Watch Dogs

 PC
User Score
6.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 5182 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,662 out of 5182
  2. Mixed: 913 out of 5182
  3. Negative: 1,607 out of 5182
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  1. ruediger
    Oct 19, 2014
    3
    Overhyped piece of donkeysh*t. Unoptimized gameengine, unoriginal and tedious gameplay are just a death sentence for any game. I'm glad I got that game for free in a hardware bundle else I would have felt like Ubisoft dropping a big fat deuce on on my face.
  2. t3hp3trock
    May 28, 2014
    3
    Watch Dogs:
    Pros:
    Fun, engaging at the start, unique hacking concepts. Cons: Car chases are lack luster, story line is very short, numerous glitches, everything is made out of toothpicks. My main issue is the E3 demo to the actual game. Aside from the complete degrade of graphics, Watch Dogs doesn't support AMD drivers! I've noticed a few graphical issues and frame drops that my    Watch Dogs:
    Pros:
    Fun, engaging at the start, unique hacking concepts.
    Cons:
    Car chases are lack luster, story line is very short, numerous glitches, everything is made out of toothpicks.

    My main issue is the E3 demo to the actual game. Aside from the complete degrade of graphics, Watch Dogs doesn't support AMD drivers! I've noticed a few graphical issues and frame drops that my Invidia counterparts have not. This really infuriates me. If AMD was able to get the code to optimize the game, I'd give the game a 6/10 for PC.    … Expand
  3. KebabuTurka
    May 27, 2014
    3
    So. Hype of this game was reaaalllyyy big. But, gameplay is awful, physic is awful, gameplay is good and graphics ... Well, GTA V on x360 have better graphics (maybe everything ?) than this game on PC. Only story is rather good.
  4. Wolfgrin
    Jun 5, 2014
    3
    Sadly a very boring game after you played if for a hour or two, it almost feels like that's when the developers also gave up on the game and just used copy and paste to finish it. Worse game so far I have bought from Ubisoft, feels like a EA game with all that comes with that......
  5. saris1
    Jun 1, 2014
    3
    For console users this probably is a great 'open-world' game, but, for the PC... No. Even Daggerfall (Elder Scrolls) was much more open and alive than this title and that game was released nearly two decades ago! The system requirements are absurdly high and even if you meet or exceed them you will still experience glitches, lag, stutters and who knows what else. Oh, and the A.I is stupid,For console users this probably is a great 'open-world' game, but, for the PC... No. Even Daggerfall (Elder Scrolls) was much more open and alive than this title and that game was released nearly two decades ago! The system requirements are absurdly high and even if you meet or exceed them you will still experience glitches, lag, stutters and who knows what else. Oh, and the A.I is stupid, really stupid. You would think with a requirement of SIX GIGABYTES of RAM that the A.I would do something with it.… Expand
  6. MetalDude185
    Jun 29, 2014
    3
    Let's start with the bloody obvious. The state of the PC version is a joke. The lighting is hideously flat and a filthy monochrome in most scenes, as opposed to what we saw at E3 two years ago. It has hideously outdated particle effects and shadows. Yes, the water looks great, but that doesn't count when there is no setting in the entire game that makes it run at at least 60fps on myLet's start with the bloody obvious. The state of the PC version is a joke. The lighting is hideously flat and a filthy monochrome in most scenes, as opposed to what we saw at E3 two years ago. It has hideously outdated particle effects and shadows. Yes, the water looks great, but that doesn't count when there is no setting in the entire game that makes it run at at least 60fps on my high-end PC. In some places I felt like I was playing GTA IV. The pop-in in the open world is so terrible that it interferes with gameplay, especially when driving at high speeds. Weeks after its release there's still no patch out.

    Now for the gameplay, the hacking is has turned out to be a gimmick that becomes tired in the first few hours you actually get to play with it. There are some interesting things you can do with it but those become boring after you've seen them a few times and most things you do with it are executed by just holding down a button for a second. Other than that, there are serviceable driving mechanics in place, but there's very little to do with it, as everything in the gameworld just has nothing interesting to offer you, not to mention that the graphics are so bad that it doesn't even have the entertainment value of just looking at the scenery, like you could do if it was just a boring game with great visuals.
    Also it has semi-cover-based shooting mechanics, but there's just no punch to it and it's usually just frustrating to "play", especially when the framerate runs like a turtle.

