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What neogaf thinks of Watch_Dogs ?
- Thread starter The Praiseworthy
- Start date
binarymelon
Member
Picked this up during the recent extended play sale and I also hate this game. I just finished it and everything about this game feels like it was made with pure hatred for the player. Difficulty spikes and random failures that only seem to exist to annoy the player and unskippable monologues that make you want tear your controller apart in your hands.
SwordStruck
Member
It was pretty bad. Got 40 or so hours of it and finished the story, but Watch Dogs definitely had the worst protagonist and one of the worst stories from any game I've ever played.
BibiMaghoo
Member
I really quite enjoyed the sections that let me play with stealth. Those were great and a game of that would have been much better. I had fun playing it but put it down for something else before finishing it, and never found the need to go back and complete it. I would recommend it only if you:
A) Like Ubisoft open world games
B) Can get it cheap, like £15 or less cheap
C) Don't mind horrible driving
A) Like Ubisoft open world games
B) Can get it cheap, like £15 or less cheap
C) Don't mind horrible driving
Chittagong
Gold Member
I enjoyed it. I'm in a nearly non-existent minority here, but I enjoyed the story more than GTAV. The single arch is more manageable to relate with and has constant forwards momentum, much like GTAIV. The locations are interesting and have real ambience. The gameplay mechanics, variety and replayability pale in comparison to GTA, and the game is nowhere near the vision we were sold initially, but generally I look back rather fondly.
Aurora Sparkle
Neo Member
To be honest, I thought/think the hate for Watch_Dogs was really overblown and IMO a lot of it stemmed from people being salty over the Graphical bait-and switch that Ubi pulled.
Most of the complaints people had about the game (like the driving being terrible) I found pretty much non-existant during my playthrough.
I'm pretty much in the 1%, but I actually really enjoyed Watch_Dogs, and it was one of my favorite games in 2014.
It's too bad really that it got so slammed. I definitely feel like it would have been better received if people weren't so initially pissed off going into it because of the graphical downgrade from what we saw at E3 2012.
Hopefully if they make a Watch_Dogs 2 it'll be more well-rounded.
Most of the complaints people had about the game (like the driving being terrible) I found pretty much non-existant during my playthrough.
I'm pretty much in the 1%, but I actually really enjoyed Watch_Dogs, and it was one of my favorite games in 2014.
It's too bad really that it got so slammed. I definitely feel like it would have been better received if people weren't so initially pissed off going into it because of the graphical downgrade from what we saw at E3 2012.
Hopefully if they make a Watch_Dogs 2 it'll be more well-rounded.
Markitron
Is currently staging a hunger strike outside Gearbox HQ while trying to hate them to death
GAF shits on it way too much, viewed as an open-world stealth game its actually pretty good. It had an unreal amount of hype pre-release that it was never gonna live up too. The worst thing about it is the protagonist and the story, aside from that it's solid.
AHA-Lambda
Member
It was shit.
Frankenstrat
Member
Pretty middle of the road for me. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. Do not under any circumstances buy the Wii U version with your money.
I didn't care about the downgrade at all. The game just isn't good. The driving physics are weird as hell, especially after playing GTAV some more. You hit a car full speed and it catches on fire and basically flies down the street. The random AI everybody was hyped for was essentially pointless. The shooting was good and so was the mobility in fights; I enjoyed the shootouts a lot, but the hacking mechanics became useless and I barely touched them. The multiplayer was fucking terrible. The free roam is incredibly boring and it's pretty easy to cheese the whole invasion thing. The convoys and gang hideouts were the best parts. I've recently been clearing up the burner phones and the other one, but I recently finished the murder mystery sidequest and lmao @ that ending/conclusion. Fuck this game.
Parhelion69
Member
My opinion?
Crap game.
No idea about the DLC though, don't really care tbh
Crap game.
No idea about the DLC though, don't really care tbh
It's a boring game with a boring story. I had more fun doing some of the sidequests than the actual story missions, which were mostly annoying.
I got halfway through & stopped playing out of sheer boredom. Oh & a small pet peeve: hacking mobile phones & stealing cash from NPC's was far too easy, i.e. I was rich after my first gameplay session.
Poorly designed game all around really.
I got halfway through & stopped playing out of sheer boredom. Oh & a small pet peeve: hacking mobile phones & stealing cash from NPC's was far too easy, i.e. I was rich after my first gameplay session.
Poorly designed game all around really.
PetriP-TNT
Member
Revealed two years early and ironically released like 3 years late.
