Watch Dogs

 PlayStation 4
User Score
6.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 3903 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,988 out of 3903
  2. Mixed: 1,104 out of 3903
  3. Negative: 811 out of 3903
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  1. Northur
    Nov 16, 2014
    6
    I finally did WC after I skipped the hype. The game is not ny anymeans GOTY candinate but it's definitely not a bad game. I was just wondering why there is no melee button but only automated and scripted takedown events.. Also as a gun enthusiastist I noticed that a lot of the guns were holding wrong amount of bullets in the mags, sight were missing etc. Story is nothing new, but it'sI finally did WC after I skipped the hype. The game is not ny anymeans GOTY candinate but it's definitely not a bad game. I was just wondering why there is no melee button but only automated and scripted takedown events.. Also as a gun enthusiastist I noticed that a lot of the guns were holding wrong amount of bullets in the mags, sight were missing etc. Story is nothing new, but it's still solid. For this reduced price I recommend WC.… Expand
  2. Armis
    Nov 14, 2014
    6
    Horribly overhyped dull piece of crap. Add to that the horrible police rubberbanding (which makes it utterly impossible to ever, EVER lose the cops unless you have a gadget to prevent them spotting you in the first place. Just not fun.
  3. eldumloido
    Nov 14, 2014
    5
    Nice idea, bad execution. Too much shooting, crime prevention bugs like hell (perp takes a gun out, point's it at victim, I beat him, get fail, apparently I acted too soon(!!!!!!!!!)) and driving physics are ridiculous.
    If they just focused more on actual hacking and took influences from games like uplink in mini-games instead of pipe-mania it would be great.
  4. Interstellar_
    Nov 14, 2014
    8
    Who can give 0 for this game ! WTF ? You give this score because you are frustrate ?
    I think 80 it's a reasonable score for this new franchise.
    DLC Badblood give a fresh view of this game univers too.
  5. Massakers
    Nov 13, 2014
    6
    The more i play UBISOFT game the more i think now its a **** compagny , the make promo like wow , and then you buy the game and you realise that its just a GTA LIKE and its not even comparable to gta cause GTA was a great game .. 2 hours of play and i just cant doing it , return it to eb games .. Same for assassin creed unity , what a shame ubisoft ..
  6. MattRogan
    Nov 11, 2014
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Well this review long over due. Let be start I did not think graphic are THAT bad but I will admit Ubisoft really need to stop overhyped their game. Now I did like open-world combat (going in gun in or stealth) some side misson were fun like gang hideout. But game start apart for me is that Aiden is very boring and try to hard to be max payne and fact Overall story is boring. Those give credit T-Bone and other chacher are fun but can't save this story of the game and ending was sequel baiting. But I did enjoy game but nothing to saw go back once done… Expand
  7. ThiouZ
    Nov 11, 2014
    8
    Watch Dogs is a new franchise like Assassin's Creed in its time. This is not GTA but still a good game on PS4. This game is fun to play in the city of Chicago.

    Graphics 9/10
    Music 9/10
    Scenario 7/10
    Gameplay 8/10
    Multiplayer 7/10

    My overall score is 8
  8. Nigelbillson
    Nov 9, 2014
    8
    If you like open world games, you'll like this.

    If you've been swept up in the pitchfork grabbing mob bashing Watch Dogs for little else other than it's graphics you probably haven't even played the game much. Yes, the graphics have been toned down. But imagine the backlash if Ubisoft released on PS4 a game that looked like the trailers and then on PS3 released a game that was... well    If you like open world games, you'll like this.

    If you've been swept up in the pitchfork grabbing mob bashing Watch Dogs for little else other than it's graphics you probably haven't even played the game much. Yes, the graphics have been toned down. But imagine the backlash if Ubisoft released on PS4 a game that looked like the trailers and then on PS3 released a game that was... well the videos explain all.

    Story-

    The game is set around Aiden Pearce, a vigilante. That's all you need to know. The story is bland and cliche, if you buy games for the story experience you won't enjoy this. The game struggled to provide any motivation for the character yet fails spectacularly. If you see a review praising the story, it's probably a troll.

    Gameplay-
    The gameplay is basically an open world stealth game with the addition of controlling elements of the world. The hacking isn't gimmicky and is legitimately helpful. Take this example:
    I've stealth killed a guy and a different guard spots him. I bring down the load on a nearby forklift to block his path and remain stealthy and take him out. Highlights include several bases of this evil corporation Blume and the gang hideouts which require you to stealth kill the enemy.

    Graphics-
    Not spectacular.    … Expand
  9. MetalGearRex
    Nov 9, 2014
    9
    I don't believe that this game deserves the amount of hate that it's getting, it was a fun open-world 3rd person shooter with basic but fun hacking mechanics and although some people may consider it to be a gimmick, it varies the gameplay up just enough for it to be worthwhile! The story, while not as good as the current overlord, GTA 5, It is interesting and compelling enough for you toI don't believe that this game deserves the amount of hate that it's getting, it was a fun open-world 3rd person shooter with basic but fun hacking mechanics and although some people may consider it to be a gimmick, it varies the gameplay up just enough for it to be worthwhile! The story, while not as good as the current overlord, GTA 5, It is interesting and compelling enough for you to stick by until the very end! The side missions were very fun and the online gamemodes simply out the icing on the cake!… Expand
  10. tormentor55
    Nov 8, 2014
    7
    Watchdogs isn't a **** game. It really isn't. A better term would be a mediocre game. A fun, but nevertheless a mediocre game. The graphics in ps4 is decent but it looks horrific on ps3.( Nothing to do with frame-rates, just doesn't look that great.) The environment breaks extremely easily with the smallest touch from your car and the driving mechanics take some getting used to. The copWatchdogs isn't a **** game. It really isn't. A better term would be a mediocre game. A fun, but nevertheless a mediocre game. The graphics in ps4 is decent but it looks horrific on ps3.( Nothing to do with frame-rates, just doesn't look that great.) The environment breaks extremely easily with the smallest touch from your car and the driving mechanics take some getting used to. The cop sequences try to catch the gta lightning in the bottle but they're not quite there yet. (You can be in a shootout with cops, take cover and just do nothing and they will not respond in anyway whatsoever until you get out of cover.) The story is bland and does not even COMPARE to GTA 5's story, and to be honest it's kind of Aiden's fault why his family is so screwed over. Overall, Watchdog's feels like Ubisoft's emulation of GTA, except with hacking. (The only thing I don't have complaints on.) Some may say that games like Watchdogs and Destiny just had too much hype for their own good and while that may be true, Ubisoft has some fault for downgrading graphics and encouraging the post-release hype to ridiculous amounts. Game Devs should stop doing that. Watchdogs is a fun, but mediocre game and you should buy it after the price drops. ($30 would be a reasonable deal.)… Expand
  11. Kenophobia
    Nov 5, 2014
    7
    Watch Dogs is the new IP from Ubisoft Montreal, the studio who developed the Assassin's Creed series. Watch Dogs is a rather ambitious attempt to rival Rockstar's smash-hit, Grand Theft Auto. While Watch Dogs presents a unique experience that is very polished and well presented, many fans of the GTA series will find that Watch Dogs falls shorts of expectations to improve upon the GTAWatch Dogs is the new IP from Ubisoft Montreal, the studio who developed the Assassin's Creed series. Watch Dogs is a rather ambitious attempt to rival Rockstar's smash-hit, Grand Theft Auto. While Watch Dogs presents a unique experience that is very polished and well presented, many fans of the GTA series will find that Watch Dogs falls shorts of expectations to improve upon the GTA series as a sandbox game. However, after playing several hours of Watch Dogs, the new IP from Ubisoft Montreal impressively stands as a new series that I am excited to see develop throughout the new generation of gaming. Fans of the GTA series who are expecting Watch Dogs to be a successor or clone to GTA will surely be disappointed in some regards to the overall presentation of Watch Dogs. However, those who will approach Watch Dogs with an open-mind and as a unique experience will be pleasantly surprised with the development that Ubisoft Montreal has put into Watch Dogs.

    As is expected, Ubisoft Montreal has developed Watch Dogs using many lessons learned throughout the development of the AC series. Watch Dogs borrows on many of the exploration and map completion that became popular with the AC series, and players will find themselves traversing Chicago in a wide variety of ways to stop randomly occurring crimes, steal cars, hack control terminals and break up gang hideouts. In addition to the wide variety of side quests and missions which will constantly occupy your time, the main campaign of Watch Dogs is rather compelling and provides challenge where other series have utterly failed. Watch Dogs puts you in the role of a realistic character, with realistic goals, and realistic tools. Where competitors such as GTA provide an experience that is exceptional in regards to sandbox play, Watch Dogs provides a unique and immersive experience that is sure to excite fans of the Assassin's Creed series.

    Simply put, Watch Dogs is not a ground breaking title and is surely not a clone of GTA as some reviewers would have you believe. Watch Dogs provides a compelling experience for those who are fans of both GTA and Assassin's Creed. Approach Watch Dogs with an open-mind and you will find that you are pleasantly surprised by the variety this new IP has to offer. This game is a must have for anyone who wants to see the benchmark for new IPs in 2014 / 2015.    … Expand
  12. observer123
    Nov 4, 2014
    10
    Excellent game. Don't believe the whiners, they just had unrealistic expectations.
    Certainly one of the best experiences you can get on the ps4 atm.