    The story is clichéd and the main "character" is not even just unrelatable, he's boring and hasn't got a single sign of a personality or character trait, but it's not presented in any way in which we could roleplay as our own. The game clearly thinks it's got an interesting character loaded with personality and a heavy emotional story, but it just falls flat on its face, because there is no character or actual strong emotional development to any of it.

    This game would have been a huge dissapointment, if I would have been invested in the hype, so at least it didn't hurt me there, but what we have is still a hugely boring and noticeably overhyped "Triple-A" game, with a terrible PC version.    … Expand
  7. syldoc
    May 27, 2014
    3
    Lot of bugs and freeze on AMD video card
    Impossible to put ultra spec with 3Go video card, crossfire not available
    Ubisoft Montreal continue the worse work I ever see on a game, after FirCry3, AC3&4 and let the pc gamer on the side to consider the console gamers. When I play WD I feel I had a non finished game. Far away from what they present us to the E3 2013, impossible to find the    Lot of bugs and freeze on AMD video card
    Impossible to put ultra spec with 3Go video card, crossfire not available
    Ubisoft Montreal continue the worse work I ever see on a game, after FirCry3, AC3&4 and let the pc gamer on the side to consider the console gamers.
    When I play WD I feel I had a non finished game. Far away from what they present us to the E3 2013, impossible to find the same visual effects I saw
    Don't buy the game, wait for the (habitual) ubisoft infinity patch    … Expand
  8. aj587
    May 27, 2014
    3
    Probably the most hyped game in the past year aside from Titanfall. The graphics are a 7/10. A lot of characters have the same faces, same glasses (particularly a copied black female and a white blond girl). The vehicles in this game are a joke. It feels like I'm playing Mario Karts with slightly better Payday 2 graphics. I have an average of 30-40 fps in the cities on high with a GTX 680Probably the most hyped game in the past year aside from Titanfall. The graphics are a 7/10. A lot of characters have the same faces, same glasses (particularly a copied black female and a white blond girl). The vehicles in this game are a joke. It feels like I'm playing Mario Karts with slightly better Payday 2 graphics. I have an average of 30-40 fps in the cities on high with a GTX 680 and i7. Fps dips randomly and often.

    Escaping cops is too easy. All you have to do is hold W for about a minute and a half. Somehow you can hack the entire city and know everything about a person, yet the law enforcement with a similar or same system can lose track of you. The cameras in this game are pointless. Sure, you can hack them but you can literally wave your gun at the camera and there will be no alarms/criminals/cops at your location unless they actually hear or see you in person.

    You can crash into 40 walls before destroying vehicles. You can floor your motorcycle into a building head-on and 90% of the time you will somehow stay on your bike. I was bored within an half-hour of free roaming. Everything seems like it was copy-and-pasted or are inhabitable or useless.The campaign is boring and there is no life to the characters. The city is lifeless. Wow, press Q to hack. Game over.

    Another reason why you should not pre-order video games. Hopefully, there will be mods in the future that can save this game. Season pass... lol. Outfits and a hillbilly to play as. Awesome $20. Surprised Ubisoft didn't charge $50 for it.    … Expand
  9. austerus
    Jun 14, 2014
    3
    After playing a finishing the game, I return to "fix" my previous rating of 7. This is definitely not a 7.

    I don't really understand how people can say this is a different kind of gameplay. The Watch Dogs (all platforms) gameplay is nearly identical to GTA V or Assassin's Creed. You have the same "main story" structure, about the same actions to perform and same side-quests/minigames.    After playing a finishing the game, I return to "fix" my previous rating of 7. This is definitely not a 7.

    I don't really understand how people can say this is a different kind of gameplay. The Watch Dogs (all platforms) gameplay is nearly identical to GTA V or Assassin's Creed. You have the same "main story" structure, about the same actions to perform and same side-quests/minigames.

    The main difference is that this game contains a much more annoying forcible push to multiplayer but in modes that are unimaginative and repetitive. They get really old and really fast and are much worse than the also repetitive single player "side quests".

    The city isn't breathing life, it's idiotic. Shoot a person? Police are on to you and you lose "street cred", ok. Run over a civilian? No police but you get a drop in reputation. Cause an accident killing tens of civilians or intentionally push a car to crush pedestrians? Nothing.

    Civilians behave idiotically following accidents. Often they remain in burning cars or sit around burning cars waiting to explode. They don't tend to each other, no police goes on the scene and no ambulances come as well, no matter how many dead.

