WD2 got rid of towers, never mind the fact that the tower puzzles in the first game were actually really good.
Eh, the game gets serious when it needs to. It could use a dash more but I feel like it's struck a decent balance.
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Watch Dogs 2 launch massively down from WD1 in UK.
- Thread starter Obliterator
- Start date
WD2 got rid of towers, never mind the fact that the tower puzzles in the first game were actually really good.
Eh, the game gets serious when it needs to. It could use a dash more but I feel like it's struck a decent balance.
Pestilence11
Member
It seems like they removed a couple things about WD1 that people genuinely enjoyed. Convoys, Gang Hideouts, Privacy Invasions and some puzzle elements, unless I'm mistaken. My copy is still sealed as I wait for seamless multiplayer to be fixed.
i'm really having fun with this game. it does just about everything better than the first one. if you want a game that crosses Hackers (1995) with Assassin's Creed/Grand Theft Auto then you should really get it.
I'd really like to see what a third entry might be like. Wonder if that is in the cards after this.
I'd really like to see what a third entry might be like. Wonder if that is in the cards after this.
This is true. The enemy AI is also worse.
I dunno. It feels like one step forward, one step back. But my opinion should be taken with a grain of salt since I loved the first game.
Controls, stealth, and combat are worse (and no focus mode). Just about everything else is better though.
Without a doubt, the best designed open-world city ever.
Regardless of how WD2 does, there will likely be a third. I imagine Ubisoft are working on it already.
I swear, if they go back to the edge lord tone of the shitty first game because they have no clue why sales dropped... Maybe go back to Aiden and now have him say "I'm a complete twat" every 30 seconds just to drive home how utterly unlikeable he is.
Every current game that fails to sell equal or better than its predecessor, also fails to be an equal or better game compared to its predecessor.
Publishers find this a reason to worry because publishers suck. They just want to build a clone factory which will make money for them in safe and predictable ways. They are unable to grasp that better games sell more, a simple fact everyone who has ever played a game will easily understand. It's pretty sad.
Publishers find this a reason to worry because publishers suck. They just want to build a clone factory which will make money for them in safe and predictable ways. They are unable to grasp that better games sell more, a simple fact everyone who has ever played a game will easily understand. It's pretty sad.
Watchdogs 2 and Titanfall 2 are leaps and bounds ahead of their originals. Like it's not even close.
I'd really like to live in your ideal world, but being good is only one of the reasons a game sells well, and there's plenty of excellent games that sold like shit.
CadetMahoney
Member
Gears from NPD doesn't include bundles or digital. So that's most likely incorrect.
Whatever you're saying is factually incorrect and especially incorrect in this case.
How are controls and stealth worse? Genuine question - I haven't played it, but I loved the first one.
Acquiescence
Member
Ahh, that's a shame. I did enjoy the first game quite a bit myself, and those were all reasons why. Especially the gang hideouts.
BUMMER! The combat and stealth were so good though! How exactly do you make these things worse in a sequel when you've already laid down the foundation.
LordRaptor
Member
In fairness, the same could be said about the first Assassins Creed, which resulted in the hugely improved AC2 fixing almost all of the problems of the first game and being genuinely good and also selling huge numbers
- Changed control layout. Stick now sprint. Weapon inventory changed to d-pad. It's not awful, but everything just feels less fluid than the first game.
- Freerunning animation janky and vaulting/climbing prompts inconsistent. Cover shooting animation also problematic at times because of added corner peek.
- Enemy AI borderline broken. One enemy noticing you instantly results in alert of all others (they all know your exact location). Suppressed weapons alert enemies. Detective vision...
- No focus mode limits use of abilities and gadgets during combat and while on the move/driving. No sweet bullet time headshots.
- Driving is way worse than the first game. It's completely awful (and I liked it in WD1).
They somehow managed to make the core mechanics worse, while making everything around them way better. It's frustrating, but someone who didn't play WD1 might not even notice. It's very GTA like, and it mostly seems intentional.
I came in here to post that they lost possibly 1 sale because of their narketing department. I was on twitch and the one ad I saw of this game on twitch was so actively annoying and bad that I swore i would never buy the game because of that ad alone.
I just wanted to put that out there because this is probably the first time ive been swayed so negatively by a videogame ad.
I just wanted to put that out there because this is probably the first time ive been swayed so negatively by a videogame ad.