    I am aware of the issues with the PC version, but the PS4 version is working flawlessly for me.
  13. XzRecolz
    Nov 2, 2014
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game deserves the award for WORST game of 2014. I gave this game many chances, too many. This will be a review from somebody that has not yet played GTA V, so calling me a GTA fanboy is stupid.

    The first second that you start playing the game you will notice that graphics are ugly compared to the E3 presentation. I'm not a graphics guy, but I have a huge problem with liers. Don't showcase a game if you can never achieve graphics at such a high level.

    Also you will notice very fast that Aiden, as a character, is just not interesting. It's also a stupid story that gets used in almost every open world game these days: Your niece gets killed, and you're out for revenge. That's it. The whole story. It's not even a long story too, with the most boring characters I've ever seen. Jordi for example. What's the point of him? He gives you sticky bombs at one point in the game. Yeah, nice, thank you for that, what else? The only 2 characters that I liked were T-Bone and Badboy17 (Clara). I won't even start explaining why the ending is just god awful.

    Who was in charge of the driving mechanics? Fire that guy, please. It sucks when you need to chase down a guy (wich is pretty much 70% of the missions in the game), and the horrible driving mechanics fck you over.

    And this is something that I never saw somebody talk about: The civilians and the reputation bar. This is the part where I'm really angry. What's the point of getting points for actually killing a criminal, when the civilians still send cops after your ass because you shot a gun? I know that taking them down is better, but if there is no other option and you just don't want to chase the guy for decades? My bar was all the way to the right (good reputation), but I gave up and I just started to play bowling with my car as the bowling ball and the civilians as bowling pins.

    And hacking makes it so this game is not a challenge at all. It's so easy to get away with a 5 wanted level. I had a hard time escaping a 5 star wanted level in GTA IV, but not in W_D.

    TLDR; This is a boring game that does nothing right. Mix of GTA, Assassin's Creed, and Saint's Row (side missions). Don't believe that hype, kids. Ubisoft belongs in my list of worst video game developers, with EA. Good marketing though.    … Expand
  14. Markus_monty
    Oct 31, 2014
    8
    Several months after release, and this time allows me to look back at the game. I really enjoyed it, from beginning to end, initially loved the multi aspect of invasions but that quickly got old when it got in the way of me completing the single player story so I turned it off.

    One of the best things this game will do is expand on the open worlds others like rockstar will create. It    Several months after release, and this time allows me to look back at the game. I really enjoyed it, from beginning to end, initially loved the multi aspect of invasions but that quickly got old when it got in the way of me completing the single player story so I turned it off.

    One of the best things this game will do is expand on the open worlds others like rockstar will create. It introduces new ideas into the mix which create a more vibrant world, something gta 6 or other benefit from and something like watch dogs 2 will be better for.    … Expand
  15. dgbot07
    Oct 31, 2014
    7
    The open-world game good, but the side missions are very empty and don't give support the lifetime of the game.

    About the story, it only becomes really interesting and unpredictable in Act 3.
  16. albinocreep
    Oct 29, 2014
    4
    I dont understand how this gets good reviews. It's super empty and lackluster of a game. Remember back in the day when everyone was making a cheap open world "gta-clone", this harken backs to those days. I have no idea how the spent so much money on a game that feels this boring.
  17. AndyPatterson96
    Oct 26, 2014
    6
    Playing Watch Dogs gives one the feeling that Ubisoft failed to deliver on their many promises. The game plays like a formulaic, sub-par GTA clone with the addition of a gimmicky, half-assed hacking system which outlives it's novelty after it's first few uses. The protagonist is as cardboard and dimensionless as any of Liam Neeson's recent action roles and the story is as equally bland,Playing Watch Dogs gives one the feeling that Ubisoft failed to deliver on their many promises. The game plays like a formulaic, sub-par GTA clone with the addition of a gimmicky, half-assed hacking system which outlives it's novelty after it's first few uses. The protagonist is as cardboard and dimensionless as any of Liam Neeson's recent action roles and the story is as equally bland, made up for only with some eery and timely social commentary of the dangers and woes of the digital age.… Expand
  18. ChristofferTJ
    Oct 24, 2014
    9
    I loved Watch Dogs, although it is flawed in many ways. The game is first in the Watch Dogs which may have caused them not to take too many chances, but just like Ubisoft did with AC I'm sure the next Watch Dogs will be spectacular.
  19. T_BlackDeath_T
    Oct 22, 2014
    8
    WatchDogs aint that bad as people might think but it does have its problems such as the driving is a mess but fun once u mastered the controls. I like the idea of WatchDogs Its Setting is brilliant and the graphics aint that bad as some might think yes they downgraded the graphics but still looks amazing plus the story is great but the guy you play is not so good i found him boring
  20. dj_cole
    Oct 22, 2014
    9
    Watch Dogs isn't a perfect game that can at times become frustrating and repetitive, but it tells an entertaining story with a believable antihero at the helm that, like everything else in the game, finds a balance between hero and villain. The antihero the game revolves around, Aiden Pearce, is a hired gun of sorts out to save the world through violence and destruction. Anyone who hasWatch Dogs isn't a perfect game that can at times become frustrating and repetitive, but it tells an entertaining story with a believable antihero at the helm that, like everything else in the game, finds a balance between hero and villain. The antihero the game revolves around, Aiden Pearce, is a hired gun of sorts out to save the world through violence and destruction. Anyone who has seen Boondock Saints will have a loose grasp on the general story and the protagonist. If you don't like the premise of saving the world through morally reprehensible means, you probably won't find the story appealing.

    The game both looks and sounds good. The graphics are technically strong, bringing to life a beautiful knock off of Chicago in the fall. The world itself looks nice, the character models are well done and the models for the main characters come close to looking realistic. The main cast does an excellent job of voicing their characters, while the sound effects are full bodied and add to the game. The one area the presentation falters is in the physics. The NPC characters that fill the city just don't look right when they run and cars, especially motorcycles, bounce off things in ways that arejarring and remind you that this isn't reality, which we all know it isn't, but it still makes you think about it when you're supposed to be enjoying the game. While graphics, voice acting and sound effects aren't everything, they can really help make the experience more enjoyable and they do just that in Watch Dogs.

    The gameplay is a fun knock off of GTA with hacking added in. There is the standard stealing cars, evading the police, killing rivals and general destruction and mayhem. On top of that is added interactions that can be used to help evade police by turning traffic signals to cause accidents or raising bridges, along with helping in combat. There are numerous minigames within the game that are varied and fun. They range from hacking based minigames where you try to hack into a webcam or phone to invade someone's privacy (within the game it's less creepy than it sounds, but still makes you feel weird), to combat missions to driving based contracts. Gun combat is fun and there is a variety of weapons to choose from so you can find what fits your playstyle. After a certain point I only ended up using two guns for the rest of the game (a silenced Vector ACP and a .50 caliber sniper rifle called "The Destroyer") but it felt more like I had found the guns that fit my playstyle than these were the guns to use and everything else was terrible. The game can become unpleasant to play at times. Police chases can drag on for far too long and there are spikes in difficulty in some of the combat based mingames. For trophy hunters there are two trophies in particular that are terrible. Traced, which is completely out of your control, and Disc Space Full, which will most likely require you going insane trying to find the Ms. Crumby song. When trophies/achievements are so luck based and so frustrating to get it takes the joy out of working to get them.

    The story and characters are where the game truly shines. The protagonist strikes an excellent balance between "he's a terrible person" and being able to root for him to succeed. He does a lot of good through a lot of terrible means. The story is aware of this and delves into it. The side characters and antagonists are colorful characters that range from entertaining to interesting. There are numerous side stories within the game through investigations that are interesting and make you feel more like you're expanding on a rich world than having to run around looking for collectibles.

    The online is fun, and honestly funny, though it's not something you'll probably come back to after a while. There are online races, two spying based modes and what essentially comes down to online team keepaway . The two spying based games are by far the best of the group and can be really funny watching how people react trying to find you. I laughed several times at people seeing what they did trying to find me, realizing I did the same thing when being invaded and how I must look.

    Watch Dogs walks a fine line very well. There are times you feel creepy hacking into someone's webcam to watch them, and times you feel like a hero tracking down a serial killer. There are times the protagonist feels morally reprehensible, but at the same time is doing what he does to try to make the world better. The cast of side characters are mostly terrible people, but you can see their humanity and understand them as the story goes on. Watch Dogs is no brainer for anyone who likes a dark story, sandbox gameplay and an antihero lead, but also has a good enough story and combat that I would recommend it to anyone who likes GTA type games.

    Given the amount of content in the game and a multiplayer that is fun I would recommend Watch Dogs as a buy.    … Expand
  21. Ramiro1992
    Oct 21, 2014
    5
    Bad game, the IA is terrible, the enemies never see you, the bullets do nothing to your health, your vehicle don't stop after a high speed accident, you never suffer damage for falling high altitudes, this is a really dissapointing game talking about realistic things, overhyped game as always, i hate the IA, one of the worst i see, i think the game deserves maybe a 4.5, but i give it theBad game, the IA is terrible, the enemies never see you, the bullets do nothing to your health, your vehicle don't stop after a high speed accident, you never suffer damage for falling high altitudes, this is a really dissapointing game talking about realistic things, overhyped game as always, i hate the IA, one of the worst i see, i think the game deserves maybe a 4.5, but i give it the 5. I am not looking forward to recommend this game but at least to give it a try, sorry Ubisoft, this is far to be an excellent game, and it is a very dissapointing release, i was expecting a lot more, the driving mechanics don't look good, but the worst thing is the enemy IA, one of the worst i saw.… Expand
  22. chhenriksen
    Oct 21, 2014
    2
    I preordered this because I needed a game to play on PS4 (because, let's face it, at this point in its life cycle, it's a Netflix machine most of the day) and what I got was one of the most bland, mediocre games I've ever played.
  23. SaberEdge
    Oct 21, 2014
    9
    I've had a lot of fun with this game. There is so much to do in this city and the core hacking/stealth/gunplay gameplay is excellent. I honestly haven't played any other open world game with such good stealth mechanics and shooting mechanics. The hacking aspect also adds another dynamic layer to the city that is fun to exploit.