    The story is bland (although not as predictive as some say), the world isn't immerssive (nowhere near Assassin's Creed for example), the characters are stereotypical cardboard and some are downright annoying.

    Also, Aiden is unable to jump over stuff. Sure, he can vault over obstacles, but he can't jump over a half a meter pit to get from a railing to a roof (the kind of jumps they breeze through in Assassin's Creed).

    I am willing to disregard technical issues but the failing in storytelling and gameplay I can't forgive.    … Expand
  10. Shelledfade
    Oct 3, 2014
    3
    Pros:
    -Visually stunning world, rich in small detail.
    -Movement feels good. Cons: -Lifeless and disconnected world. -Guns sound like toys. -No "contacts" like GTA 4, you are 100% alone in this game. -One-button hacking gets extremely old fast. -Cannot shoot a gun while driving. -Cars have really bad physx and drive like unstoppable tanks. -All clothing stores are identical, all    Pros:
    -Visually stunning world, rich in small detail.
    -Movement feels good.

    Cons:
    -Lifeless and disconnected world.
    -Guns sound like toys.
    -No "contacts" like GTA 4, you are 100% alone in this game.
    -One-button hacking gets extremely old fast.
    -Cannot shoot a gun while driving.
    -Cars have really bad physx and drive like unstoppable tanks.
    -All clothing stores are identical, all gun shops are identical.
    -Little to no reason to explore the rich world.
    -There really isn't any loot in the world at all, think gta 4 city but much less lifelike, it feels dead, and crafting components are so inexpensive it just kills exploration.
    -Every single mission is the same. It either involves chasing someone by foot or by vehicle, or killing enemies that roam specific paths in a small area. The one-button hacking doesn't even add anything to the gameplay. If the hacking was removed it would essentially be the same game with little difference. You are not going on interesting missions like gta 4 where you would rob a bank or anything like that at all.

    -Digital trips: It adds some interesting game modes that have absolutely nothing to do with regular gameplay but it almost feels like the developers were aware of how lifeless and boring the main gameplay was so they added these digital trip game modes like driving a tank-spider and blowing crap up, and it does add some variety but I just wish the variety was in the main gameplay itself and its not, at all.    … Expand
  11. Denial
    May 27, 2014
    3
    This game really tests your nerves and patience. Firstly i downloaded the game through the ubisoft launcher, which then totally eats up all bandwidth and shuts everything else off on your computer (I have a 60mbit/12mbit line). When the game is finally installed i first get the black screen after ubisoft logo, verify files then repair files, then finally get to see the menu, start up a newThis game really tests your nerves and patience. Firstly i downloaded the game through the ubisoft launcher, which then totally eats up all bandwidth and shuts everything else off on your computer (I have a 60mbit/12mbit line). When the game is finally installed i first get the black screen after ubisoft logo, verify files then repair files, then finally get to see the menu, start up a new game and the game freezes at 80% of loading a new game. Verify files and repair game AGAIN. After that i finally get into game, but nooo this isn't enough, the game now freezes all the time 3-5 seconds, but the sound continues to run like nothing happened - This is just one more game in the line of MANY games that is being released without being tested properly. This is starting to be a really bad trend to release buggy games and after that just release patches as they see fit.

    Now for the actually review of the game;

    As we all have seen in the intros, this game should be very sophisticated and have great AI, but it doesn't. You spend a lot of time driving in this game so you would think that the driving would be a great feel, but its not. every time you get into a car and hit the throttle the whole screen shakes like its starting an earthquake, i mean wtf? The handling is very clumsy and you use more time watching for things you can hack while driving rather than watching the road, which makes for some random accidents A LOT.

    The AI in this game was advertised as being really good, however the way it is, is something really different, ie. if you get the police after you, they don't really care what you did, they just want to see you dead, whatever the cost may be (Shoot first, ask later), which gets annoying after a while.

    The whole hacking thing gets really old, really fast and the switching of traffic lights is often a burden rather than a help since you most of the time start a traffic accident/jam in the middle of the road. Also walking around can be quite tedious, because every time you pass someone it automatic lock onto them due to the hacking part.

    The side missions is just annoying after you've done them 5-10 times, i mean you spot some potential crime because you hack a phone and read the texts, thats already far fetched, on top of that you follow that person and intervenes right as the crime is about to take place, which leaves you often running after the criminal and just plain gunning him down.

    One of the positive things i've tried (There is some!) is the mini games, even though they are a bit misplaced in the game they are actually quite enjoyable and different.

