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[Cipher Peon]

I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE Watch Dogs 1 and while it breaks my heart that Aiden Peace, by far my favorite part of the original, is no longer the protagonist, the new protag looks awesome and his supporting cast too.

The fact that WD2 is supposedly better is so exciting!!! Especially since it seems to try to appeal to my aesthetic sensibilities. But seriously though, I really wanted the next chapter in the Aiden Pearce saga...

...which I can be easily be forgotten if I can buy Wrench's jacket. It's amazing!!!!!

 

[FelipeMGM]

Karaks review made me a bit more hesitant. Good thing the PC version is delayed (never thought I'd say that), gives me more time to wait for more settled impressions once gafs rising hype settles a bit.
Who is reviewing this for EZA btw?

Blood

 

[Norwegian_Imposter]

Yep. Thats exactly how I hope my reviews will work. I come to MY result but explain all the things that got me there hoping folks might go other ways if they can ignore some of it or like some things I don't.

thats why you are my go to reviewer I often disagree with the outcome but I always feel more understanding of why you got that score.

 

[MiamiWesker]

How can this be an AC1 to AC2 improvement if they removed some of the best parts of the original like the digital trips. An improvement adds stuff and builds on it, it doesn't remove awesome parts of the previous games.

I'm really bummed out about that, it made WD1 feel so unique and gave it incredible variety.

 

[Matt]

I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE Watch Dogs 1 and while it breaks my heart that Aiden Peace, by far my favorite part of the original, is no longer the protagonist

...him?

 

[ZeroX03]

That many outlets thought so highly of the original Watch_Dogs, honestly and with conviction at the time yet in ways which seem laughable with hindsight, is worth noting. That these same outlets are responding so similarly to Watch_Dogs 2, both in terms of score, but also in terms of the specifics of language used, is also worthy of note.

And again, I think same "outlet" can be as meaningless as just a name. Today's Eurogamer is not 2014's Eurogamer.

Spoiler

and tbh neither are remotely as good as EG ~5 years ago but that's besides the point

 

[purg3]

The AC1>AC2 improvement comparisons sound great. I'm one of the few that really enjoyed the WD1 so this sounds perfect. Looking forward to getting to play it later

 

[Mafro]

I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE Watch Dogs 1 and while it breaks my heart that Aiden Peace, by far my favorite part of the original, is no longer the protagonist, the new protag looks awesome and his supporting cast too.

The fact that WD2 is supposedly better is so exciting!!! Especially since it seems to try to appeal to my aesthetic sensibilities. But seriously though, I really wanted the next chapter in the Aiden Pearce saga...

...which I can be easily be forgotten if I can buy Wrench's jacket. It's amazing!!!!!

What exactly did you like about Aiden Pearce? He's one of the most generic angry white dude protagonists I've ever seen in a game. I found him incredibly boring, the difference between him and Marcus is like night and day.

 

[Catdaddy]

This is good to hear/see, I’m in the club that really liked WD1… if I had to pick the biggest flaw – it was Aiden – he was a dull character and a meh storyline that took itself way to seriously. Glad to see WD2 seems to be lighter with humor.

No multiplayer isn’t a loss for me. In fact, I’m going to assume the multiplayer can be turned off at will, while in the beginning the “player invasions” were a nice add – it wore out its welcome come my second playthrough – when I was getting invaded every 30 minutes and never invaded another player.

 

[bud23]

I thought this would be an interesting exercise:


Watch_Dogs 2: Polygon: 8/10
Watch_Dogs: Polygon: 8/10Wow, it improved on it's predecessor so much!


Watch_Dogs 2: Gamereactor: 9/10
Watch_Dogs: Gamereactor: 9/10


Watch_Dogs 2: God is a Geek: 9/10
Watch_Dogs: God is a Geek: 9/10

God is a Geek seems to have a thing with fatigue, they should take more naps.

Damn

 

[Chrisdk]

Look I get where you're coming from, there certainly is a homogenized feel throughout Ubisoft's (modern) catalogue of titles despite how Crossing Eden might feel. The gameplay isn't deep and the story is simplistic and follows similar beats. They've got their formulas and they want to try new themes and settings within those formulas. But by and large despite the similarities, they all remain very playable, I guess is the word. To go with a pretty tired food metaphor, it's like going to a restaurant with a very large menu. It might not be as great as a specialized place that crafts things to perfection, but they do a lot of things, and a lot of things well enough that you'll enjoy a good selection of what you pick, enough to ignore the stuff you don't like. The selection/elements come together in a way that the general public and reviewers respond to, because there's enough to satisfy them.

