Watch_Dogs Review. Grade: A

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weallmissedme1
Posts: 397
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Watch_Dogs Review. Grade: A

Postby weallmissedme1 » July 6th, 2014, 5:14 pm

Okay, it's time I finally review this game, as I've covered pretty much everything I could from the game to give a full review on it. So, without further ado, it's time I review this hyped game.

You are Aiden pearce. The intro gives a pretty good idea of what you do. You're a hacker, who can do anything with a simple smart phone. After something goes wrong at May Stadium, you're on the run from the police. You soon meet up with Damien, when he wants to work and you Decline, your sister is kidnapped. And the rest, as they say, is history. The only reason I say that, is because the writing and story, are fantastic. And I don't want to spoil it.

So, let's just get down to gameplay, because that's what matters. Now, there have been some rather unfair comparisons between this game, and Grand Theft Auto 5. Now, comparing them gameplay wise is difficult, as they're very different. And anyone who calls it a GTA clone needs to be thrown into a volcano. Now, we CAN compare SOME aspects, but I'll wait until the end to do that. Okay, onto the game. The first thing you notice, obviously, are the graphics. Now, people screamed about a downgrade, which was sadly true. And even more controversy came from the fact that the PC version had the capability of looking better, with the use of a simple patch. Even without the patch however, the games still looks pretty damn good. The lights, the rain, it's all there. ESPECIALLY the rain. Now, in GTA games, the rain is annoying. But here? It looks damn good! Seeing individual raindrops bouncing off the ground is a visual FEAST for the eyes. Too bad UbiSoft locked off the BETTER visuals, because it REALLY looks good with those! So the graphics, are pretty damn good. What about the controls? Well, depending on what platform you play, this may vary, but on the PC version, it controls flawlessly. The gunplay is amazing, the best I've ever used in this kind of game, and GTA can't even hope to compete with this aspect. Shooting missions really show this off, as it feels really smooth and fun. There's a nifty "focus" ability you can earn, which REALLY helps when you're surrounded by hordes and hordes of enemies! Now, how about the driving? Well, people love to whine and moan about this one, but it's NOT bad. It's just different. It's like moving from Driver to GTA III. GTA III didn't have bad driving, it was just different from Driver (the grandaddy of open world sandbox games). Each vehicle handles differently, and car chases are pretty intense! Now, if there is one thing that stands out, it's the excellent parkour abilities, something that GTA and Saints Row should take a note of! You can scale fences with ease, slide over the hoods of cars, climb ledges, it's all pretty fantastic. This is shown in the cash run mini game as well. So that's the controls, let's move on to the music.

The soundtrack is pretty lame, HOWEVER, that's based on MY opinion. Just because I don't like it, doesn't mean it's BAD! That's something reviewers need to remember. However, the in game score is pretty damn good. Every music piece fits the mood perfectly, and you feel like you're in an action movie sometimes! Now, I wish you could add your own music. Because it's pretty nice how you can listen to music while walking. Yet another thing GTA should take note of!