    I give this game 3 in score simply because its a game that was released with massive bugs, the list is huge on the ubisoft forums. Also because this game was advertised to be way more than it actually is, which is a shame, its good fun for some hours but after that you just get tired of doing the same things over and over again. If the game just had better driving mechanics i think this game would be a lot more enjoyable. I would not recommend buying this game at full price, not even half price, i luckily only paid half price of retail, but would have loved to pay way less.    … Expand
  12. jonnyvonny
    May 27, 2014
    3
    This game is an awful, unfinished piece of garbage.

    - Terrible AI
    - Worse dynamic lighting than GTA IV
    - Static shadows
    - Hacking mechanics are stupid and unrealistic
    - dumb moral system
    - glitches EVERYWHERE

    Also, the last boss is a QTE. 2 stars above minimum for effort
  13. DaveDxx
    May 27, 2014
    3
    Here we go, the gameplay is fun and the story starts promising, so be ready for the backstab. Thats it, what else?
    Well, also there is :
    - No car customization - No weapon attachments - No blood/gore - No melee combat system - No shooting while driving - No realistic driving and physics - No character customization besides the same clothes with different colors - Mediocre story    Here we go, the gameplay is fun and the story starts promising, so be ready for the backstab. Thats it, what else?
    Well, also there is :
    - No car customization
    - No weapon attachments
    - No blood/gore
    - No melee combat system
    - No shooting while driving
    - No realistic driving and physics
    - No character customization besides the same clothes with different colors
    - Mediocre story with terrible ending
    - Bad use of the great side characters
    - Repetitive(boring) missions
    - Not a good game to have fun around the city for hours like GTA, Sleeping Dogs, Saints Row, AC...
    - No replayability
    - Dont even think about buying this just because it has a boring multiplayer mode.

    Conclusion, you should play this game and make your own conclusions, but right now its just not worth the full price, the experience is ok, but you'll want to erase this from your memory quickly when you complete it.    … Expand
  14. static1990
    May 27, 2014
    3
    Sadly this game is really unplayable at this stage,it is very bad optimized i have a high end rig and i got 15-35 fps on ultra and like 45-50 fps on low and even then it sutter.
    PS: Intel i5 Haswell 2.8ghz,gtx 780 and 8gb ram yea...shame ubisoft.
  15. Loyen
    May 27, 2014
    3
    plain boring, forced mouse acceleration and plenty of unoptimization issues, Uplay sucks and the graphics are nowhere near what they showed at E3, just a pile of garbage.
  16. Klockwork
    Jun 3, 2014
    3
    OK this is my 3rd (re)review of this game, and I'm pretty sure all hope is lost for me as far as stuttering goes. High res textures causes stuttering no matter what I put the other settings to. The only way to play this game with zero stuttering is by setting medium textures.

    TL;DR - Skip this game on PC and play Sleeping Dogs instead; better graphics and overall better game.
  17. pez
    May 27, 2014
    3
    I'm very disappointed. The side-by-side graphical comparison with what was shown at E3 2012 are ridiculous- it appears that Ubisoft was faking the footage as the real game doesn't look nearly that good. The campaign is boring. The online features are a joke- hacking invasions sound like an awesome idea but in reality they're not fun at all. The driving physics are about on par with GTA 3.I'm very disappointed. The side-by-side graphical comparison with what was shown at E3 2012 are ridiculous- it appears that Ubisoft was faking the footage as the real game doesn't look nearly that good. The campaign is boring. The online features are a joke- hacking invasions sound like an awesome idea but in reality they're not fun at all. The driving physics are about on par with GTA 3. I should never have trusted Ubisoft with a preorder.… Expand
  18. Moradil
    May 28, 2014
    3
    Yes, I played this game.
    Why?
    1. The whole game is like GTA 3.5 - ok, not a BIG problem.
    2. Bugs? Ok, it's 'normal' ...
    3. Camera - where is dynamic camera?
    4. Collision system.. really?
    5. Crowd system control - I thought after all ACs this would be mastered to perfection.
    6. Physics?
    7. Mechanics?

    and so many other 'little' things...
  19. Mamurai
    May 28, 2014
    3
    Ubisoft didn't bother optimizing this game for PC at all, which means it will poorly at the moment on any system. Combine that with graphics which do not look next gen when it comes to PC and you have an overhyped game that is a GTA clone with better graphics, yet runs poorly. It certainly doesn't look better than Battlefield 3 for PC and that game is hardly new anymore. Uplay doesn't workUbisoft didn't bother optimizing this game for PC at all, which means it will poorly at the moment on any system. Combine that with graphics which do not look next gen when it comes to PC and you have an overhyped game that is a GTA clone with better graphics, yet runs poorly. It certainly doesn't look better than Battlefield 3 for PC and that game is hardly new anymore. Uplay doesn't work very well either and you will find yourself wishing you didn't have to go through that program to play a singleplayer game.