Raitosaito
Member
The multiplayer was fun, because getting randomly invaded is fucking hilarious.
But no other redeeming qualities.
But no other redeeming qualities.
Played PS4 version.
I kinda liked it, but around 3/4 into the main story I've got a bit sick of it. It just got pretty stale and repetitive. Not to mention the side missions, those were super pointless.
Still, game is ok, nothing really outstanding but good enough. I enjoyed the gunplay and especially the stealth sections.
PS: Big Spoiler: ..
I kinda liked it, but around 3/4 into the main story I've got a bit sick of it. It just got pretty stale and repetitive. Not to mention the side missions, those were super pointless.
Still, game is ok, nothing really outstanding but good enough. I enjoyed the gunplay and especially the stealth sections.
PS: Big Spoiler: ..
Am I the only one who thought they totally fucked it up with Clara Lille? She was great!.
True,
she would have made a batter lead protagonist
she died, so that's indeed a huge **** up.
Pretty forgettable for me.
Played at launch and i cant say it left a mark for me. I recall the story being some sort of revenge plot that grew very stale in i think an Act 2 that drug on way to long. I recall being disappointed it was pretty much a 3rd person shooter instead of working more with the "hacking" skills. Driving sucked, and the world was alright but ultimately didn't feel to compelling.
If your desperate for a game and nothing else calls to you i suppose it could fill your need, but don't go in with high expectations.
Played at launch and i cant say it left a mark for me. I recall the story being some sort of revenge plot that grew very stale in i think an Act 2 that drug on way to long. I recall being disappointed it was pretty much a 3rd person shooter instead of working more with the "hacking" skills. Driving sucked, and the world was alright but ultimately didn't feel to compelling.
If your desperate for a game and nothing else calls to you i suppose it could fill your need, but don't go in with high expectations.
neogaffer1
Banned
I went back and started to watch the Giant Bomb quick look of this last night because I'd never done so and had nothing else to do (though I fell asleep so I don't remember like any of it).
I realized, though, that when I played it I didn't give it enough props--for all of its incredibly massive flaws, it still was able to create this very specific feeling while playing it that no other game has really recreated, where the story didn't feel unimportant nor did it feel something reliant on emotional impact to drive home its point. It's almost what you'd want a good popcorn flick to have, this kind of drawn out insertion into the world that can't come from things that rely too much on story telling to create atmosphere.
However, the game world itself was pretty mediocre from what I remember, it was generic Ubisoft mess with towers and bloaty side missions that don't add to the game at all. The main missions were good at times, but some were just over the top in terms of cliche. I think if you strip away the video gamey elements of it you're left with something that has a good aura around it and much potential but doesn't have much at its core to fulfill what it is. The whole mysticism brought by the first E3 reveal is something that should've carried into the final piece--it was missing that sense of confusion and changing environment something like `77 and The Ghost Writer had, while also neutering the impact of most of the major plot points by trying to wrap them into a generic happy ending appealing to a large audience.
I realized, though, that when I played it I didn't give it enough props--for all of its incredibly massive flaws, it still was able to create this very specific feeling while playing it that no other game has really recreated, where the story didn't feel unimportant nor did it feel something reliant on emotional impact to drive home its point. It's almost what you'd want a good popcorn flick to have, this kind of drawn out insertion into the world that can't come from things that rely too much on story telling to create atmosphere.
However, the game world itself was pretty mediocre from what I remember, it was generic Ubisoft mess with towers and bloaty side missions that don't add to the game at all. The main missions were good at times, but some were just over the top in terms of cliche. I think if you strip away the video gamey elements of it you're left with something that has a good aura around it and much potential but doesn't have much at its core to fulfill what it is. The whole mysticism brought by the first E3 reveal is something that should've carried into the final piece--it was missing that sense of confusion and changing environment something like `77 and The Ghost Writer had, while also neutering the impact of most of the major plot points by trying to wrap them into a generic happy ending appealing to a large audience.
Nicole being kidnapped would've had a stronger impact if instead of being held in a warehouse she had been put into that sex slave auction we had seen earlier; the overarcing conflict between Aiden and the main bad guy would've been less generic if it didn't end with Aiden killing the main bad guy, but rather something like him making a deal with Aiden, or something else that leaves a sense of ambiguity around that character.