And again, for me, the simplicity of the gameplay and the ignorable story makes it perfect to as background noise. Something like GTAV demands my attention. A Ubisoft title won't, and that's why I enjoy it.

Yeah i get it, it's like McDonalds. As i said i do enjoy the games myself, but going from that and then seeing critics giving 8s and 9s just seems crazy. Someone seriously said it was goty. It really feels like Ubisoft gets inflated scores lately. I think the last Ubisoft game i played was The Division and i don't think i have every heard anyone praise it as much as the critics did. It's like they give it 1 or 2 higher ratings out of nowhere.

 

[Cipher Peon]

What exactly did you like about Aiden Pearce? He's one of the most generic angry white dude protagonists I've ever seen in a game. I found him incredibly boring, the difference between him and Marcus is like night and day.

I strongly empathized with his struggles and thought he was an engaging character, mostly. He was never in the right, but his motivations were clear, his reasons for them were clear, and they resonated with me. Also I liked his outfit *shrugs*

Especially considering the final beats of the game, where the character really came into his own and the game felt like the origin story of an awesome superhero series.

Essentially, Watch Dogs 1 was the Batman game I've always wanted and I was essentially really hungry for the next story to expand on that and have him be the hero now that his origin story was out of the way. So I didn't get what I wanted, but I'm excited to see what I got!

 

[ZeroX03]

Yeah i get it, it's like McDonalds. As i said i do enjoy the games myself, but going from that and then seeing critics giving 8s and 9s just seems crazy. Someone seriously said it was goty. It really feels like Ubisoft gets inflated scores lately. I think the last Ubisoft game i played was The Division and i don't think i have every heard anyone praise it as much as the critics did. It's like they give it 1 or 2 higher ratings out of nowhere.

Like I said, it just doesn't jive with you. That's cool. Don't fret about it. It doesn't need to affect you.

 

[d1rtn4p]

Jim says the city feels remarkably alive and yet the videos I've seen thus far show pedestrians and vehicles absent completely. Who do I believe?

 

[ISee]

Blood

I'm fine with that.

Spoiler

Not that it matters in the first place.

 

[icecold1983]

Encouraging reviews, although I am rarely a fan of Ubigames. I generally find them mechanically repetative and a bit sparse narratively. This one looks more interesting though.



The writing of the characters can be fine, the plots themselves are often uncommonly incoherent. The AC series being a prime example. I have never played WD though, so I have no real comment there.

watch dogs has the worst protagonist youre ever likely to see in a video game

 

[Duxxy3]

Any forced stealth sections with insta fail when detected? It's a pet peeve of mine.

 

[danowat]

I've read quite a few gushing reviews, and then I listen to Karak's review for ACG, almost sounds like they are reviewing different games, most jarring is the fact that some same the city is alive and teeming, and ACG says it's borderline empty.

But reading between the lines of most reviews, there certainly doesn't appear to be anything spectacular to get me rushing out to buy it full price (despite enjoying the original).

 

[Hendrick's]

I thought this would be an interesting exercise:


Watch_Dogs 2: Polygon: 8/10
Watch_Dogs: Polygon: 8/10Wow, it improved on it's predecessor so much!


Watch_Dogs 2: Gamereactor: 9/10
Watch_Dogs: Gamereactor: 9/10


Watch_Dogs 2: God is a Geek: 9/10
Watch_Dogs: God is a Geek: 9/10

God is a Geek seems to have a thing with fatigue, they should take more naps.

Thanks for this. I knew reviews were a joke, but this is entertaining,

 

[Tovarisc]

Jim says the city feels remarkably alive and yet the videos I've seen thus far show pedestrians and vehicles absent completely. Who do I believe?

Actual gameplay footage over reviewers word, imo. In both cases you should look for more than 1(minute) of material.

 

[Crossing Eden]

Ubisofts characters are forgetable. Bland, generic, shallow and boring. People can barely remember the names of them. I can't even remember anyones name from the first watch dogs. It's like they asked their writers to write the most generic story they can come up with. There is a reason why you don't see any fan support for the characters like other games have.