    The game is overhyped, but seems to be an ok GTA clone if they can sort out all those optimizing issues. Unless you have a high-end PC then stay far away unless they fix any of the current issues, and you want a modern GTA clone.    … Expand
  20. Hornet
    Sep 16, 2014
    3
    Abysmal release on PC. More technical glitches than you can shake a powerful gaming rig at, and even that won't help. As usual, Ubisoft gives zero f***s about the PC community and hasn't done any significant patch work (not excusing the horrible release state in the first place). Let's not forget that, once again, Uplay was a disaster at launch.

    The technical problems are shocking - I    Abysmal release on PC. More technical glitches than you can shake a powerful gaming rig at, and even that won't help. As usual, Ubisoft gives zero f***s about the PC community and hasn't done any significant patch work (not excusing the horrible release state in the first place). Let's not forget that, once again, Uplay was a disaster at launch.

    The technical problems are shocking - I can't believe how horrible the driving physics are considering Ubisoft has proven once before that they can do a good driving game (Driver: San Francisco).

    Aside from that, the on-foot traversal is clumsy, the shooting mechanics mediocre, the hacking elements asinine, and the storyline and characters completely lacking. Only minimal fun can be eked out in short bursts before the tedium sets in.

    Just about the only thing that can be said is that the environment artists did a fair job of detailing the city, but this is let down by a poorly optimised graphics engine.

    Sadly this generated massive sales for Ubisoft and this is apparently all they care about, so we can expect more dross like this in future. I won't be foolish enough to fall for it again.    … Expand
  21. Hodor
    May 28, 2014
    3
    it's kinda "eh"...

    from a base-rating of 9/10: -1...Graphically it's looking "okay"-ish, but definitely nothing revolutionary that deserves getting my high-end graphics-card up to 85-90 degrees celsius on "high"-settings (typically i'm at about ~65...~70 with witcher 2) with random framedrops, which implies incredibly poor optimization...other than that, it doesn't look that much    it's kinda "eh"...

    from a base-rating of 9/10:

    -1...Graphically it's looking "okay"-ish, but definitely nothing revolutionary that deserves getting my high-end graphics-card up to 85-90 degrees celsius on "high"-settings (typically i'm at about ~65...~70 with witcher 2) with random framedrops, which implies incredibly poor optimization...other than that, it doesn't look that much better than say Sleeping Dogs, and that was released 2 years ago...

    -1...Also there's absolutely no resemblence (graphics-wise) to the 2012 "gameplay" trailer..even at ultra-settings, so here's your bit of false advertisement...

    -1...Gameplay-wise it controls sluggish as all hell...the first time you point a gun (in the "tutorial") it felt like having to move your arm with 10 bricks strapped to it (upping the mouse sensitivity only helps marginally) and that pretty much affects the driving-controls as well...only THEY are MUCH worse, you accelerate as if you're sitting in a rocket and afterwards it feels like driving on ice...in the end, it takes a bit to get used to (if you force yourself, you can get used to everything after all) but it just doesn't "feel good" (it's like you're constantly thinking: "okay, can this stop now?...please, let this stop")
    All of this indicates that the controls are pretty much meant for controllers (which, again, is a horrible testament of inaptitude to make a proper pc-port) but even when playing with a controler, it has a very heavy, sluggish feel to it...it's just uncomfortable to play...

    0...The Story is basically a typical run of the mill revenge-thriller story mixed with open-world gameplay...Assassins Creed had that already and it's really nothing excitingly new, even the side-missions feel very much like a "been there, done that" kinda deal and the whole hacking-shtick doesn't offer enough variety to to make it stand out of the utter mediocrity that is the main-game...it's not "bad" but also not particularly "good"

    -3...and at the very end, probably the most offensive thing a game can do...it's plain boring...from the intro-sequence it pretty much goes downhill to an unnecessarily drawn out plot (all the things that are supposed to make us "feel" something for Aiden just didn't do anything but waste everyone's time...judging by his blank stare and monotone voice, even Aiden doesn't seem to give a sh*t) with a completely dull main-character and a city that does anyhing but "live and breathe" (it's pretty much a static chicago with a few people strewn about here and there, which you can sometimes hack and get some randomised unnecessary bit of useless information...or money) it's utterly boring and tedious to play