Reading the thread, I've seen several possible factors mentioned that can explain why several major franchises saw important iteration-to-iteration debut week's decreases: sequel fatigue, a way too crowded period for releases that increases the risks coming from competition, possibly customers getting more cautious after several titles released with major problems right at launch, or represented delusions compared to what massive advertising / marketing campaigns sold to them, alternatives getting stronger and stronger as their reach keeps on growing.
However, I'd say that there's another factor that I've not seen mentioned enough, and that IMHO is even more relevant in UK, compared to other countries: I'm referring to games getting relevant price cuts not that far from launch. The UK retail market is particularly competitive, so much that games tend to get price cuts / soft bundled with hardware faster than in other major markets, from what I've seen by reading PAL Charts threads in the recent years. Especially if the games in question fail to sell as expected. Now, this retail stores behaviour has possibly increased its strength, if we take as examples several insane deals featuring both PS4 and, especially, Xbox One: bundles with 3+ games and great prices, both during Holidays and in normal sales periods. I firmily believe that such strong policies favouring stock movement, due to their significant presence and influence on the market, are starting to influence the customers themselves more than expected. Basically, they're starting to wait for deals more and more because they've seen so many times titles getting important price-cuts even a few months after the original release, which translates into them wondering "What's the point in getting this title at full price when I can buy it cheaper just by waiting a few weeks / months?" And it's not like there aren't alternatives: online-focused games and extra-gaming alternatives fit perfectly in this scenario as distractions from other titles.
I see this as something similar (the market behaviour in itself, not the mere execution) as what happened and keeps on happening in the mobile market: years and years of F2P apps dominating the market have taught to customers willing to see what's new on mobile storefronts that the value of gaming on there is very low; thus, their spending-ceiling-per-title is extremely low, and even titles at $4.99 can encounter major difficulties at getting decent ROIs (there are some exceptions, even among indie developers, but this is the specific trend of the market for now). In the same way, while retail gaming customers are far from being that picky, have started to reconsider their own spending-ceiling-per-title because the market itself is teaching them that, most of the times, it's not worhty to get games at launch at full price, when they'll surely get important price drops not that far into the future.
Of course, if customers themselves don't see the titles as "exciting" enough to feel they need to get them as they launch, this kind of behaviour can only get stronger. Which brings back the "sequel syndrome" mentioned several times in the thread.
However, I'd say that there's another factor that I've not seen mentioned enough, and that IMHO is even more relevant in UK, compared to other countries: I'm referring to games getting relevant price cuts not that far from launch. The UK retail market is particularly competitive, so much that games tend to get price cuts / soft bundled with hardware faster than in other major markets, from what I've seen by reading PAL Charts threads in the recent years. Especially if the games in question fail to sell as expected. Now, this retail stores behaviour has possibly increased its strength, if we take as examples several insane deals featuring both PS4 and, especially, Xbox One: bundles with 3+ games and great prices, both during Holidays and in normal sales periods. I firmily believe that such strong policies favouring stock movement, due to their significant presence and influence on the market, are starting to influence the customers themselves more than expected. Basically, they're starting to wait for deals more and more because they've seen so many times titles getting important price-cuts even a few months after the original release, which translates into them wondering "What's the point in getting this title at full price when I can buy it cheaper just by waiting a few weeks / months?" And it's not like there aren't alternatives: online-focused games and extra-gaming alternatives fit perfectly in this scenario as distractions from other titles.
I see this as something similar (the market behaviour in itself, not the mere execution) as what happened and keeps on happening in the mobile market: years and years of F2P apps dominating the market have taught to customers willing to see what's new on mobile storefronts that the value of gaming on there is very low; thus, their spending-ceiling-per-title is extremely low, and even titles at $4.99 can encounter major difficulties at getting decent ROIs (there are some exceptions, even among indie developers, but this is the specific trend of the market for now). In the same way, while retail gaming customers are far from being that picky, have started to reconsider their own spending-ceiling-per-title because the market itself is teaching them that, most of the times, it's not worhty to get games at launch at full price, when they'll surely get important price drops not that far into the future.
Of course, if customers themselves don't see the titles as "exciting" enough to feel they need to get them as they launch, this kind of behaviour can only get stronger. Which brings back the "sequel syndrome" mentioned several times in the thread.