They get enough fanart that their studios walls are covered with them actually. You should stop projecting.

 

[KORNdoggy]

I like Ubisoft open world games just because it's so easy to zone out and listen to podcasts while playing them.

that should be on the front of the box. "a game so engaging i can do other things while i play - 9/10"

 

[Wulfram]

Video games should need to improve on their predecessor to maintain the same score. Just offering more of the same isn't really enough.

 

[icecold1983]

Yeah i get it, it's like McDonalds. As i said i do enjoy the games myself, but going from that and then seeing critics giving 8s and 9s just seems crazy. Someone seriously said it was goty. It really feels like Ubisoft gets inflated scores lately. I think the last Ubisoft game i played was The Division and i don't think i have every heard anyone praise it as much as the critics did. It's like they give it 1 or 2 higher ratings out of nowhere.

the mcdonalds comparison is seriously good

 

[ezekial45]

I thought this would be an interesting exercise:


Watch_Dogs 2: Polygon: 8/10
Watch_Dogs: Polygon: 8/10Wow, it improved on it's predecessor so much!


Watch_Dogs 2: Gamereactor: 9/10
Watch_Dogs: Gamereactor: 9/10


Watch_Dogs 2: God is a Geek: 9/10
Watch_Dogs: God is a Geek: 9/10

God is a Geek seems to have a thing with fatigue, they should take more naps.

Every single one of these reviews were written by different people. I could maybe see your point if each outlet had the same guy on it, but they don't. All I see are differing opinions. And of course, people can sour on a game after time passes. That's a thing we know all about.

 

[Fliesen]

I thought this would be an interesting exercise:


Watch_Dogs 2: Polygon: 8/10
Watch_Dogs: Polygon: 8/10Wow, it improved on it's predecessor so much!

.

haha, nice finds, but - to be fair - if a game improves on its predecessor, it doesn't necessarily warrant a better score. Improvement over earlier entries should be expected.

if part 1 is an 8/10 and part 2 does nothing new, part 2 should receive a 7/10.

It's why the Lego games, over time, get worse and worse review scores, because - while being super solid games over and over again, they barely come up with something new.

 

[Chrisdk]

I'm going too much off topic. This is about Watch Dogs 2. Maybe i'll make a new thread about Ubisofts games and how they somehow always have a much higher critic score than user score. Like Unity was barely playable and yet got 70 on Metacritic(compared to a blood red user score).

Anyway, lets keep this about Watch Dogs 2.

 

[JigglesBunny]

I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE Watch Dogs 1 and while it breaks my heart that Aiden Peace, by far my favorite part of the original, is no longer the protagonist, the new protag looks awesome and his supporting cast too.

But seriously though, I really wanted the next chapter in the Aiden Pearce saga...

If Crossing Eden is holding a gun to your head, quote this post with two exclamation marks.

 

[N° 2048]

Ubisofts characters are forgetable. Bland, generic, shallow and boring. People can barely remember the names of them. I can't even remember anyones name from the first watch dogs. It's like they asked their writers to write the most generic story they can come up with. There is a reason why you don't see any fan support for the characters like other games have.

Wow, please learn to speak for yourself...

 

[pronk420]

Oh, and I kind of love Wrench, DeadSEC’s masked, toaster-smashing geek. He’s just the right sort of cringe and I really want that mask.

Maybe they come across differently in the final game, but this statement makes me want to completely disregard that review score.

 

[ussjtrunks]

The screen tearing in Jim Sterlings review looked awful hopefully the PC version will be decent

 

[bombshell]

I'm going too much off topic. This is about Watch Dogs 2. Maybe i'll make a new thread about Ubisofts games and how they somehow always have a much higher critic score than user score. Like Unity was barely playable and yet got 70 on Metacritic(compared to a blood red user score).

Anyway, lets keep this about Watch Dogs 2.

User scores are meaningless, when there's no prerequisite that you have to own the game to vote. I mean, do you really put weight in the abundance of 0/10 troll user scores?

 

[Chrisdk]

Wow, please learn to speak for yourself...

I am speaking for myself.

 

[Zemm]

The Jimqusition is one of the best videogame series out there right now but seeing the scores he has given some games (FO4 and WD1, Dying Light etc) suggests we're so far apart on what games we actually like, and I thought we were buddies when he gave AC2 like a 3 or something

 

[FalsettoVibe]

Reviews look good.

