people are going to be of The Division for the next year, or whatever Ubisoft announces at E3 (that won't release until 2016 at the earliest).
 
Zeliard said:
I haven't put a great deal of time into the game yet, but Eurogamer's assessment seems quite apt (a review which, it should be said, is actually more positive than people seem to think):

It's not going to revolutionize the genre, but it's a solid mix of borrowed gameplay styles and something most who enjoy this sort of open-world game would probably find some fun with. Measured expectations are the key.

If you don't like the genre, however, chances are it won't convert you.
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Yeah, I really think it sounds fine. I expect to play it at some point, but I'm in no rush.

This is a good start. Sets up for a great sequel.
 
Seanspeed said:
So everybody else is biased and isnt giving a 'true' reflection of the game?

I suppose the worse a review is, the more 'honest' it is?

lol
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Er... Have you read the review? It's not entirely negative. I just struggle to take any review that sugar-coats a AAA release seriously and Eurogamer did a grand job of illustrating what to expect.

Zeliard said:
I haven't put a great deal of time into the game yet, but Eurogamer's assessment seems quite apt (a review which, it should be said, is actually more positive than people seem to think)
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Exactly.

If you don't like the genre, however, chances are it won't convert you.
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And that's the thing... It hardly seems the revolutionary hype-fest it was made out to be.
 
Gaz_RB said:
What would you suggest that would improve the hacking mechanic? I've been trying to think of a better way to do that impromptu hacking in the game, but I haven't really come up with one.
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You have Slow-Mo in the game. You have Hacking in the game. How about some Hacking-Minigames you have in other games (Solve a puzzle in XX seconds) so hacking is actually challenging. And making it worthwile at the same time.
 
Zeliard said:
I haven't put a great deal of time into the game yet, but Eurogamer's assessment seems quite apt (a review which, it should be said, is actually more positive than people seem to think):







It's not going to revolutionize the genre, but it's a solid mix of borrowed gameplay styles and something most who enjoy this sort of open-world game would probably find some fun with. Measured expectations are the key.

If you don't like the genre, however, chances are it won't convert you.
Click to expand...
The review highlights my biggest concern which is its failure to achieve its potential in any category. It fails to do this in the story, the ai, the graphics, the level of polish, the amount of detail in the world etc. I'm a big fan of open world games but this game just seems to lack a wow factor that makes it a day 1 game.
 
Gaz_RB said:
What would you suggest that would improve the hacking mechanic? I've been trying to think of a better way to do that impromptu hacking in the game, but I haven't really come up with one.
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Timed combination of buttons - so that a different set of wisecrackers can criticize the "tired old QTEs"
 
Someone said the famous E3 mission from a years ago has been heavily modified, but is that Asian guy still in the game? Loved that character for some reason :lol thought he had a great voice actor (and sweet hair).
 
dark_inferno said:
You have Slow-Mo in the game. You have Hacking in the game. How about some Hacking-Minigames you have in other games (Solve a puzzle in XX seconds) so hacking is actually challenging. And making it worthwile at the same time.
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But having Aiden play a mini game to change the traffic lights while cops are chasing him just doesn't seem plausible. I'm not sure what people were expecting. They have the more in depth hacking puzzle for the intrusion hacks.
 
I've been playing this since Thursday. It hasn't broke once since the initial 90mb patch and the game has been quite fun.

Thought these images would provide some details on PS4 graphics.

qn6E9hT.jpg


g7V4SJ9.jpg
 
Fjordson said:
Someone said the famous E3 mission from a years ago has been heavily modified, but is that Asian guy still in the game? Loved that character for some reason :lol thought he had a great voice actor (and sweet hair).
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jordi is still in it...jim sterling mentioned him as being a stand out character in his review
 
Fjordson said:
Someone said the famous E3 mission from a years ago has been heavily modified, but is that Asian guy still in the game? Loved that character for some reason :lol thought he had a great voice actor (and sweet hair).
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He's in it. Not nearly enough, which was my problem with all the characters. You just don't see them enough.
 