PHOENIXZERO
Member
I think it was an incredibly average game overall that fell off the Assassin's Creed assembly line with terrible characters and you can just tell that there was at some point some intention in tying Watch Dogs into Assassin's Creed's universe just from how much it shares and parallels certain themes. It also had some god awful driving, shooting was good though for the most part though I remember having some issues with it but I can't remember exactly what it was, I think I ended up just turning on auto aim because of it. It was pretty clear GTA V spooked the shit out of them when it released, especially with its sales and thier delaying WD six months not long after releasing this chest thumping bit of advertising:
EDIT: Oh and "hacking" ended up being nothing but a boring gimmick with zero depth.
EDIT: Oh and "hacking" ended up being nothing but a boring gimmick with zero depth.
d00d3n
Member
The game had huge technical problems when it was released. Today I would classify it as a mediocre Ubisoft open world game with some interesting stuff. The open world was a pointless feature: did not work as a playground and did not enhance the story either. Some of the jumping from camera to camera puzzles and the stronghold missions were interesting, but the lack of any real escalation in difficulty was disappointing.
neogaffer1
Banned
I think it was an incredibly average game overall that fell off the Assassin's Creed assembly line with terrible characters and you can just tell that there was at some point some intention in tying Watch Dogs into Assassin's Creed's universe just from how much it shares and parallels certain themes. It also had some god awful driving, shooting was good though for the most part though I remember having some issues with it but I can't remember exactly what it was, I think I ended up just turning on auto aim because of it. It was pretty clear GTA V spooked the shit out of them when it released, especially with its sales and thier delaying WD six months not long after releasing this chest thumping bit of advertising:
EDIT: Oh and "hacking" ended up being nothing but a boring gimmick with zero depth.
I remember shooting was dumb in that if you weren't aiming down sights right trigger was the run button. Found that really dumb. The hacking minigame they had for the privacy invasion things wasn't too bad, definitely better than most hacking minigames.
A game that is the butt of jokes for me about how the term next-gen was the "next-joke" during when it was released.
In all honesty, The game itself is terrible. I started falling asleep from the story which was a first for me. I don't even know why I bought it in the first place.
In all honesty, The game itself is terrible. I started falling asleep from the story which was a first for me. I don't even know why I bought it in the first place.
Wait a minute you didnt enjoy t boning an enemy vehicle sending it flying vastly away from its nearest ally?
Mike Works
Member
Played it and enjoyed it more than GTA5. Definitely in the minority, but I found the combat way more fun, and the online invasion stuff really interesting.
GTA5 definitely gives you more options, better story (at least more enjoyable), it looks better, etc... But I felt the gameplay in Watch_Dogs was simply better.
GTA5 definitely gives you more options, better story (at least more enjoyable), it looks better, etc... But I felt the gameplay in Watch_Dogs was simply better.
Retromelon
Member
Its not a bad game by any stretch. Try it and see if its your bag
Langdon Alger
Banned
I had a lot more fun with Watch Dogs than I did with GTA 5.
Picked it up today - I noticed it was down to £14.50 at Amazon (£34.99 on PSN... lol) and .. at that price it was time to give it a shot. Went straight for 'realistic' mode and have just played up to the first hideout. Needed a wrists break, I'll try some more tomorrow. It looks nice to be honest, the 'downgrade' tantrums really are becoming somewhat pitiful to see. The only people with a legitimate complaint are anyone who actually puts down non-refundable money until real platform footage comes out. There's no foul otherwise.
I bought it at launch. I enjoyed the heck out of it until I beat it, and then the inability to start a new game without deleting your existing one hit me as stupendously dumb. I haven't touched it since. But it gets unfairly dumped on. It's not GOTY or anything, but it's a solid 7-7.5 and when it came out, there wasn't a whole lot else to play on Gen8 machines. There are so many better games now, that there's no compelling reason to pick it up over some of those, but at the time, it was pretty solid imho.
pantsonhead
Member
It was ok. I don't regret playing it, but I'll never play it again.
BabyFaceKillah
Member
Its trash
birthday-suit
Banned
Loved it
ShockingAlberto
Member
I don't think I have hated a game in a long time as much as I hated Watch_Dogs.
People who are telling you others just hate it because of downgrades or exclusive missions or whatever the excuse or the week is are just insecure in their fondness for the game. People who dislike the game have legitimate greivances. People who like it probably have legitimate reasons, too, but you don't see anyone saying they only like it because they think any game with guns is cool.
People who are telling you others just hate it because of downgrades or exclusive missions or whatever the excuse or the week is are just insecure in their fondness for the game. People who dislike the game have legitimate greivances. People who like it probably have legitimate reasons, too, but you don't see anyone saying they only like it because they think any game with guns is cool.
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