 

[TetraGenesis]

About exactly what I expected. Good to hear! Excited to play it after Dishonored.

 

[thenameDS]

ACG review makes this look like a 6/10 game and outlets are giving it 9's and 10's? Driving looks awful, empty world, combat and movement meh and choppy frame rates. I'll pass.

 

[dancegrenade]

ACG review makes this look like a 6/10 game and outlets are giving it 9's and 10's? Driving looks awful, empty world, combat and movement meh and choppy frame rates. I'll pass.

You look at any other reviews?

 

[Fliesen]

I'm going too much off topic. This is about Watch Dogs 2. Maybe i'll make a new thread about Ubisofts games and how they somehow always have a much higher critic score than user score. Like Unity was barely playable and yet got 70 on Metacritic(compared to a blood red user score).

Anyway, lets keep this about Watch Dogs 2.

as others have said: User scores are absolutely, utterly meaningless. They're all about hype vs. hate. It's like IMDB scores.

And Ubi is kinda hit and miss with their characters. And even then, they do a better job with villains (Vaas, Pagan Min) than they do with their protagonists. (Brody, Aiden)

Though i do feel like they've improved in their most recent games (see AC Syndicate, Far Cry 4)

 

[vpance]

Thanks for this. I knew reviews were a joke, but this is entertaining,

TBF games released early in the gen tend to be over scored somewhat.

 

[danowat]

The Jimqusition is one of the best videogame series out there right now but seeing the scores he has given some games (FO4 and WD1, Dying Light etc) suggests we're so far apart on what games we actually like, and I thought we were buddies when he gave AC2 like a 3 or something

I'm inclined to agree, there does appear to be a slight disconnect with the things in the Jimquisition (triple A bullshit, greedy publishers, DLC, season passes, regurgitated games etc), and some reviews, you could argue that WD2 has much of the triple A bullshit that the Jimquistion pushes back against, yet, the game is given a 9.

I know it's opinions, but there does seem to me there is a disconnect somewhere.

 

[visiblemode]

That IGN score is going to raise some eyebrows.

Yeah, I suspect it will. Particularly that the reason he cites is that one multiplayer mode was disabled during the review period. That said, he said he expected to amend the score for the better when he gets to test it out, later in the week. As usual review-in-progress scores are weird and often have people up in arms.

 

[N° 2048]

Ubisofts characters are forgetable. Bland, generic, shallow and boring. People can barely remember the names of them. I can't even remember anyones name from the first watch dogs. It's like they asked their writers to write the most generic story they can come up with. There is a reason why you don't see any fan support for the characters like other games have.

I am speaking for myself.

No you're not. You're projecting.

 

[Mafro]

Maybe they come across differently in the final game, but this statement makes me want to completely disregard that review score.

It looks like they've exaggerated the "l33t hackorz down with the system" type stuff from what I've seen of the advertising compared to the actual game

 

[thenameDS]

You look at any other reviews?

Not yet, but unless they're playing a different game I don't see how the driving, frame rate and empty world will be any better.

 

[Samurai G0SU]

Day 1 Patch??

 

[TVexperto]

hopefully the patch will fix the empty city cause i cant imagine san francisco having no traffic during rushour and no cars

 

[dancegrenade]

No you're not. You're projecting.

NO YOU ARE! What is the point of this bro? He said what he had to say, so what if it mirrors the majority of UBI hate.

 

[Bluecondor]

I just tried to watch/listen to the IGN reviewer's 12 minute review video, and the reviewer is all over the place. It sounds like his 6.5 rating is based on the fact that multiplayer does not completely work yet. I never understand why reviewers fixate on multiplayer before a game is released.

This "review" is not at all helpful in steering me toward buying/not buying the game. As we well know, NeoGAF will have strong opinions about the game as soon as it drops. That will make the difference for me.

 

[Lucifon]

Yeah, I suspect it will. Particularly that the reason he cites is that one multiplayer mode was disabled during the review period. That said, he said he expected to amend the score for the better when he gets to test it out, later in the week. As usual review-in-progress scores are weird and often have people up in arms.

It's because you shouldn't assign a score to a game when the review isn't complete. It's okay for me to say to a friend "this game feels like a 9/10!" after playing a few hours, but it's absolutely not cool for a professional outlet to throw out a bullshit score which can affect sales and average rankings on an incomplete piece of work.