    My advice? if you want a fun open-world game with lots of things to do and a somewhat passable story (let's be honest, in most cases the stories are rather similar anyways, but it's interesting, engaging characters that make a seemingly generic story "special") then go get the likes of Sleeping Dogs, GTA V or Saints Row 3...if you just want an open world to f*** around in, buy Just Cause 2 or Saints Row 4...but for a pricetag of 60-70 bucks and the massive overhype this game had before release, Watch Dogs seriously doesn't deliver and just feels like no one actually put any effort into making or giving this game something, anything special....overhyped mediocrity at its best...

    3/10    … Expand
  22. Piratoz
    May 28, 2014
    3
    Let me start by saying I wanted to love this game, I really did.

    As far as game design goes watchdogs is a solid game but fails to make many innovations. The hacking in this game is undercooked and oversimplified and the combat plays out like any other typical third person open world shooter. The story is decent and many of the characters have fleshed out dialogue and colorful    Let me start by saying I wanted to love this game, I really did.

    As far as game design goes watchdogs is a solid game but fails to make many innovations. The hacking in this game is undercooked and oversimplified and the combat plays out like any other typical third person open world shooter. The story is decent and many of the characters have fleshed out dialogue and colorful personalities.

    If there were no other problems with this game I would recommend it. Sure, the hacking mechanics that were supposed to set it apart from other GTA-esque games were rather lacking and some strange design features such as other players being able to intrude on your single player session were incorporated. But at the end of the day this is a solid game with a decent story and interesting characters. However the thing that makes me not reccommend this game are the frustrating and clunky controls, constant crashes, poor optimization for PC, and game breaking bugs that occur constantly.

    As soon as I started playing it was evident how clunky the controls in this game felt. Mouse acceleration makes aiming difficult and slow. It is a constant fight with the game to make Aiden use the right object as cover. No, I do not want to crouch on the side of the vending machine as cover, I want to crouch behind it. The UI in this game was clearly designed for controllers, everything from the inventory wheel to Aiden's smartphone interface is very clunky to use with a mouse and keyboard. There is also a gamebreaking bug that when more than one directional key such as 'A' and 'W' are pressed when aiming at a target with your weapon, your character will not stop moving in that direction after you stop aiming which results in a retarded looking jog into walls and enemies resulting in a death. This bug occurs constantly in combat.

    Watchdogs also suffers from extremely poor GPU optimization. My machine is getting old but with 2xHD6950's and an i5 2500k I expected at least smooth performance on medium-high. Instead on medium-high settings at 1080p resolution the game stutters along sub-30 fps in outside environments. When driving there are also extremely annoying instances where the fps will spike down to 10 or so every few seconds. In addition, Watchdogs randomly crashes to desktop every so often.

    If it wasn't for these extremely frustrating control issues, optimzation issues, and random crashes I would have recommended Watchdogs, but because these exist: please please please do not buy this game until these issues are sorted out. It will only result in hours of frustration.

    Without bugs and Issues: 7/10
    Final Score: 3/10    … Expand
  23. Imaculate
    May 28, 2014
    3
    Being a Gamer with a high end PC, PS3/4, and Xbox one. Having played Watch Dogs on the PC for 16 hours so far by the time of this review. What can I say? For a company that has released pretty great titles; AC, Ghost Recon, and Splinter Cell - I was hoping for something epic from this new IP. I think the problem is that UBI over hyped it and thus setting expectations so high and thusBeing a Gamer with a high end PC, PS3/4, and Xbox one. Having played Watch Dogs on the PC for 16 hours so far by the time of this review. What can I say? For a company that has released pretty great titles; AC, Ghost Recon, and Splinter Cell - I was hoping for something epic from this new IP. I think the problem is that UBI over hyped it and thus setting expectations so high and thus failing to deliver on many accounts. For most of you, it may be a great game. Keep in mind I am comparing it to all games. When you tote "next gen", you best deliver it and not fall behind on things. Here are my issues I saw with WD on PC.

