Watchdogs Review
Developer Ubisoft
Publisher Ubisoft
Platform PS4, PS3, XboxOne, Xbox 360, Wii-U & PC
Release Date Out Now.
Watchdogs is the culmination of almost five year’s hard work from Ubisoft’s Montreal studio. This third person open world game is set in the city of Chicago and follows hacker Aiden Pearce on his revenge mission. Ubisoft’s vision of Chicago is stunning, the city has been recreated in incredible detail and while the game seems to have been toned down a little from its first showing at E3 it still looks and plays incredibly well.
The main story is actually really compelling and maintains throughout the almost 20 hours of gameplay, side missions will expand this out even further but 20 hours is more than enough for the main storyline to unfold everything it has in store for you.
Pearce is a vigilante hacker, in the opening sequence he is taking part in a risky operation that goes horrible wrong and leads to a retaliation attack that kills his niece. From here on the story turns in to a one man’s efforts to find his attackers and exact his own brand of justice.
Outside of the main story you can drop in and out of smaller side missions, you pick these up from encountering people about the break the law, staying out of sight will allow you to observe their criminal behavior and then you can swoop to save the day.
The open world map is massive but the team have done a great job of filling that world with living inhabitants. As you wander around you can hack into others phones to read their messages or eaves drop on their calls. This can have hilarious results when you come across some of the more messed up citizens.
Getting around the city can be time consuming on foot so thankfully all vehicles are useable, you can just walk up to a car, bike or truck and snatch it GTA style without too much hassle. The driving mechanics are solid with a nice weight to the cars although hit detection can be a little strange. Clipping items will see you escape without much damage but head on collisions even with simple poles can result in shuddering dead stops.
On foot combat is handled well taking some elements from other Ubisoft titles like Assassin’s Creed and more so Splinter Cell. The stealth approach and an effective cover system are mixed with elements of Pakour but to a much lesser extent than seen in Assassin’s Creed.
Hacking is the focus of the game and it is handled through Aiden’s smart phone, for the most part it is split into two sections. Simple one button presses or small hacking mini games. As the whole city is connected by one “OS” you can hack pretty much anything. This includes taking over cameras or cleaning out people’s bank accounts through nearby ATM’s all the way to shutting down traffic lights and setting of explosions.
Multiplayer is handled in a similar way to Dark Souls in that other players can invade your single player story. Their aim is to remain undetected while installing a virus on your phone. The other option is that users with smart devices can interact with your game world. They can either help or hinder you by using hacks or setting up traps. There are other options that allow more traditional multiplayer games for up to 8 players.
The game is not without its issues, as with any game this size you will encounter some oddities but these can be overlooked. Some performance issues are being addressed with game updates but you might still encounter some slowdown in the more hectic parts.
Overall: Watchdogs is an impressive title, even if you just stay within the main story it still offers an incredibly tight and engrossing story but it really comes into its own when you just go exploring and find its funnier more quirky side too. The game looks and plays amazingly well especially on the next gen machines.
Watchdogs is available now on pretty much every platform in perfect time to avail of the summer slowdown. If you are looking for that one title to keep you busy this is highly recommended.
Score 4.5/5
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