I don't think there's anything you can do to make the hacking interesting when all it is doing is replacing mechanics from other games. That's all the hacking is in this game - just a replacement for things you could do in other games through different mechanics. The whole approach was flawed from the beginning.
 
Gaz_RB said:
But having Aiden play a mini game to change the traffic lights while cops are chasing him just doesn't seem plausible. I'm not sure what people were expecting. They have the more in depth hacking puzzle for the intrusion hacks.
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Yeah but the usual hacking is somehow boring. You drive around and later on you just hack the pipes under the streets because you are bored.

Hacking fuse boxes are boring too. They result in an instant death when enemies are nearby and are so damn op.

Hacking people for money? You will do that 1-2 times.

Hacking cameras? You could also run in there without any problems on realistic.
 
Pestilence11 said:
Even more fun trying to do it while driving. One button was really the only way it could be done.
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Exactly my point as well. I was sarcastically pointing out that people would criticize it anyway. Everyone is going to armchair design alternatives without understanding how it will contradict everything else the game is built on. As you said, the hacking portion needs to the the easy part for the game they were making. If it weren't easy, it would be a different game.
 
Krabboss said:
I don't think there's anything you can do to make the hacking interesting when all it is doing is replacing mechanics from other games. That's all the hacking is in this game - just a replacement for things you could do in other games through different mechanics. The whole approach was flawed from the beginning.
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But this isn't true. What other game allows you to do the things you can do in Watch Dogs?
 
Krabboss said:
I don't think there's anything you can do to make the hacking interesting when all it is doing is replacing mechanics from other games. That's all the hacking is in this game - just a replacement for things you could do in other games through different mechanics. The whole approach was flawed from the beginning.
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I don't remember being able to change street lights, raise bollards, look through cameras, disrupt comms, etc. in many other games. I do kind of agree with you. Hacking is just a means to an end- the end being deeper interactions with the open world- and the same thing could have been accomplished with something else like Aiden being a wizard or psychic or something.

dark_inferno said:
Yeah but the usual hacking is somehow boring. You drive around and later on you just hack the pipes under the streets because you are bored.

Hacking fuse boxes are boring too. They result in an instant death when enemies are nearby and are so damn op.

Hacking people for money? You will do that 1-2 times.

Hacking cameras? You could also run in there without any problems on realistic.
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Most of this is true. The hacking often does feel gimmicky, and it's just as easy to Splinter Cell through the game without it. I do think it's an interesting premise though.

But the hacking is not really a part of why I like the game so much.
 
Is there any feedback on the previous gen versions? I'm aware the framerate isn't solid but is not the defining factor for an enjoyable game, has there been any other issues or praises with those versions?
 
Glad to see reviews turned out pretty well. I'm itching for another open world game after Infamous so I'll probably give this a shot. I still want to get Wolfenstein though after seeing all the positive impressions in the OT here.
 
Gaz_RB said:
What would you suggest that would improve the hacking mechanic? I've been trying to think of a better way to do that impromptu hacking in the game, but I haven't really come up with one.
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Personally I would add some level of 'strategic' hacking, like clearing a whole path in advance prior to escaping, possibly by setting carefully planned timers, diverting traffic from one part of the City to another to stall cops, triggering false alarms to throw off tracing atempts etc. Something that would make you feel really in control of the city, not just that particular set of streetlights in front of you. Maybe it's added later in the game, in the first two hours tho it kinda really feels more like 'press A for awesome'.
 
zonezeus said:
Personally I would add some level of 'strategic' hacking, like clearing a whole path in advance prior to escaping, possibly by setting carefully planned timers, diverting traffic from one part of the City to another to stall cops, triggering false alarms to throw off tracing atempts etc. Something that would make you feel really in control of the city, not just that particular set of streetlights in front of you. Maybe it's added later in the game, in the first two hours tho it kinda really feels more like 'press A for awesome'.
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It's not added later. The hacking doesn't really evolve too much as the game goes on, but this is a great idea. Before you go into a mission that you know is going to draw some heat, you'd have to plan out an escape route and do some more in depth hacking to secure your access to the CTOS systems along the way. Then when you hit X to raise the bollards, it would feel way more satisfying because you set it up beforehand. That would be very interesting.
 