    The graphics are outstanding on my PC and while the game    I've had a lot of fun with this game. There is so much to do in this city and the core hacking/stealth/gunplay gameplay is excellent. I honestly haven't played any other open world game with such good stealth mechanics and shooting mechanics. The hacking aspect also adds another dynamic layer to the city that is fun to exploit.

    The graphics are outstanding on my PC and while the game has some occasional brief framerate drops due to asset streaming it still runs well overall. There is a lot of detail in this world and I find it fun just to go around the city checking out the sights.

    Anyway, overall this game is a strong first entry in a new franchise. I can't wait to see where they go with it from here.    … Expand
  24. donald108
    Oct 19, 2014
    8
    Watch_dogs offers a great open world, but outside of the campaign, there is only a lot of repetitive missions to do. It offers great graphics, especially on cut scenes, however I found the game can lag a little. I enjoyed the game, some easy and difficult (ACT 2 MISSION 6) missions. I found it similar to GTA at the start and then it diverged, but I can still see the similarities.
  25. flametail23
    Oct 18, 2014
    7
    Good game with a few story problems but it's still a fun game. The songs in the game are the worst part because there are like 2 songs I know in the whole game. The gun play is very good with quite a few guns to play with.
    7/10
  26. khugh777
    Oct 17, 2014
    10
    This games is sooo underrated. Amazing details and graphics. A whole bunch of stuff to do. Its $40 right now and well worth it. Great job ubisoft. The haters are just mad because they had nothing else to play on next gen and were forced to get it.
  27. Rainwhole
    Oct 15, 2014
    6
    There's brilliance within Watch Dogs... there really is!

    However, the game never delivers in any of the promises and statements it tries to make. In fact, Watch Dog is a game I probably over-hyped a little too much. Yet, my hype level was raised by pre-release demos of a game that was not what came on the case. Miss-leading advertising should be ILLEGAL, and companies who do it should    There's brilliance within Watch Dogs... there really is!

    However, the game never delivers in any of the promises and statements it tries to make. In fact, Watch Dog is a game I probably over-hyped a little too much. Yet, my hype level was raised by pre-release demos of a game that was not what came on the case. Miss-leading advertising should be ILLEGAL, and companies who do it should be held responsible for it. Nevertheless, this review is for the game we did GET.

    Gameplay-wise, Watch Dogs has all the basic mechanics of any open world game. You can walk, run, drive, swim, and shoot. And they all feel quite competent, but that's an expectation we all have of a company like Ubisoft. Who, despite my low score on this game is a publisher/developer I truly respect.

    Where the game needed to shine was it's "hacking" and "stealth" mechanics. At first it introduces some truly fascinating ideas, but they are all truly simple in application and never deliver anything substantial that make the game stand out in compared to the competition.

    Short and simple, Watch Dogs is a disappointment; one that I hope gets a sequel that improves upon the original and achieves the brilliance that I know resides somewhere inside.    … Expand
  28. Deni1985
    Oct 15, 2014
    1
    Have you ever seen a little kid cursing because he/she thinks it makes them look more mature? That's what this game is, literally, and metaphorically.
  29. 2Nice
    Oct 12, 2014
    5
    When I first started playing this game, I thought it was great! Unfortunately, it did not take long for my attitude to change. Within a few days, I could not stop myself from thinking it was a total GTA ripoff. The gameplay and progression just felt to similar for me. Other than that, missions felt disjointed and stale, especially with the AI making firefights routine and predictable. MiniWhen I first started playing this game, I thought it was great! Unfortunately, it did not take long for my attitude to change. Within a few days, I could not stop myself from thinking it was a total GTA ripoff. The gameplay and progression just felt to similar for me. Other than that, missions felt disjointed and stale, especially with the AI making firefights routine and predictable. Mini games add variety, but they aren't particularly fun to me, and some of them just didn't need to be there. I also found the story to be hugely anticlimactic. In fact, if I hadn't been expecting so much, I probably could have guessed exactly how it ended. It is really a shame that the game was such a let down because the hacker interface shows some real promise, and Chicago was built fairly well. There is nothing inherently wrong with Watch Dogs, except that I found it to be painfully average, which is why I give it a 5.… Expand
  30. sh94
    Oct 12, 2014
    3
    I received a free copy of Watch Dogs when purchasing my PS4 as part of a 4 day offer. The retailer was originally selling it for £54.99 so I considered it to be a fantastic deal. Unfortunately, I really could not get in to this game after each attempt of trying to find something to keep me interested.
    First and foremost, the controls are very different to most games these days, so    I received a free copy of Watch Dogs when purchasing my PS4 as part of a 4 day offer. The retailer was originally selling it for £54.99 so I considered it to be a fantastic deal. Unfortunately, I really could not get in to this game after each attempt of trying to find something to keep me interested.
    First and foremost, the controls are very different to most games these days, so straight away I was put off having to get used to them.
    Upon finishing the first mission and being able to free roam the City, I was able to access a nice looking sports car which is actually one of the best available in the game; this made the game seem very dull as if there is very little to work towards. Also, the driving psychics are terrible and the car navigation often leads to poor routes; leading straight in to a river for example.
    I typically adapt well to different games however, even some of the early missions required a walkthrough (at least for me).
    Now and then I give this game another try, but I end up turning it off after 20 minutes due to finding the gameplay so dull in general. I'm just glad this game came free with my console.    … Expand
  31. Cilvyenn
    Oct 9, 2014
    3
    Score 3 out of 10.

    This new IP was well hyped but I didn't feel it came anywhere near the hype and successfully failed at delivering the vision that was in mind. The world isn't very immersive and hacking is simply a button press which doesn't feel like you're actually commiting the act. Pros - The graphics are really nice and the world itself looks authentic. - Getting invaded by    Score 3 out of 10.

    This new IP was well hyped but I didn't feel it came anywhere near the hype and successfully failed at delivering the vision that was in mind. The world isn't very immersive and hacking is simply a button press which doesn't feel like you're actually commiting the act.

    Pros
    - The graphics are really nice and the world itself looks authentic.
    - Getting invaded by another player can make for a very intense hide & seek.

    Cons
    The driving mechanics are very poor & sluggish.
    The voice acting seems very monotone and not well written.
    Hacking is a one button press action that performs the same stuff over and over.
    Online features are like a cheap knock off and bad verison of GTAV.    … Expand
  32. sgtdegrandis
    Oct 8, 2014
    7
    Overall I liked it.

