First off, if any of you actually got the obscure 90’s reference in the title, then well done. You are my kind of people. Ubisoft have finally released the much anticipated (and much delayed) open-world hack-fest that has barely left the gaming press since it was first publicised. So does it live up to the hype that it has generated?
As a long-time Ubisoft fan, Watchdogs has been on my radar since it was first announced.
My interest was really piqued when I watched a 20 minute live-play demonstration at Eurogamer last September. A ‘professional Game Player’ (best.job.ever) ran through the open world and then into a mission as an Ubi rep talked us through the features and what was happening.
What I saw was impressive enough to make me pre-order it on the train home. At the same time, much of it seemed pretty familiar having just come from playing a preview of Assassin’s Creed 4. –and that is a summary which carries over to my experiences over the last 3 days; It’s a brilliant game, but a lot of it feels very familiar.
The scope of the game is so big, it’s actually a little daunting at first. The opening is a little mini-tutorial set in a baseball stadium. You are introduced to your ‘Digital Vigilante’ (Aiden Pierce) and given an idea of how you’re expected to get things done. But this hand-holding lasts only minutes, and before you know it you’re (seamlessly) dropped into the massive open world of Chicago with surprisingly few hints or tips.
You quickly learn to use your phone as a way to connect with your surroundings. This ranges from the much publicised hacking of traffic lights and steam pipes though to security cameras and (most importantly) other people’s phones. Of course, you have to first force access to a central ‘CToS server’ in each area to have full access to the hacking in that area.
The hacking of the inanimate objects is pretty by-the-numbers. Point at bridge, hold ‘x’, bridge raises. The security cameras are a little more involved as they allow you to observe an area from multiple angles to help plan routes and incursions (whether you prefer stealth or balls-out run’n’gun).
Where the game really starts to come alive is in the ability to hack other people. Watch_Dogs’ Chicago is a vibrant, full and very active environment. There are people everywhere, all going about their days and having their own conversations and interactions etc. They also react realistically to everything you do to or near them (although they appear to be disproportionately intrigued by automated horsey rides). The depth and realism of the game is magnified by the fact that you can ‘profile’ (allegedly by using facial recognition software) any person you walk past and find out a few random facts about them as well as their occupations, income etc. These may be randomised, but they still make it feel like you are in a real world with real people.
More than just profiling, most Chicago citizens carry mobile phones- and this gives you the chance to invade their lives in all sorts of fun and/or profitable ways. By hacking a mobile, you may get access to the owner’s bank account (and so get some cash) or you may get access to their music collection (you collect MP3s to play in cars and on hi-fis etc). Alternatively, you might hack straight into a live phone call or text conversation. These range from just adding a bit more depth and life to the game through to identifying crimes about to be committed or opportunities for jobs and side missions.
The play area is massive, and the ways to get around it are numerous. Beyond running everywhere (which I wouldn’t recommend) there are a vast array of cars at your disposal. Of course, you can only ‘hack’ into each specific model of car once you have unlocked that car type by hacking the phone of an owner.
Each Car and truck handles very differently, and the driving generally feels good and works well. It feels a LOT like GTA:V to be honest. There are also a range of boats to choose from if you fancy taking to the Sea (pro tip: this is the cheap way to escape all police encounters). Finally there is the Chicago L-Train, which is an overhead rail line that runs through the city. You can use it to fast-travel between stations or just get on and enjoy the views! You’ll be using these to travel all over the city, which you’ll do a lot if you want to experience the wide range of treats on offer.
The main campaign story is decent. I wouldn’t say it captivated me as it did some others, but it kept my interest throughout. The missions it generates are varied and interesting and you do genuinely feel part of something bigger, rather than just running you through the motions to get to the next fetch-quest etc. The plot and voice acting suffer from obvious comparisons to GTA:V though, which set such a high benchmark in both that this struggles in comparison.
One major plus is that the story deals with a rarely visited area, being technology in the present day. As a contemporary tale of hacking, privacy and the invasion of technology in today’s society it does make some very interesting points and it does leave you with a lot to think about.
The Character progression is both solid and deep, and takes the game towards the realms of ‘RPG-lite’. There are upgradable skills and passive skills. The passive skills are earned through your behaviours, such as by earning certain levels of notoriety or a positive/negative reputation. The active skills are where you spend your hard earned skill points, and offer a wide range over a number of different trees (Driving, Hacking, Combat and Crafting). These allow you to have more bullet time, make IEDs, sneak more quietly- basically allow you to tailor your character to your favoured style of play.
Beyond the main plot this game offers so much more to do around the world. Broadly, they break down into: ‘Minigames’, ‘Subquests’ and ‘Digital Trips’.
Minigames and puzzles have always been a staple of Ubi games, like Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry. Watch_Dogs offers them in the forms of Street Shell games (watch the ball under the cups) and various different types of chess puzzle. There is also poker to be played, which is interesting when you remember that you have access to security cameras… as long as you don’t get caught.
