Gameplay

Much of Watch_Dogs gameplay style and inspiration comes from Open World series like Grand Theft Auto and Infamous series of games with a multitude of side missions and collectibles to keep you constantly engaged. Elements of third-person stealth and shooters like Ubisoft”s own Splinter Cell and Assassins Creed series of games are also included and from the onset, the game can seem a bit overwhelming. Luckily, through clear and concise tutorials Ubisoft manages to make much of the controls feel almost instinctual.

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Watch_Dogs hacking mechanics are the basis for everything in the game. From stealing bank account information to gather money and tracking down criminals to dish out your personal brand of justice in the open world to creating distractions in combat and roadblocks during car chases during missions, everything has to do with networked and interconnected systems. As you advance through the game, you gain more and more hacking powers through unlocked abilities and the skill tree.

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These skill trees hones Aiden’s hacking and combat abilities and allows him to take on more and more dangerous encounters with the police, rival gangs and even other hackers along the way. You can tailor his abilities to your own personal play style through the main skill tree as well as unlock new weapons, abilities and vehicles through completion of certain amount of side missions and main story mission in the Progression skill tree. I am a personal fan of making these repetitive actions and collectibles worth more than a simple achievement.

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Stealth follows Splinter Cell: Blacklist almost exclusively as you hit a button to stick your back to chest high walls and can maneuver around and through you enemies with button presses. That is where the similarities end, between distractions and gadgets you can dictate engagements however you want to play them. Cameras and the very environment become extensions of yourself as you can raise and lower cover as well as force your enemies in certain ways. Many of these stealthier missions require you to take down you opponents rather than simply mindlessly killing them.

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The car mechanics in Watch_Dogs are passable but most vehicles, I have found, handle more like large bricks and accelerate at an incredibly slow pace rather than decently handling machines you might expect. Damage is far from realistic, as I’ve bounced off my fair share of buildings and houses to simply keep going without much fuss. The hacking mechanism, however, make many of the car chases and pursuits quite enjoyable as your quarry and your enemies are out a button press away from activating bridges, intersection pile ups and rising barriers that you control at the push of a button.

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With all that is going on, Ubisoft has even saw fit to put a bit of multiplayer in the mix. These interactions are handled through multiple types of side missions known as Online Contracts and they pop up throughout your play through in a similar ways as any of the other various side missions. Simply accepting one of these side missions allows you to infiltrate the game of another player or get infiltrated yourself. Like all other side missions, Online contracts also have their own set of progression unlocks to go along with them.

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Deb0's Avatar
Deb0 replied the topic: #34904 02 Jun 2014 21:56
Believe it or not, we still play games around here. Start your week off right with our review of Ubisoft's new open world IP Watch_Dogs.

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