    With that being said it has its flaws its tries to be both GTA and Saints Row and fails at both it was fun the first time i cant see myself coming back for more anytime soon
  33. twc004
    Oct 6, 2014
    8
    I had a lot of fun during my time with Watch Dogs. I was able to hack, kill, and steal from people all across Chicago. Something I will obviously never be able to do in real life or desire to. Anyways, the game has ok graphics and fun gameplay. I do not think the map is large enough. I think that your freedom can also be limited at times. It does somewhat remind me of GTA 5, unfortunately.I had a lot of fun during my time with Watch Dogs. I was able to hack, kill, and steal from people all across Chicago. Something I will obviously never be able to do in real life or desire to. Anyways, the game has ok graphics and fun gameplay. I do not think the map is large enough. I think that your freedom can also be limited at times. It does somewhat remind me of GTA 5, unfortunately. I think that the series could be something special, but it needs some work.… Expand
  34. daringo5
    Oct 6, 2014
    9
    WOW! What a game! I played this on both the Xbox One and PS4 and have to say such a nice game. This game is so much better than GTA5!
    The graphics are AMAZING!!!!!
    Storyline is nice too. Seems a little dull at times but still it keeps you interested and wanting more. Characters in the game are very fun as well. I dont care what others say about Aiden, but I think he was cool and was    WOW! What a game! I played this on both the Xbox One and PS4 and have to say such a nice game. This game is so much better than GTA5!
    The graphics are AMAZING!!!!!
    Storyline is nice too. Seems a little dull at times but still it keeps you interested and wanting more.
    Characters in the game are very fun as well. I dont care what others say about Aiden, but I think he was cool and was good to play as him. Perfect man for the role in the game if you ask me...
    Music is also good. Not the best soundtrack in the world, but hey... it has a Wu-Tang song in it, what else can you ask for!?
    Gameplay is the most fun I have had in a long time. Hacking in the game is so fun, so is driving, and so is the parkour.
    The only advice I would give is to use grenades when you are facing the super-soldiers, and thats about it, you can shoot your way through the rest with ease.
    Well done Ubisoft! you have done a fine job with this one... looking forward to Watch Dogs 2!!!    … Expand
  35. byouwin
    Oct 5, 2014
    7
    Watch dogs was an undeniably disappointing game and I was hoping for a much better game especially in the graphical department. Graphics aside I think this game was very heavily based on tactics because in this game you can use your hacking abilities to form your own situations. One of my biggest gripes is that there is not mele combat and you can only perform contextual taking downs onWatch dogs was an undeniably disappointing game and I was hoping for a much better game especially in the graphical department. Graphics aside I think this game was very heavily based on tactics because in this game you can use your hacking abilities to form your own situations. One of my biggest gripes is that there is not mele combat and you can only perform contextual taking downs on bad guys a design decision that was stupid. The free roam aspects of the game is fun but if you are looking for a free roam game stick to gta. If you don't care about graphics then I do advise you to buy this game after a price reduction.… Expand
  36. Youngybhoy1988
    Oct 3, 2014
    6
    Not quite as bad as some reviews make out but definitely disappointing, nowhere near living up to the hype, the main character is boring, the storyline is uninteresting, the driving is poor, the sfx aren't what we were promised and the game is repetitive, the game has a lot of good ideas and fairly decent combat, it had the potential to be really good but the hype let it down, probly worthNot quite as bad as some reviews make out but definitely disappointing, nowhere near living up to the hype, the main character is boring, the storyline is uninteresting, the driving is poor, the sfx aren't what we were promised and the game is repetitive, the game has a lot of good ideas and fairly decent combat, it had the potential to be really good but the hype let it down, probly worth picking up pre owned if you can find it cheap, you will probably enjoy this more if you dont go in with high expectations… Expand
  37. dudeinnz
    Oct 2, 2014
    9
    I think most of the negative reviews are coming from GTA fans who were looking for a "fix" after exhausting their thrills with GTA 5. Watch Dogs provides a similar yet very unique alternative to GTA 5 and I do hope they continue making games like this. Watch dogs feels more "real life" than GTA, even though most of us don't go around hacking and shooting people but I am sure most gamersI think most of the negative reviews are coming from GTA fans who were looking for a "fix" after exhausting their thrills with GTA 5. Watch Dogs provides a similar yet very unique alternative to GTA 5 and I do hope they continue making games like this. Watch dogs feels more "real life" than GTA, even though most of us don't go around hacking and shooting people but I am sure most gamers get what I mean. Saying that there are a few glitches with the controls etc, but overall, play it, get used to it, LOVE IT!… Expand
  38. Munkey
    Oct 2, 2014
    7
    Watch Dogs the GTA lite with hacking. That's how I see it and how it feels like.
    The game in general is good. Solid gameplay, good cover system, hacking and side quests. The thing is does side quests get boring after a while. Especially fixer contracts. Gang hideouts are great and you have multiple ways of entry and if you want to go loud or silent.
    The story and Aiden. Another sad man    Watch Dogs the GTA lite with hacking. That's how I see it and how it feels like.
    The game in general is good. Solid gameplay, good cover system, hacking and side quests. The thing is does side quests get boring after a while. Especially fixer contracts. Gang hideouts are great and you have multiple ways of entry and if you want to go loud or silent.
    The story and Aiden. Another sad man with a mission. Really Aiden is boring as hell, sad and sad and sad and angry. Plot is staightforward with one or two interesting twists. Campaign missions are for the most part interesting with the exception of the last one. The open world stuff is there and it's a lot. It'll last you an extra 2h of gameplay finding everything. Don't miss out on digital trips which are awsome. Spider tank and Alone are the best .The game is good maybe not as much as it was hyped but still has a lot to offer. Graphic wise on PS4 looks good nothing to complain about..Solid 7 out of 10.
    Multiplayer is there but for me nothing special. GTA V did it better.
    Got it new for 25£ and was worth it.    … Expand
  39. ForeverFalling
    Oct 1, 2014
    8
    A fun, if slightly forgettable experience. Did not live up to its hype but is still worth checking out. The hacking mechanic is quite superb and the gameplay overall is great. Just a shame that the story does not really leave a lasting impression.
  40. Batfinkskinner
    Sep 30, 2014
    8
    Watch Dogs is underrated. As an open world game it will doubtless be compared to GTA5 or AC4, its closest competition. You drive, you shoot, you shop and you spend hours completing side quests that feel like padding just like GTA, But it does have a hacking gameplay mechanic that works. Cause your pursuer to crash into oncoming traffic by switching the lights or blow the gas pipes toWatch Dogs is underrated. As an open world game it will doubtless be compared to GTA5 or AC4, its closest competition. You drive, you shoot, you shop and you spend hours completing side quests that feel like padding just like GTA, But it does have a hacking gameplay mechanic that works. Cause your pursuer to crash into oncoming traffic by switching the lights or blow the gas pipes to rupture the road. You can do this and more just when your driving and the options open up even more on foot. There is variety to this game but it's biggest problem is the story which is on a slow boil for the first half. This has the effect of making you feel like you're just plodding your way through the early part of the game which can lead you to feel a little uninterested. Throw in Aiden Pearce, who's monotone character only starts to grow on you after a few hours of play and you could soon be tempted to put this down and start checking trade prices online. If you push through the first 2 Acts of the game it does pick up and the characters you meet along the way add to the story as the plot unfolds. there is a lot to this game and it will get overlooked in favour of more pacey thrills, but if you like to get pulled into a game and its world at your own leisure, this is definitely for you.… Expand
  41. GrumpyReviewer
    Sep 30, 2014
    5
    UBISOFT should be embarrassed. For real? This game is a lie. Boring, uninspired, repetitive. A main character that we root against (I did, at least) and the whole promise of being the 'ultimate hacker' is false. You do a couple of tricks, now and then, and they can be fun and all but it won't save this game. UBISOFT promised us something great and we blindly embarked on the hype-train. AndUBISOFT should be embarrassed. For real? This game is a lie. Boring, uninspired, repetitive. A main character that we root against (I did, at least) and the whole promise of being the 'ultimate hacker' is false. You do a couple of tricks, now and then, and they can be fun and all but it won't save this game. UBISOFT promised us something great and we blindly embarked on the hype-train. And it's a train wreck. Watch Dogs is just a mess of an open world game (Sleeping Dogs, for instance, is a way better game). The map of Chicago is a sandbox with 100 things to do and you have no desire to do them. After a few hours, I just wanted to see it finished. If UBISOFT is thinking about making WD2 and expects us to hype once again, they got another thing coming.… Expand
  42. DoUEvnLft
    Sep 30, 2014
    4
    It's not awful, but it's certainly not the 'true next-gen experience' we hoped for. With a lackluster story, boring characters and middling visuals, Watch Dogs is only really held up by it's open world and multiplayer.

    If you're planning on buying Watch Dogs, wait for the price to drop below £20 (or your regional equivalent), since this is, in my opinion, definitely not worth the    It's not awful, but it's certainly not the 'true next-gen experience' we hoped for. With a lackluster story, boring characters and middling visuals, Watch Dogs is only really held up by it's open world and multiplayer.

    If you're planning on buying Watch Dogs, wait for the price to drop below £20 (or your regional equivalent), since this is, in my opinion, definitely not worth the current price.    … Expand
  43. jobomb
    Sep 29, 2014
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Kind of a fun little sandbox shooter, but in the end the story seems rushed to the finish with a boss fight that is more an impossibly ridiculous cop chase. The side missions were fun and some of the challenges were interesting, a little more intriguing than some you get from GTA and other sandbox shooters, but the game has some glaring flaws. The cover system is pretty rigid and at times when enemies are flanking you or say, throwing grenades, it can be frustrating and unforgiving. The enemies are fairly relentless and can be challenging in their complete lack of regard for their own safety, but at times they just sit in cover and pluck away until you come at them. All in all it's fun, but ultimately forgettable with a weak multiplayer system to back it up and as a premier launch title for the next gens, it looks like a ill omen. This game isn't an 8/10 with some quirks, it's an ok game that had a lot of man hours put into it, but in the end it was pulled out of the oven to early to make money on deadline. Good thing they have those ad agencies to sell this game to the magazine and big league reviewers to hype the masses, but check the score board. 'Proffesional' reviewers: 80, what people actually think: 60-65.… Expand
  44. Gabrielkenway
    Sep 29, 2014
    10
    If you think you will play GTA don't play! Graphics is fantastic most near of next gen, gameplay awesome realistic movements easy to control, easy to shoot, the history is pretty attractive first act is the worst but the others is very awesome. You involves with gangs, criminals and others. Different of GTA this game have missions you need to be hidden, hack dispositives, destroy convoy.If you think you will play GTA don't play! Graphics is fantastic most near of next gen, gameplay awesome realistic movements easy to control, easy to shoot, the history is pretty attractive first act is the worst but the others is very awesome. You involves with gangs, criminals and others. Different of GTA this game have missions you need to be hidden, hack dispositives, destroy convoy. The most worst thing is Car phisycs is sucks. Multiplayer is not much attractive.… Expand
  45. Matty2012
    Sep 28, 2014
    6
    A solid game but doesn't compare to other open world games like GTA. This game is a mix of Splintercell, Grand Theft Auto, Assassins Creed and Hitman. It mashes them all together and adds a bunch of hacking shenanigans on top. The hacking is kinda cool for a while, but it soon repeats itself and becomes too gimmicky. Some of it is down right frustrating as well. For instance, you will beA solid game but doesn't compare to other open world games like GTA. This game is a mix of Splintercell, Grand Theft Auto, Assassins Creed and Hitman. It mashes them all together and adds a bunch of hacking shenanigans on top. The hacking is kinda cool for a while, but it soon repeats itself and becomes too gimmicky. Some of it is down right frustrating as well. For instance, you will be being chased by some bad guys and have the ability to hack into and blow up steam pipes in the road and put up block barriers and such. But because they are behind chasing you, you can't really see exactly when to hack these things. Sometimes it will let you know when to do it and other times it won't. You will often try to hack into and blow up some steam pipes in the road behind you, but will end up accidentally raising some block barriers in front of you or changing a set of traffic lights which leads to you crashing at high speeds. The times when the game lets you know when to hack, the camera angle attempts to spin round to show you the bad guys being blown to bits, but it fails 99% of the time. The camera will spin round miss the action then spin back and put you off the game so you crash. The controls can be stupidly clunky in some places, like when trying to get on or off a boat for instance. You can only get on and off a boat in certain places, which is annoying. Graphically it is quite nice, but not what we were all expecting, it won't wow you. The story is ok but nothing special.… Expand
  46. JRo55
    Sep 27, 2014
    6
    This game is so corny it's not even funny. Characters are stupid, gameplay sucks, graphics are boring, the setting is lame, and everything else is pure garbage.
  47. kont1979
    Sep 22, 2014
    3
    game simply overrated and boring, ripetitve missions, graphics from old gen, character and story without charm. In summary this is a bad and poor copy of GTA. I've tried it for 2 / 3 hours and then returned. This is also a really bad example of marketing
  48. andrewscool101
    Sep 21, 2014
    8
    Game is very good.
    Campaign was long enough and I really enjoyed it. It had a good story to it but I don't want to go into any spoilers.
    Online hacking is very fun where you can invade another players game and hack them. The hack lasts 200 seconds and every 25% the circle gets smaller and the victims job is to find you (you're somewhere in that circle) and kill you. Tailing is similar    Game is very good.
    Campaign was long enough and I really enjoyed it. It had a good story to it but I don't want to go into any spoilers.
    Online hacking is very fun where you can invade another players game and hack them. The hack lasts 200 seconds and every 25% the circle gets smaller and the victims job is to find you (you're somewhere in that circle) and kill you. Tailing is similar where you basically follow someone and they have no idea you're there (unless they profile you).
    Decryption is okay and so is the online racing, I don't really bother with them as much though.
    The reason I gave it an 8/10 is because of the free roam, you can only walk around with your friends, there is absolutely nothing else you can do but walk/drive around the city so that gets boring quickly.