Exploratory said:
But this isn't true. What other game allows you to do the things you can do in Watch Dogs?
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Other games have mugging. Other games allow you to receive sidequests. Other games have collectibles.

Hacking streetlights has pretty much no bearing on gameplay. It doesn't need to be there. It's been possible to escape the cops in other games without this mechanic. It's possible to do it in this game without using the mechanic because the AI is pretty dreadful.

Exploding things while driving similarly doesn't serve much purpose besides it being something that is possible to do. You can hack gates and drawbridges, but again that's mostly in service of escaping the cops. All this stuff to spice up escaping the cops when you're still just escaping the cops. It's all the same in the end - you're just trying to escape the tedium so you can get back to the game.

And then there's the stealth sections that involve hacking. These sequences are puzzly like stealth sequences are in other games, though obviously they're quicker and less tedious since there's less risk.

My point is that, no matter how much hacking shit they shoved in there, it's still just a standard open world crime world. That's what they wanted to make first and the hacking came second. So no matter how you interact with the world through this hacking, it's still just in service of a game we've seen before.
 
So its 80+ on metacritic.

Definately not the flop many were hoping for. Its a good-great game rather than 'average'.
 
This thread turned out exactly how I thought it would.

High 70s low 80s.
People who use lowest scoring reviews to confirm their opinions while ignoring tons of high scoring ones.
"Dat Watch Dawgs 2 though".

Not as exciting as I expected which is probably a good thing.
 
ComputerMKII said:
At least now Ubisoft has proven they can make a good first episode to a new franchise

Judging from the jump between Assassin's Creed and Assassin's Creed 2, Watch_Dogs 2 should be GOTY, then
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So the AC brotherhood type spin off of Watch Dogs is going to be the best game in the franchise?

Watching_Dogs "hackitude"
 
So considering the score most probably is inflated for those AAA production values, is it safe to say that this seems like a disappointment?
 
How are people who are still on the previous generation supposed to decide if the game is good on their platform? It's like all reviewers have abandoned them. Metacritic doesn't even have any scores for the game on PS3 and 360!
 
Morfeo said:
So considering the score most probably is inflated for those AAA production values, is it safe to say that this seems like a disappointment?
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It's safe to say it's an Ubisoft game. If you like AC series and Far Cry 3, you will find a similar experience here.
 
Krabboss said:
Other games have mugging. Other games allow you to receive sidequests. Other games have collectibles.

Hacking streetlights has pretty much no bearing on gameplay. It doesn't need to be there. It's been possible to escape the cops in other games without this mechanic. It's possible to do it in this game without using the mechanic because the AI is pretty dreadful.

Exploding things while driving similarly doesn't serve much purpose besides it being something that is possible to do. You can hack gates and drawbridges, but again that's mostly in service of escaping the cops. All this stuff to spice up escaping the cops when you're still just escaping the cops. It's all the same in the end - you're just trying to escape the tedium so you can get back to the game.

And then there's the stealth sections that involve hacking. These sequences are puzzly like stealth sequences are in other games, though obviously they're quicker and less tedious since there's less risk.

My point is that, no matter how much hacking shit they shoved in there, it's still just a standard open world crime world. That's what they wanted to make first and the hacking came second. So no matter how you interact with the world through this hacking, it's still just in service of a game we've seen before.
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That's like saying Destiny is just shooting we've seen it before and Drive Club is just driving we've seen it before. You can't ignore the new elements of a game even if they are in service of doing something you've done before. That's what video games are I mean come on. Titanfall is still just shooting other players I did that on N64. Its about mixing up the formula and doing something new. Digital Stealth is not something I've ever experienced before and that seems like a meaningful contribution to gameplay.
 
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