    Graphics/Physics

    1. Reflections are fake
    2. No water ripples if you shoot at water. (bad physics)
    3. Car and world damage detail lacking/unrealistic
    4. Driving had a large learning curve.
    5. Pedestrians are oak trees. You can't move them from their positions
    6. Graphics are not next-gen in comparison to many new AAA titles launched this year on PC. Looks good for consoles but that is what they're expecting in comparison to what they're used to previously. FWIW, my modded GTA: IV ( A damn PC port from 5 years ago!) on PC still looked more amazing than WD did.
    7. Dynamic shadows are piss poor.

    There are videos outlining the differences in GTA: iv and WD if you search for it on YouTube.

    So yes, the game looks "prettier" because it takes advantage of new graphic technology and power, but as you can see, UBI developers were slacking off when it came to details.

    Gameplay.

    1. Hacking is a cool approach. I like that. Thumbs up for that.
    2. Hacking got repetitive and old after 1-2 hours of game play. The inability to hack a laptop or other electronic devices found in the usual world is just out of place for this techno thriller.
    3. I like the fact I can go guns blazing or be stealthy. But my stealth tools are again limited for something this powerful. Why can't i just stop a car with my cool special phone? Why can't I lower my wanted level by sending misinformation to police cars? Why can't i send cops to that Gang area and have the cops deal with them or be a distraction?
    4. the amount of activities you can do vs other similar titles is far less.
    5. Missions are engaging. Side quests are not. It's just Aiden narrating and you go do it. Most Side quests are repetitive.
    6. AI isn't that smart.
    7. If someone calls the cops on you, cops "magically" know your location even you're hiding. Yet, you're unidentifiable from CTOS and any camera hooked up to it....

    I've played all of UBISOFT'S big name titles. This game has the reused driving mechanics of Driver, the reused animations from Assassin's Creed, stealth mechanics from Splinter Cell, with hardly any originality. I just feel UBI was lazy in this IP. Saving cost of development to dump masses of it into marketing (which they did very well). Thus you have a poor product. For gamers like me, you'll notice the difference. For everyone else, you'll fine a decent title to enjoy - especially those who only play console. PC gamers... save your hard earned cash. UBI didn't work hard enough to earn it. This game has potential, but they need to put more work into it to make it "Next Gen" as they're claiming it should be. Sorry UBI, you've fell short on that in too many places in this game.

    PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Do not go lazy on The Division.    … Expand
  24. insanexyz
    May 28, 2014
    3
    It was inevitable that this game would be compared to GTA.

    While the game presents many possibilities and an open world, it fails enormously at letting the player experiment with them. You are guided through every step of the way, never having room for the imagination. Adding to that is the "meh" music selection. But as we all know, driving is half of what makes a sandbox game fun.    It was inevitable that this game would be compared to GTA.

    While the game presents many possibilities and an open world, it fails enormously at letting the player experiment with them. You are guided through every step of the way, never having room for the imagination. Adding to that is the "meh" music selection.

    But as we all know, driving is half of what makes a sandbox game fun. This is where Watch Dogs hits the ground and smashes its face hard.

    While driving, you will be frustrated to the point that you will prefer walking or even turning the game off. Every mission that has driving as a major component will be an excruciating experience that will leave your fingers hovering over "Alt+F4". Thankfully, a lot of these missions aren't compulsory, so you can avoid them.

    GTA IV should be taken as the standard for a driving mechanic with games such as this. It simulated realistic handling and car physics, which might have made it a little challenging for someone inexperienced with racing games or actual driving, but after a while anyone with half a brain mastered it and enjoyed driving even after the game's conclusion.
    In Watch Dogs, you will spend the whole game trying to keep the driving time to the absolute minimum so as to avoid tossing the DVD out of the window.

    I applaud anyone who can go from A to B in Watch Dogs without either
    - smashing their face into the keyboard
    - bouncing around like a rubber ball
    - crashing into pedestrians (which is especially annoying as it lowers your reputation which leads to constantly getting chased by the police and killing more pedestrians in the process)
    - crashing into a car or thirty (not really a problem as cars in Watch Dogs are made of kryptonite)
    - spinning the car out as you try to take off
    - choking on the Watch Dogs DVD

    Riding a motorcycle is especially amusing as they seem to superglue Aiden's butt to the seat every time he gets on one.