    Anyway, really good game. People who give it bad reviews are comparing it to GTA, not every open-world game has to be compared to GTA!    … Expand
  49. StealthyK1LLs
    Sep 20, 2014
    8
    While it isn't the visual spectacle they showed at E3 2012, Watch_Dogs is truly a new experience that I won't soon forget. You are set in Chicago, the city that can be shut down with an iPhone. Hack stop signs, ATMs, trains, and car doors. Expand your arsenal to stop criminals and fixers. First off, the multiplayer is truly different and something to be hold. It consists of racing, hackingWhile it isn't the visual spectacle they showed at E3 2012, Watch_Dogs is truly a new experience that I won't soon forget. You are set in Chicago, the city that can be shut down with an iPhone. Hack stop signs, ATMs, trains, and car doors. Expand your arsenal to stop criminals and fixers. First off, the multiplayer is truly different and something to be hold. It consists of racing, hacking people who don't know you are in their game, and even a free play mode to just roam the huge and detailed city of Chicago and f*** s*** up together. The story is great, but a bit short for my taste. I got about 6 hours or so from story, and an extra 20+ hours from everything else. Aiden Pearce was a great protagonist, but like Conner from AC3, he was very boring and could have been much more than he was. The reason this game is an 8 instead of 10 is because the side content gets very boring. It's all the same. All criminal convoys and gang hideouts are the same, but they are still very fun. Fixer contracts are boring as hell. I'm not going to compare this game to GTA, because only bad reviewers compare one game to another to a similar one without focusing on the essentials. Also, there aren't all that many vehicles at all. There are only about 3 or 4 bikes, and cars are limited (but look sick). Overall, Watch_Dogs is an innovative and extremely interactive game, but repetitive gameplay, boring side missions, and limited mechanics hold this game back from being GOTY. I definitely recommend this game, especially on PS4 with the exclusive missions. Do yourself a favor, and buy this game.… Expand
  50. Mosh603
    Sep 19, 2014
    8
    PROS: The storyline is a good concept and I enjoyed seeing it play out. There is also 40+ hours of solid gameplay because the story is long and the game has many side missions to do. The hacking is really entertaining and surprisingly does not get old or tired. I thought the shooting mechanics were also well done and pretty tight. The multiplayer was also pretty fun, I had many hours ofPROS: The storyline is a good concept and I enjoyed seeing it play out. There is also 40+ hours of solid gameplay because the story is long and the game has many side missions to do. The hacking is really entertaining and surprisingly does not get old or tired. I thought the shooting mechanics were also well done and pretty tight. The multiplayer was also pretty fun, I had many hours of solid entertainment trying to hack people and not have them discover me.

    CONS: The beginning of the game is a tad slow. Also, the driving mechanics and vehicle damage/destruction were very poor and inconsistent. Sometimes I would smash through a fence, hit a trash can, and hit a park bench and have little to no damage on the car.

    Overall, I totally recommend this game. Worth every penny.    … Expand
  51. tekshow
    Sep 18, 2014
    8
    No escort missions? No find the package routine? No obvious ambush scenario? Watch Dogs does a great job of spinning the open world genre like a top and a little bit on it's head. At it's high point it revels in itself and dodges all the popular genre tropes. Whatever extra time Watch Dogs had in the cooker must've been spent refining the quality of the missions and side quests. The latterNo escort missions? No find the package routine? No obvious ambush scenario? Watch Dogs does a great job of spinning the open world genre like a top and a little bit on it's head. At it's high point it revels in itself and dodges all the popular genre tropes. Whatever extra time Watch Dogs had in the cooker must've been spent refining the quality of the missions and side quests. The latter stands out for it's sheer variety in diversion, one minute you're racing stolen cars through checkpoints where you may or may not have to dodge cops, or deliver under a damage and time restriction and the next you're hacking into peoples private lives at a leisurely pace through peepholes throughout a sprawling city. Chicago is big too, well laid out and easily traversed. Absolutely nothing in Watch Dogs feels cumbersome, and that's the point, from the mission structure at its core to the endless stream of information about Chicago's virtual citizens, nothing is obtrusive to the player.

    You're free to ignore it all and head toward whatever you fancy, games of poker, hacking bank accounts, the main campaign, none of it gets in your way and at the same time it never feels overwhelming when it comes to what to do next. Objectives are snap and if you find yourself with a heavy dose of gaming ADD you'll feel right at home either way and accomplished at whatever task you choose.

    The character development of the anti-hero Aiden Pierce is compelling at times, but might be the only weak link in the Watch Dogs debut. Overall Pierce is a great character that's relatable and delivers with a voice that could fill more dirt than Shovel Knight. The stone gravel tone eventually compliments Pierce and feels like it belongs to him. What sets off the game's only piece of disarray is the fact that Ubisoft never commits Pierce to the full anti-hero nature and waffles between the many mixed personalities of humanity. Which would be fine, but the plot design is such that we're led to feel bad for Pierce and his poor familial tragedy and at the same time look at him as a hero righting wrongs. It's a tough act to follow when Pierce is running around killing bad guys, maybe cops, stealing millions from citizenry (I literally ended the main game with over 2 million!) and my favorite; disrupting the gang hideout. The gangs provide some of the best game design and entertaining missions in the game, and we always get a glimpse to their activity before hand. Pierce is determined to put them down because sometimes they're stealing from people! And one of the main points of the game is to go after a crooked mob boss. These motives hardly make any sense when the game reflects back on Pierce's motives.

    Don't let this deter you though, as the game is great, and hacking everything is brilliant. It had to take the team at ubisoft some time, but the gameplay is great. Cars are the weakest component, but admist an awesome cover shooter, bullet time, and hacking any electronic in a 4 block radius a little loose driving is hardly anything to complain about. The cars, guns, and tasks that involve them are all pretty entertaining. Your character level ups as the game progresses too offering a stellar reward system. There's almost a power system that boosts your tool kit to use better hacks and more control. For instance at first all you can do while driving down the street is trip street lights in your favor. Eventually you can take over city infrastructure and raise bridges, overload transformers and cause blackouts, blow up steam pipes, and drop helicopters from the sky.

    It's all handled through a choose your own path skill tree that plays to your own tastes. It's broad and sweeping at the start, but it's also adept at giving you clear choices. If you prefer stealth to combat its simple to see the layout, or if you'd like to toughen up Pierce right away into a one many bull time tripping rambo you are welcome to it.