The Subquests are pretty by-the-numbers affairs, but still add a huge amount to do. They come in various forms such as raiding gang hideouts, delivering cars, evading the police and time trials etc. What makes them more interesting and gives them depth is that they are usually obtained by hacking phones and reading texts listening in on conversations. In that way it all adds to the feeling you are making real impact on a real world.
The Digital Trips are leaderboard-based score attack modes that add a light-hearted (and usually psychedelic) distraction to the main game. They vary from mowing down zombies in an armour plated car (which, for copyright reasons, is NOT ‘Carmageddon’™) to driving a spidertank or bouncing around on giant flowers. …it’s never explained what, if anything, you are doing in the real world during these trips, but it is marginally concerning that you tend to wake up in alleys or on roof-tops.
Despite what the vocal minority of gamers trolling the forums would have you believe (and surprisingly considering this is a cross-gen title), the graphics look great. Everything from the water and lighting effects all the way through to the Leather of Aiden’s jacket are fantastically modelled and animated. What is particularly impressive is the range of animation and reactions in all of the random NPCs inhabiting the world. If you run in front of a car, you can actually watch the driver react in anger, shock, surprise etc though the windscreen.
Online
You may have noticed that I’ve not mentioned the Online of this game yet, and I suspect that may come as a surprise to a few of you. Well there are 2 reasons for this:
1) It just isn’t as big a part of the game as people expected
2) Its… kinda rubbish.
I know many people (myself among them) had understood from all the hype and info that preceded the release that this was a predominantly online game. It isn’t. There are, however, multiple online options available.
The 8 player free roam is fun for approximately 7 minutes. Imagine GTA:Online if there was NOTHING FOR THE PLAYERS TO DO. No missions, no races, no coop or deathmatch. You just, literally, freeroam. Especially after the joy of inhabiting Los Santos with friends this feels spectacularly pointless.
There are online races which do what they say on the tin. They are an amusing distraction if you like that sort of thing, but the unstable Ubisoft servers mean that more often than not you are dropped before the end of the race, or your game will still be loading after every other racer has started off.
Hacking and tailing are too flavours of the same ice-cream. Appear in another player’s world, and feel the tension mount as you try to stay in his vicinity without him identifying you for a set amount of time. If he identifies you, a high octane, adrenaline rush of a chase occurs as you attempt to escape. …only, that’s not what happens, ever. What actually happens is you identify the target and start your hack as an ever decreasing circle shows that player the rough area you are in. By the time the hack gets to around 90%, the circle showing your location has reduced to approximately the size of the car you’re hiding in, at which point a single bullet ends the game before you can even start the engine.
It can be an amusing distraction, but don’t be fooled into thinking this is an online game or even has a strong online element. The multiplayer is an afterthought that gets more annoying than fun very quickly.
Summary
This is a fun single player game, with a LOT of content on offer. As I started by saying, this content may be presented in new ways, but little of it really feels like fresh new ideas. When I first saw this game I thought it looked like Assassin’s Creed in a modern setting, and now having played it through, I still feel that way.
Hacking the CtOS servers and towers are Synch Points. Gang Hideouts are Forts. Crimes are assassination contracts. Puzzles and minigames have always been a staple of the AC series (9 men’s moris and checkers etc). Even the security cameras are a parallel to the target tagging of Eagle Vision.
Ultimately, this is a fun, exciting and very well put together game. However, it’s also a victim of its own hype. I had come to expect a totally new and different game experience with a strong online element. What I got was a spiritual next gen successor to the Assassin’s Creed series that stretches the genre in new and interesting ways, but never breaks the mould.
Second Opinions
We’ve been saying:
Jack: “Watchdogs gives us a glimpse of what’s possible on next gen and hopefully what we can expect from Ubisoft’s upcoming titles. The scale of the game is particularly impressive, there’s just so much to do! Bring on the division.”
Jez: “For me Watch Dogs is like Grand Theft Auto V, but with a much greater scope and sense of progression. It’s an A+ in my book”
Liam: “Watch Dogs has been a love/hate experience for me! I Hated it at the start, but the more I progressed and got used to the driving the more I learned to love it”
You’ve been saying:
@SimplyThom: “It’s a very enjoyable game, but it’s not the great leap forward we were promised. Even so, I’m having fun and that’s what counts.”
@Unabanzie: “Trolling people online is ALWAYS fun! Even so, I got bored. 2/10”
@__Andrew__: “It has amazing gameplay, especially the digital trips –which are eerie as anything! There is at least 34 hours involved in the main campaign and the story was so gripping I couldn’t put down the controller. …now it’s time to start on all the side quests”
HooksaN was a community contributor to ICXM, writing 2 articles in 2014 covering game reviews. ICXM operated as an independent Xbox and Windows gaming outlet through the early Xbox One era, when the platform’s library and policies were still being reshaped after the 2013 reveal, drawing from a rotating bench of editorial volunteers. They post on X as @hooksan.