I'm pretty sure that at some point, many of us have asked the question: what happens when
Assassin's Creed visits a modern city?
Watch_Dogs is the answer.
Although not directly confirmed to have Assassin lineage, Aiden Pearce, the story's protagonist,
embarks on a self-righteous crusade for vengeance and justice, much like the legacy of Assassin's
before him.
The overall theme of Watch_Dogs revolves around how all electronic communication is routed
through Chicago's central operating system, or ctOS.
This level of hyperconnectivity yields some benefits such as consolidation of information
flow and ease of communication, but also some societal debilitations such as the constant
threat of the system put in place to protect you being used against you.
The game's theme mirrors real life events, as news of the NSA scandal is still fresh
in Americans' minds.
Aiden profession was using his computer skills to exploit ctOS resources and perform electronic
heists.
While on a job at the Merlaut hotel, he and his partner are caught and exposed.
A hitman sent to kill Aiden ends up killing his niece in the resulting collateral damage.
Aiden survives, and the storyline of the game follows him as he protects his family from
those who wish to do him harm and how he goes after everyone who is responsible.
Along the way, he teams up with other skilled hackers, and uncovers secrets that would devastate
the public and cause them to forever distrust their government.
The main gameplay feature of Watch_Dogs is the ability to hack into ctOS and manipulate
the infrastructure to aid you, such as causing traffic jams to stop pursuing police, controlling
the security cameras to get the drop on enemies, and even blacking out the entire city.
Hacking is a fascinating mechanic that rewards the creative players.
There are multiple ways to approach new objectives, and the game encourages you to use diversified
tactics to complete them.
As an open world game, the greater-Chicago inspired metropolitan is open for you to explore.
From the suburbs, to downtown, to the countryside, you'll find a variety of backdrops.
A lot of your time in Watch_Dogs will be spent just wandering aimlessly taking in the sights,
because graphically, the game looks fantastic.
There was a lot of pre-release angst toward Ubisoft because the final release product
didn't look remotely like the game displayed during the E3 press conference, but the game
on PC still looks stunning, and there are mods that can enable the graphical effects
shown at the presentation.
Nvidia's advanced ambient occlusion technology is on full power, making for the most technologically
advanced lighting, shadowing, and reflections ever seen in a video game.
Adding to a very believable atmosphere are licensed music tracks and references to internet
memes.
Nonetheless, the intriguing premise and graphical technology advancements do little to save
the game from mediocrity and mundanity.
As soon as the game opens up after the introductory segments, the gameplay structure has striking
similarities to other Ubisoft games.
Gaining city infrastructure access requires unlocking a region's ctOS network, which involves
infiltration through restricted areas much like clearing Borgia towers in Assassin's
Creed.
Revealing points of interest requires hacking into ctOS towers, just as you would climb
viewpoints in Assassin's Creed or radio towers in Far Cry 3.
Some gamers won't mind the gameplay resemblance; some will detest it.
The game is well paced and keeps you on your feet for the first few acts, but as the game
progresses, you realize that you are doing the same recycled missions over and over again.
Go to this area, kill these guys, and bail.
Go to this area, hack this or steal this, and leave.
The approaches are different, and there are usually many different ways to complete objectives,
but the overarching mission structures are rigid.
The hacking minigames become overused and repetitive.
There are many side missions, such as clearing gang hideouts or catching criminals, that
you can do in between main story missions, and the first time through can be enjoyable,
but they can feel like a chore after completing a few.
The game mechanics are underwhelming and do little to distinguish it from average third-person
cover based shooters.
The free-running and combat controls are tight and fluid, but it's not particularly rewarding
to execute any maneuvers.
A lot of the running animation seems directly borrowed from Assassin's Creed.
Cover-based combat is simplistic, leaving no opportunity for advanced tactics.
You can't even blind-fire, which is something consistent and horribly flawed I find in some
of Ubisoft's third person shooters, such as Ghost Recon.
The enemy AI is not overly laudable, but also not disdainful.
The AI can use flanking routes and change cover effectively, but there are definitely
some improvements that can be made to their combat awareness.
Being able to hack ctOS doesn't add a massive dynamic to the combat.
It is often no different than using non-lethal takedowns or shooting an explosive in other
games.
The driving gameplay is barely functional.
In a game with super-serious overtones, the inconsistent physics can lead to some humorous
moments.
Car handling is not precise.
You can't even shoot while driving.
I hope that this was to encourage utilizing hacks to neutralize pursuers, but it may simply
be laziness on the part of the developers.
Escaping police is can be too easy at times, even at the highest wanted levels.
Their search force drastically diminishes once you reach the water.
Even though the world is very large, it is extremely sparse.
Though it's not filled with literally empty space, the amount of interactivity per square
kilometer is very poor.
Because the hacking gameplay mechanic is so simple and limited, you never really feel
like you have ultimate control.
The game's story doesn't capitalize on the game's overall intriguing premise.
It focuses on Aiden, who is one of the most uninteresting and undeveloped story protagonists
in recent memory.
In fact, all of the side characters seem to have more memorable plot points than Aiden.
There is much subjectivity when it comes to evaluating story enjoyability, but the writing
and plot development just couldn't hold my attention.
And finally, the multiplayer is barely worth mentioning.
It seldom works, it lacks direction, and doesn't enhance the gameplay experience.
Watch Dogs is ultimately a game that has strong ambitions but fails to capitalize on many
of its promises.
The game has an intriguing premise that it fails to build upon through exciting gameplay
and a compelling story.
The game's formula is tired, and there are not enough new ideas to balance the recycled
mechanics.
Although "Assassin's Creed meets GTA meets Splinter Cell" is a succinct way to describe
the gameplay experience, Watch Dogs has no merits rivaling those of any of those series.
For future games in the Watch_Dogs lineage of games, Ubisoft needs to work on improving
gameplay and story depth instead of overreaching the limitations of the game.
Watch_Dogs receives a review score of C+
Thank you very much for watching this review.
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My name is David, and I'll see you, next video.