    And that's the last gripe some have with the game. In the end Pierce goes from soccer dad who's into computers to ultimate hacker badass with a cadre of weapons both technical and ballistic. I actually found that all gratifying. I related to Pierce better the more he found skills and didn't come off as a weakling, almost akin to Batman he's capable to deal with any situation and that piece of his character seemed very fitting to me. Currently you can pick up the game for around $30 if you dig for it, and at that price it's an absolute steal. I also liked it better than GTA 5 and can't wait to see what Ubisoft does with the franchise next.    … Expand
  52. SpawnCap
    Sep 17, 2014
    8
    An enjoyable open world game. Driving is fine, it's not suppose to be a racing game, vehicles have weight to them. It is missing one thing though, no radio stations. All of the other GTA like games I enjoyed listening to the radio stations and that was completely removed. Plenty of side missions and hacking is what you would expect in a game. Graphics are good, not as much detail inAn enjoyable open world game. Driving is fine, it's not suppose to be a racing game, vehicles have weight to them. It is missing one thing though, no radio stations. All of the other GTA like games I enjoyed listening to the radio stations and that was completely removed. Plenty of side missions and hacking is what you would expect in a game. Graphics are good, not as much detail in things like damage to vehicle and surrounding things you run into, but still good. A large amount of content in game.… Expand
  53. tashhart88
    Sep 15, 2014
    8
    What can i say about this game, pure brilliance! didn't live entirely up to the expectation but not far behind either!
    I hope in the second game there's more to do after you complete the game.
    And i think it be great fun if the next one was based somewhere like London.

    Well done Ubisoft :)
  54. WalkerTXChicken
    Sep 15, 2014
    1
    I really think ubisoft played GTA then decided to remove all of the aspects that makes GTA fun to play. I was excited about the release but within hours I turned off my PS4.
  55. Simboatic
    Sep 15, 2014
    10
    And here we go, I don't know whats with all the haters, I am a big GTA fan, but I found Watchdogs to be more entertaining, and I am taking all the time and enjoying this game to its smallest details.
  56. prawntoast1
    Sep 14, 2014
    6
    I actually got bored of playing this game and just stopped playing it. It seems to be my sort of game: stylish, sleek and cool with shooting and futuristic elements but was just boring with a boring story.
  57. mikesurbroski89
    Sep 13, 2014
    6
    This game is very stupid. The plot is a joke, the main character is boring but the gameplay is somewhat enjoyable. The online play was bland and the soundtrack to the game was decent but not on par with a GTA. I'm interested to see how much they improve with the sequel.
  58. tonylionedo
    Sep 13, 2014
    7
    OK after 20 hours of gameplay i have to take back my initial review and rescore it 7 point, this game is truly exciting and entertaining in the first 5 hours, the main mission and side mission are both interesting, hacking and shooting and driving is so fun, but after that,I start to find this game dull and repetitive, I feel like playing a demo again and again, especially the sideOK after 20 hours of gameplay i have to take back my initial review and rescore it 7 point, this game is truly exciting and entertaining in the first 5 hours, the main mission and side mission are both interesting, hacking and shooting and driving is so fun, but after that,I start to find this game dull and repetitive, I feel like playing a demo again and again, especially the side mission.the story is weird and meaningless, character design is insane, and i find myself dont care about it all the while, the great shining spot is digital trip, but it's too damn short. and hacking feels more and more like button press game, it's a totally gimmick, after all, this is a game content entertain and fun, but never expect it to be a great innovation, but its worth play if you like open world and shooting game… Expand
  59. Catch-20-2
    Sep 10, 2014
    3
    This game is not worth all the hype. Character development in this game is bland, story missions are boring and most of all a big cliche. Game play: Shooting mechanics are so-so, driving mechanics - HOLY **** MOTHER OF GOD, LIKE A PIECE OF TURD. No variety in online modes.
    Couldn't believe I bought in to all this hype. Regret buying it. Future buyers beware....
  60. Artur95
    Sep 10, 2014
    6
    This game doesn't deserve a grade less than 3 and neither above 8. Watch Dogs is not awfully bad, the game just miss a better story and sidequests, there is no difference between main story and sidequest gameplay. The graphics are last gen, they are not impressive, GTA V has better graphics. The driving controls are the worst i've ever played. Connection with the online servers are tooThis game doesn't deserve a grade less than 3 and neither above 8. Watch Dogs is not awfully bad, the game just miss a better story and sidequests, there is no difference between main story and sidequest gameplay. The graphics are last gen, they are not impressive, GTA V has better graphics. The driving controls are the worst i've ever played. Connection with the online servers are too slow. The music is so boring. Not a big city to free roam.

    Now the good things are the variety of mini games, they are fun to play, the gadgets are powerfull and very usefull. The AI is hard to beat on the hardest difficulty, it makes the game interesting and last longer. The multiplayer servers are slow, but the hacking 1 vs 1 is pretty good. There are a lot of guns, but the inventory menu is insanely complicated    … Expand
  61. trollkiller
    Sep 10, 2014
    4
    Dropped my rating significantly. reason: basic gameplay mechanics are seriously flawed (driving cars), the story starts well but ends up being superficial and formulaic, and as usual Ubi Montreal is more interested in cluttering the game with endless repetitive side-missions than in delivering an interesting narrative with decent gameplay mechanics
  62. Gagerath
    Sep 10, 2014
    7
    Watch Dogs was a game surrounded with alot of hype, and a lot of potential. I personally was disappointed at Watch Dogs dry story and boring characters. The story takes so many unnecessary turns that just seem boring or uninteresting. The game play mechanics though are very fun at times but can feel very linear instead of the "choose your game play style" we were promised. Some storyWatch Dogs was a game surrounded with alot of hype, and a lot of potential. I personally was disappointed at Watch Dogs dry story and boring characters. The story takes so many unnecessary turns that just seem boring or uninteresting. The game play mechanics though are very fun at times but can feel very linear instead of the "choose your game play style" we were promised. Some story aspects seemed rushed and at point I was scratching my head saying "WHAT?!" . The NPC randomly generated personality gave life to the random nobodies we are so used to seeing in open worlds. The side missions can be ignored as they do not really add to anything and will most likely end with you scratching your head saying "What was the point of all this?". The multiplayer on the other hand was a nice refreshing play style of cat and mouse with the addition of hacking. Without giving away the story, I will say Watch Dogs is worth the buy if you enjoy fun open world gameplay with a neat multiplayer and are ok with a story that you can pay less attention to, then Watch Dogs is a game I recommend with a rating of 7/10. A boring over all story, over hyped game with a pc graphical downgrade but fun gameplay and multiplayer.… Expand
  63. Halovarth
    Sep 10, 2014
    3
    One of the worst games I ever owned. Driving mechanics suck. All cops have perfect aim. You can't even jump in this game. Gameplay is horrible. I don't care about graphics. The graphics looked fine to me. Story got boring and couldn't follow it anymore. I beat this game and sold it for $25.
  64. Midgarian
    Sep 10, 2014
    8
    If you never been to Chicago and cannot afford going there, buy Watch Dogs. Or if you ever dreamt about a massacre in millenium park or speed through downtown. Whatever you would like to do virtually in Chicago, this game is really good for that part, it's an incredible replica of the city with all it's content: steal money from a guy who pays for porn. The game dynamics feel pretty neat:If you never been to Chicago and cannot afford going there, buy Watch Dogs. Or if you ever dreamt about a massacre in millenium park or speed through downtown. Whatever you would like to do virtually in Chicago, this game is really good for that part, it's an incredible replica of the city with all it's content: steal money from a guy who pays for porn. The game dynamics feel pretty neat: good control of the cars, shooting, movement, etc.

    The big downside of this game and probably the main reason for the legion of haters is the plot. Please don't buy this game if you want to play a game, treat Watch Dogs as a sightseeing experience. The storyline is just ridiculously bad: Aiden Pierce could be replaced by a potato or sack of balls and it would make no difference (at least it would be funny for the first 5 min seeing a sack of balls blowing stuff up), same goes to the side characters. Ubisoft promised us this griping conspiracy theory wikileaks/bourne type of story and we ended up with a straight to DVD mockbuster.

    The only reason for an 8 is because I get to steal money from a guy who pays for porn while shooting people under the bean.    … Expand
  65. nascent
    Sep 9, 2014
    9
    This game does not deserve any hate. I can't wrap my head around why people are disappointed with this game. It is a great and solid sandbox game that really embraces it's premise and gives a good narrative on a possible future scenario in a 'Smart City'.

    Watch Dogs seems to take the best of GTA (strong and thriving open world, with decent NPCs, driving and missions/side    This game does not deserve any hate. I can't wrap my head around why people are disappointed with this game. It is a great and solid sandbox game that really embraces it's premise and gives a good narrative on a possible future scenario in a 'Smart City'.

    Watch Dogs seems to take the best of GTA (strong and thriving open world, with decent NPCs, driving and missions/side missions,humour ), and Assassin's Creed (freerunning, hidden codes revealing more about the plot, a decent story) but adds a plot that really nails the current events surrounding NSA, spying, corruption, technology, whistleblowing and consequences.

    In terms of story, I really dug every mission and plot point, far more than I ever have with a GTA game (I am a huge fan of GTA, but I know story isn't it's strongest point) the characters seemed interesting and I really connected with the main character which is definitely something GTA fails to achieve.

    In terms of Gameplay, Watch Dogs is exciting, fun and hard to put down once you get started.
    Not only is the hacking an interesting and enjoyable mechanic, but it adds such a deep layer of depth to the gameplay that it allows any player to play in any method he wishes. Want to gun everybody down ala GTA? Go Ahead. Want to stealth it and sneak around buildings via hacking and disable foes remotely? Sure, why not.

    Any time I replayed a mission, or did one of the repetitive side missions, I had a blast, because no quest was the same. Even replaying the exact same side missions results in different enemies, some can be interacted with and some can't always in different ways.