Now, on to the games main mechanic, hacking. It may be simple, but what did you expect? The trailers made it look simple. And it works fine. Need to catch a criminal who's outrunning you? Just blow up an electrical box on a wall he's running by. Need to escape the police of enemies? Just blow up a steam pipe. Need to be a douche to your friend online? Open up parking lot spikes. Now, you only have access in Parker Square from the beginning. So you have to hack the other CtOS systems. You're taught how to do this in one of the first missions, where you're required to take over the CtOS in The Loop. It's fairly simple. Just find the access code from one of the guards, hack the CtOS, complete a genius puzzle, and then BOOM, it's yours. Pretty nifty, eh? You can then hack everything in the district. That's the first thing every player should do. Take over all of the CtOS systems. That way, you have everything you want at your disposal. You can monitor phone conversations, find items of interest, and so much more. It's actually kind of cool having all these ways to tackle a mission. So that leaves us with one thing to tackle, the map. And I'm going to say this right now. This is, without a doubt, the GREATEST map ever to grace an open world game. I thought GTA IV's Liberty City would never be beaten, but it has been. This map is INSANE. It may not be extremely large, but that doesn't matter. When a map is too large, it suffers from GTA V syndrome. Where they detail one portion (the city) and get lazy with the other portion to brag about size, likely to accommodate for their tiny manhood. This map has DETAIL. Everything is so well crafted. The architecture, the scenery, the people you meet, it's all based upon where you are in the map, and it's fantastic. Without a doubt the part of the game that steals the show. And let's not forget about mini games and side missions. You have criminal convoys and gang hide outs, which play like regular missions, but they're nice because of how AWESOME the shooting is. You have bars and clubs to go to, which have pretty cool drinking games, but I'd suggest you use the mouse and number keys, as this is the much better option. You have cool clothes to wear, if you don't like the standard outfit. You have betting games, chess puzzles (including a full chess game!) gambling with Poker, and Slot Machines, and you've got fixer contracts (which have excellent music).  But perhaps the most famous of side activities are the digital trips. You have madness, where you cause mayhem in a vehicle. Alone, where you have to avoid very odd beings and free parts of a district from the darkness, you've got spider tank, with is basically a shooter where you play as a military vehicle, which can climb walls, and crush cars, and you've got the best of the bunch, Psychedelic, which had me laughing my ASS off. It's like an LSD trip with odd music, and a wacky color palette. It also isn't quite as mindless and boring as Madness and Spider Tank.

Then we have the multiplayer. You have the chaotic file decryption, with is fun, but a little too rough. You've got online races, which are what they sound like, except you win money, you've got online tailing, which I couldn't figure out for the life of me, free roam, which is the best, and Online Hacking. Online hacking is a bit irritating, but still cool. BUT there's a problem with online hacking. It doesn't inform you you are being invades until they hack you. And it doesn't tell you where they ARE until the initiate the installation. But I soon found an easy way to tell if you're being hacked. If you pause the game, and everything keeps moving, get in a fast car, and book it! I say shut it off, but if you want to play again, it TAKES AWAY YOUR PREVIOUS NOTORIETY POINTS! What the HELL Ubisoft? Because I don't want some douchebag hacking me, you have to take away my points? I usually just shut off the game when I'm informed I'm being invaded. It's easier that way, then I just relaunch it.

Overall, fantastic game, it's simply asthonishing. The experience is so amazing, and it shows that GTA isn't the only game in town.

Now, I promised a comparison. The games are drastically different, but we can compare them a LITTLE bit.

The gunplay is much better in Watch_Dogs. It's just so much smoother. Plus there isn't that auto aim bull**** found in GTA V. Stupid online players!

The map, there's no comparison. GTA V's city is detailed, but the rest is lazy. Wish they had focused on ALL of the map, rather than just the city.

And that's pretty much all that can be compared. Yeah, I know, not much, but as I said, they're drastically different.

Like I said, fantastic game, I suggest a buy for sure.

A.


Vexer1
Posts: 883
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Watch_Dogs Review. Grade: A

Postby Vexer1 » July 6th, 2014, 6:21 pm

Good review and agree with some things but not everything(I don't think the map in GTA V was "lazy" at all, there were other cool areas besdies the city, and it certainly wasn't done to brag about one's "manhood", that makes no sense at all[confused]), there were "stealth" missions which for me were not particularly fun, as they were mostly trial-and-error and I felt they slowed down the pace of the game. Also I found the Digital Trips to be a mixed bag, Spider Tank was cool, but the other ones didn't really mantain my interest for long(they were mostly more annoying then fun), and since you don't get any rewards(aside from clothes) for succesfully completing all the objectives in a trip(they aren't even included in the progression wheel), I didn't have much motivation to play them.

I do agree on the soundtrack, for the most part I found it rather dissapointing compared to the soundtracks of other sandbox games, there were a few standout songs(I.E. Alice Cooper- "Dangerous Tonight" Nas- "One Mic" Wu Tang Clan- "C.R.E.A.M." Public Enemy "I Shall Not Be Moved" Rise Against "Help Is On The Way" 2 Chainz- "Feds Watchin"), but for the most part I found myself skipping a lot.

Also a few days ago there was DLC released for the game in the form of three new missions, haven't played them yet, but I certainly will today, there's also more forthcoming DLC where T-Bone will be a playable character.

 



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