    All in all, the driving mechanic completely destroys this otherwise alright game. As I've said before, driving is half the game and receives a 0/5 from me, the rest of it I'd give a 3/5 based on the predictable story and oppressive and unimaginative but otherwise OK gameplay.    … Expand
  25. thegamewarrior
    May 28, 2014
    3
    Decided to rent the game on Xbox One to give it a try. Aside from the loading screen issues and driving which makes the game annoying and nearly unplayable, there isn't much to talk about. There is nothing to say positive or negative about the game. It is just bland. The hacking isn't interesting, the characters are boring, and the plot is too basic. Multiplayer is a repetitive bore withDecided to rent the game on Xbox One to give it a try. Aside from the loading screen issues and driving which makes the game annoying and nearly unplayable, there isn't much to talk about. There is nothing to say positive or negative about the game. It is just bland. The hacking isn't interesting, the characters are boring, and the plot is too basic. Multiplayer is a repetitive bore with missions that seemingly have no value.… Expand
  26. Arsonist420
    May 29, 2014
    3
    Please be warned about any of the review sites giving this game high marks. Ubisoft gave Every reviewer a ton of free **** along with their watch dogs copies. A 500 $ nexus phone along with a ton of other free stuff to get high reviews. Not to mention all the ubisoft review bots making positive post.

    Lets talk about the game. Is it next-gen? Nope not even close. This game has so many    Please be warned about any of the review sites giving this game high marks. Ubisoft gave Every reviewer a ton of free **** along with their watch dogs copies. A 500 $ nexus phone along with a ton of other free stuff to get high reviews. Not to mention all the ubisoft review bots making positive post.

    Lets talk about the game. Is it next-gen? Nope not even close. This game has so many glaring bugs and inconsistency's I dont even know where to begin.

    Bad AI. AI goes full retard when you hack traffic lights its the worst thing I ever seen.
    Bad Physic's No ragdoll, barely any visible dmg to cars or things around you.
    Lighting is terrible. Gta5 had better lighting.
    Hacking not as cool as you would of hoped. Pretty much go here press a button good job you hacked!
    Horrendous PC controls. Worst mouse acceleration in history.

    The list of minor bugs is too long to list it would take me a hour. Everything from fallng through the world to **** just plain not working or glitching out.

    On top of everything the game runs like absolute **** and it doesn't make any sense. The games graphics are lackluster at best. So for this game to run so **** bad is mind boggling. Even when you get the game to a manageable frame rate the FPS drops are so insane that it ruins your gameplay.

    Run from this title. Run far    … Expand
  27. LeFred
    May 29, 2014
    3
    Buy the game for what it ''might be''
    Ubisoft have lied to his consumers once again. Created a massive hype for a game that is....ok at best. Gets repetitive after 4 hours. Full of PC bugs and slow downs. Don't believe the 8 and the 9's there is a reason why user score are 4.4/10 overall.
  28. AdamK
    May 29, 2014
    3
    Highest dissapoint of the year :( Very strange PR action in view of frustrated result. I tried find any good at the gameplay, but actually ... very hard to say any nice words about this game. Sori Ubisoft.
  29. sapuramura
    May 29, 2014
    3
    No physics!
    Fake dynamic lights!
    Poor/fake reflections in mirrors/glass!
    Boring story!
    Cardboard city and npc's(trying to look alive but it's fake)!
    Too repetitive!
    Hacking in WD isn’t really hacking! More like 80's movie about hacking, witch is just a joke to what hacking really is!

    But good overall concept(poor execution) and fun DRUG missions.
  30. templar2143
    Jun 1, 2014
    3
    Poor optimization
    Stupid AI
    Boring gameplay
    GTAV with one button hacking and without flying
    And Where the **** is the multiplayer in singleplayer without loading screens?

    A huge disappointment i was really looking forward for this "next gen" game.
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Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Most Discussed PC Game of 2014
20
#20 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Sep 3, 2014
    79
    Ubisoft's flagship title has a really, really repulsive protagonist. The entire storyline feels like it was cranked out of a automated story generator. On the positive side, Watch Dogs looks really good on PC, especially after modding the graphics to match the visual splendor of the early E3 demos. [Aug 2014]
  2. PC PowerPlay
    Jun 29, 2014
    70
    There are some strong gameplay elements in Watch Dogs, but overall it's merely an adequate open world game. [July 2014, p.46]
  3. GameCritics
    Jun 23, 2014
    80
    Nothing could have realistically lived up to the immense level of hype that Ubisoft stirred up for this game, and while I value strong narratives and envelope-pushing technological advancements, I place just as much importance in the ability to enjoy the gameplay that's being offered to me. Watch Dogs is one of the more exciting sandbox games of the last few years, and if this is to become Ubisoft's next big franchise, I'm excited to see where they take it.
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