    I am far more likely to replay the story of Watchdogs over a game like GTA. I really look forward to a sequel, and hope Ubisoft ignores the haters, and it has fans.    … Expand
  66. GazetteSDF
    Sep 9, 2014
    6
    Watch Dogs is a good game, but let's be honest, it was sold out by Ubisoft. It reminds me of the beginning of Assassin's Creed, a good basis perfectible.
    - Positive: The integration multiplayer in solo, hack the part of others, contracts fixer.
    - Negative: the conduct, management of property damage, the face that Aiden is one of the worst in the game = lack of expression and some    Watch Dogs is a good game, but let's be honest, it was sold out by Ubisoft. It reminds me of the beginning of Assassin's Creed, a good basis perfectible.
    - Positive: The integration multiplayer in solo, hack the part of others, contracts fixer.
    - Negative: the conduct, management of property damage, the face that Aiden is one of the worst in the game = lack of expression and some secondary characters seem better job.
    - Neutral: Multiplayer: simple but effective well adapted to the license that supports it, Classical history of vengence, Morality Aiden Pearce questionable    … Expand
  67. element5
    Sep 8, 2014
    0
    Watch_Dogs was over-hyped and failed to deliver. Missions are difficult and results in multiple attempts to solve the same mission which quickly gets boring and frustrating. It glitches sometimes in the most crucial moments and becomes unplayable. There really is nothing fun to do in this game.
  68. Hufff
    Sep 7, 2014
    8
    The concept is very novel and the mechanics are very tight, but despite all that there winds up being a good bit of repetition in this game. The story isn't nearly good enough to be the sole reason for one to purchase this game, but it does give a setting for all of the game's interesting characters, the exception for this being Aidan Pierce himself, who is far more cliched andThe concept is very novel and the mechanics are very tight, but despite all that there winds up being a good bit of repetition in this game. The story isn't nearly good enough to be the sole reason for one to purchase this game, but it does give a setting for all of the game's interesting characters, the exception for this being Aidan Pierce himself, who is far more cliched and two-dimensional than all of the interesting three-dimensional supporting characters in this game. There is a wealth of things to do, but very few of them were developed enough to hold my attention for more than ten minutes at a time. Regardless though, this game's strength lies in its core combat, which seamlessly blends the novel one-button hacking that the game so heavily advertised and the very tight gunplay which manages to create a unique feel of each weapon and permit both the stealth and guns-blazing approach (although I imagine most players will go for the much more rewarding stealth).… Expand
  69. Matodox
    Sep 7, 2014
    5
    I really like this game. It's fun to play. But that's just about it. The story is really thin, and all the characters (except for T-Bone who's just plain awesome), are too square and dead boring. We never get any background story for any of them. Not even our hero, Aiden Pearce. He's just THERE, like he was Batman or something. The thing i love most about Watch Dogs, which doesn't make itI really like this game. It's fun to play. But that's just about it. The story is really thin, and all the characters (except for T-Bone who's just plain awesome), are too square and dead boring. We never get any background story for any of them. Not even our hero, Aiden Pearce. He's just THERE, like he was Batman or something. The thing i love most about Watch Dogs, which doesn't make it a disaster, is the hacks. This game really made stealth fun to me. Normally i just bring out the AK47 or Rambo machine-guns and go all out on everyone, but i actually found myself using cameras, the environment and the silent handgun more often than not. But i have to say, in my opinion there's too few skills and after a while i'm bored because of how little the gameplay varies throughout. The side missions get real old after a little while, the same things you do over and over again, it's not fun! The main story missions are too short also. You complete the game after 3 days, if you have a life to attend to outside your living room, otherwise i could've probably finished it within 7 hours straight not completing side missions too. The thing i hate most about this game though, is that you can't use your baton like in GTA as a melee weapon. You can only hit someone with it if you're standing in front of them pressing one button and then Aiden does the rest for you and puts it away again immediately afterwards. I don't know how else to explain, you'll understand when you play. Also, why can't i shoot out of the car while driving?!? It's really annoying you have to run against whoever you're chasing with your car or hack the environment to stop the other and then you have to get out of your car and chase them on foot. And why can't you just kill instead of knocking down in every mission, it's f*cking ridiculous! And the graphics look like it was 2009 all over again. The only things saving this game are the gameplay, and the multiplayer part. That i thought was inventive. When the sequel get's out, they better learn from the fails of this and not repeat them.… Expand
  70. TheEpicSheep
    Sep 6, 2014
    5
    Now, I don't find this game a "piece of crap" nor a good game either. Back at E3 2012 I was so hyped about this opened world game where you can control your environment by hacking and it was a neat idea and of course, it looks beautiful. When next-gen consoles where on there way and I saw this game again at E3 2013 I was even more hyped. When I finally got the final product after UbisoftNow, I don't find this game a "piece of crap" nor a good game either. Back at E3 2012 I was so hyped about this opened world game where you can control your environment by hacking and it was a neat idea and of course, it looks beautiful. When next-gen consoles where on there way and I saw this game again at E3 2013 I was even more hyped. When I finally got the final product after Ubisoft critically acclaimed "5 years in development" game, I had some mixed opinions

    1. The game is NOT next-gen.
    Yes, I know, the whole entire internet is freaking out about how this game is not what the game looked like at E3 2012-2013 and believe it, Ubisoft should be ashamed and could be sued for false advertisement. I don't find it bad graphics but when the PC port looks worst than the PS4, I should be worried that Sony could have given Ubisoft some money to tease people that the PS4 is much better than PC. (Also the physics suck, real bad)

    2. The open world
    Although filled with great animations from the NPC's and a ton of stuff to do you will figure out it's pretty small and you will be going around in circles a lot

    3. Gameplay
    Taking some things from Ubisoft's cover mechanics makes the game easy to learn, after all, your "Hacking" is pretty much holding Square or X. Most of the side quests are repetitive and are mainly fetch quests. Hacking is fun though, which is the games man selling point, watching cars bash into each other by jamming the stop lights or exploding pipes can be fun. And the multiplayer is fun as well.

    4. Story
    Cliché characters, cliché writing, nothing more to say. Aiden (the main character) reminds me of Desmond Miles from the Assassin Creed series (A big red alert for me) And the story is boring and pretty pointless.

    5. The A.I
    Its funny to watch people do stupid stuff and more importantly, Cops won't chase you If your on a boat. This is sad.

    6. The Ending.
    Its literally a "Press x to win" and it sequel baits so hard for a Watch Dogs 2.

    Overall, the game is ok and mediocre at best. I recommend you get it rented, or wait for a while until its around 20$ or free on PS Plus.    … Expand
  71. fabiolfpinto
    Sep 6, 2014
    7
    It is a fun open world experience, but it lacks a lot of things. The world of Chicago is very believable, its very real, the driving is not good, not good at all, its very difficult to drive for 1 minute without crashing on something. The voice acting is average, only Chin is good, Aiden's voice is so boring and so bad, it pains me to hear it.
    The game is good looking, but even The Last    It is a fun open world experience, but it lacks a lot of things. The world of Chicago is very believable, its very real, the driving is not good, not good at all, its very difficult to drive for 1 minute without crashing on something. The voice acting is average, only Chin is good, Aiden's voice is so boring and so bad, it pains me to hear it.
    The game is good looking, but even The Last Of Us on PS3 looks better than this on the PS4, the gameplay its very fun, the gun mechanics are vey good, but if you try to make things a little more quiet, you get spotted easily. The hacking is very good an easy to do, the interaction with other people from the city is bad, they can call the police on you when you haven't fired a single bullet, its ridiculous, the story is kind of average too, which leads to an average game, this is not the E3 demo, its worse, very worse. 7.5/10    … Expand
  72. Zapness
    Sep 5, 2014
    8
    I love this game, don't get me wrong. But it has oh so many problems. The story is kind of lacking, characters are lacking development, and more things like that. And certain parts aren't thought out. Why go to a place to shoot a bunch of criminals, leave, and THEN call the cops. Why not just call the cops first and possibly not kill anyone?

    Gameplay wise, however, is how I can give    I love this game, don't get me wrong. But it has oh so many problems. The story is kind of lacking, characters are lacking development, and more things like that. And certain parts aren't thought out. Why go to a place to shoot a bunch of criminals, leave, and THEN call the cops. Why not just call the cops first and possibly not kill anyone?

    Gameplay wise, however, is how I can give this game such a good review. I spent at least an hour blowing off steam (quite literally, sometimes) by causing car crashes, raising bridges with people on them, etc...

    Overall, this game would be worth buying when the price goes down, paying $60 is too much. Honestly though, its too much fun to miss out on.    … Expand
  73. Username_PT
    Sep 5, 2014
    9
    Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  74. B4LLS_OF_SK1LL
    Sep 5, 2014
    5
    Forget about the graphics, forget about the spectacular promising trailer that we saw back that day.
    The great story of a man fighting against corporations using hacking tools.
    Everything turned out to be a confusing blend of plot lines which lacks connection with the familiarity that the main plot could bring to us. It's all in clunky and direct "tell, don't show" fashion, with writing    Forget about the graphics, forget about the spectacular promising trailer that we saw back that day.
    The great story of a man fighting against corporations using hacking tools.
    Everything turned out to be a confusing blend of plot lines which lacks connection with the familiarity that the main plot could bring to us. It's all in clunky and direct "tell, don't show" fashion, with writing that often sounds like it was not penned by someone with a great understanding of idiomatic English. The scenery-chewing performances from many of the secondary characters, particularly antagonist Damien Brenks, don't help, nor does the truly awful voice acting for Clara, who seems to emphasize the wrong word in every single sentence she speaks. I don't know why this was so messed up. I heard about the damn investors who ruined the whole **** experience trying to convince people to be GTA like and stuff. Lack of focus, lack of charisma. Everything in this game could be SO MUCH BETTER. I wish I could go back to the trailer and have my expectation back.    … Expand
  75. mboner1
    Sep 4, 2014
    3
    If this is next gen then we are in some trouble. The graphics are horrible compared to the pc version. It ran better initially than the pc counterpart , but now all the patches are out on pc this just sits there collecting dust.. much like my ps4 actually.
  76. NWard98
    Sep 2, 2014
    9
    The game was great it just had a ending I didn't like, they lied about the graphics and the driving was a little funny but you will get used to it. Don't let all of the other reviews fool you it's a great game.
  77. ag4
    Sep 1, 2014
    0
    I don't care much about graphics, even small cize of city is fine. Although I find it hard there is no airport in Chicago? Oh I feel bad for people living there. But the biggest let down was how bad story was, the story was so incredibily bad I only finished the game because I did pay for it so I have to finish. But it was more pain than joy.
  78. heathplusg
    Aug 31, 2014
    5
    This game was a huge disappointment. It has downgraded graphics. It has a very boring main character. It has repetitive gamplay (uses one button for almost everything). The game is so boring I was only able to get through the first act before I got rid of it.
  79. Makorov
    Aug 30, 2014
    10
    The hype for this game was just to much for it to cope worth it's absolutely crap, and it's shameful in comparison to old generation GTA5 and I played this game on PS4 it's just not worth anything don't get it!
  80. Stafmeister
    Aug 29, 2014
    8
    Initially had high expectations for this game, then saw all the critical response and decided to pass on it. However a friend who has a similar taste in games bought it and enjoyed it, so I found a cheap Dedsec edition and got into it. I have found it a lot of fun to play, I don't think comparing it ti GTA V is fair as they are different takes on the sandbox genre, for example I wouldn'tInitially had high expectations for this game, then saw all the critical response and decided to pass on it. However a friend who has a similar taste in games bought it and enjoyed it, so I found a cheap Dedsec edition and got into it. I have found it a lot of fun to play, I don't think comparing it ti GTA V is fair as they are different takes on the sandbox genre, for example I wouldn't compare Infamous to either game. The online games have been entertaining, especially the hacking and tailing. The story was not particularly strong, but there will be inevitable sequels and this is a good starting place in my opinion. If you can find it for a good price, this game is definitely worth playing.… Expand
  81. 120070
    Aug 27, 2014
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Watch Dogs was a highly anticipated title for months, and for the most part lived up to its hype. Its story, while good, shot off in a lot of different directions. They were able to keep the story coherent enough that you knew what was going on, but, the ending kind of lost some luster because of how many directions this game went. "Lucky" Quinn being revealed as the person who put the hit on Pierce, I thought, was also kind of a let down. He wasn't prevalent throughout a whole lot of the game, and turned out to be the main enemy (behind Damien, of course). Overall, the story was good, and sometimes gripping, as well as sometimes confusing. Voice acting as a whole was done well enough, with no one really bad or no one really exceptional, with exceptions put on Jordi, Quinn and Damien. Graphics were impressive, outside of facial animations. You can tell they really only put work into the main characters for that. Late in the game, when you are engaged in more firefights, hacking to beat enemies becomes more frustrating, but that aside, the hacking was a phenomenal feature that made you feel awesome. Combat and stealth were perfect. Cars handled great, and in terms of long-term play-ability, this game knocks it out of the park. I still have so much to do after the main game was finished. A great game that may not have lived up to the big hype, but came very near to it. I would like to see a Watch Dogs 2, but, I don't know what the story would be. The end had Dedsec declaring war pretty much. Maybe that will be the premise? Who knows… Expand
  82. Boongabongava
    Aug 25, 2014
    7
    UBISOFT: PLEASE FIX

    When I am playing Online Contracts and I "lose connection" or my opponent quits during a match on any of the 4 options of online contracts, I still lose notoriety points, this is especially a pain on tailing and hacking when I lose upwards of 170 points

    It would be a great help if this could get fixed, thanks
  83. AzarinIsard
    Aug 25, 2014
    5
    I bought this game on PS4. This game had the potential to be excellent, but was frequently hamstrung by mistakes and poor decisions. Ignoring things such as graphics and physics, which seem to be the major bugbears for other reviewers, I had different problems.

    Firstly, I like my online and my offline separate. I didn't realise I was playing online missions at first. I was just trying    I bought this game on PS4. This game had the potential to be excellent, but was frequently hamstrung by mistakes and poor decisions. Ignoring things such as graphics and physics, which seem to be the major bugbears for other reviewers, I had different problems.

    Firstly, I like my online and my offline separate. I didn't realise I was playing online missions at first. I was just trying to start a campaign mission and I was then informed I'm being hacked. My first encounter was a few missions in and I had to chase and kill another hacker, who proceeded to ram me, get out, and shoot me in the face with his assault rifle while I'm still using my starter pistol. So, I had to get myself ready again, travel all the way to the quest marker again, but en-route I was hacked a second time. I was supposed to chase someone, who whenever I got close would open a bridge and park on it. If I went to jump to his side, he jumped to the other. When I go back, he'd go the other way. This dance continued for far longer than I'd like to admit, before I managed to swerve in time and have a mid-air collision, we both crashed into the river. He then began to swim slowly, I followed, and eventually we both got out, and I was able to shoot him before I got into a new car. After all this, I went to the options to deactivate the online intrusions, which informed me without them there's certain upgrades I'm ineligible for and all online XP I've acquired will be wiped and I have to start again. Fine, I hadn't got far anyway. I turned off the online and never turned it on again.

    The campaign and the side quests seem entirely disjointed too. There's references of course, but most seem entirely pointless. First, there's some chess mini-games required for certain upgrades/100%, if you're not into chess, you can look up the solutions on youtube. There's a cup and ball street trick, three cups, one ball, you have to point out where the ball is at the end of a lengthy shuffle. You need three in a row to get to the next level, where the gamble stake goes up, and you need to complete several levels for the unlock. Fortunately, there's a graphical error where if you turn up your brightness and pause, the polygon outline of the ball can be seen through the cup allowing you to pass this chore. There's a free running game which is easy enough, an odd VR alien shooter which feels entirely out of place, there's additional games called "digital trips" which again, were a distraction I wasn't interested in. Convoys and fixer contracts were generally pretty simple, and there's so many of them they get repetitive by the end. The only reason to do them all isn't for enjoyment, but for trophies/achievements. Then, there's an annoying drinking game. In order to win, you need to control your cursor when it moves in erratic directions, hover over different targets, and press the corresponding buttons. In later levels, the buttons move and the requirement button changes. The whole thing gave me a headache trying to play it, and when you fail you wake up in a ditch in the wilderness around the town where the drinking game is, so you've got to run back and try again. I wasn't very good at this, and this is where I decided I'd never complete it, so I gave up on 100%'ing the game. This is also why I never returned to the online.

    So, after all these pointless, annoying, infuriating distractions I went back to the main campaign. The characters and plot could have been far better, but there was decent variety in the missions. They were however heavily planned, in that there is clearly a set path you have to go through, there aren't often more than one alternative. At best, if it's intended for stealth and you're good at combat, you can kill your way through unless you cannot be detected without failing the mission. But, if combat isn't your thing, don't expect to be able to stealth/hack your way around it, at times you face endless swarms, impossible situations, and enemies who appear out of nowhere to chase you when you escape undetected. When this game wants you to have a fight or a car chase, there's no escaping it.

    By the end, I'd gathered most collectibles, done many side missions, and completed the main quest. But that was about as much as I could stomach, the thought of having to go back and play the content I haven't finished seems like a chore rather than play. If this game is cheap, I'd definitely say go for it, especially if you're not a completionist and don't mind leaving side content unfinished. If you pick and choose, you can focus on the enjoyable parts and ignore the rest. In this case, I feel much of the extra content is there for padding reasons, and Ubisoft have forgotten to focus on making the extra content fun. I really do hope Ubisoft step back and go back to what made their past hits enjoyable, because both this and Assassins Creed: Black Flag felt like chores and errands stitched together with weak, almost non-existent, plot.    … Expand
  84. EzioA88
    Aug 24, 2014
    10
    Let's just get something out of the way. No, the graphics are not as good as when we first saw the game at E3 2012. Were they ever going to be? I doubt it. Ubisoft likes to show its games off on high-end PCs which are more graphically capable than home consoles. Look at Far Cry 3's original showing! The E3 demo was out before the company was likely to get its hands on a proper PS4 and theLet's just get something out of the way. No, the graphics are not as good as when we first saw the game at E3 2012. Were they ever going to be? I doubt it. Ubisoft likes to show its games off on high-end PCs which are more graphically capable than home consoles. Look at Far Cry 3's original showing! The E3 demo was out before the company was likely to get its hands on a proper PS4 and the small section of the world in that showing is nothing compared to the large environment we get in the final game. All in all, Watch Dogs is still a magnificent looking game, with a beautiful city, realistic effects and well animated character models. It still looks next gen and that's what matters. With that out of the way, let's talk about what matters in the game...

    As you may know, Watch Dogs is an open world action game that uses one thing to differentiate itself from GTA (no it's not the city of Chicago). That one thing is hacking. While many outright condemned the game when it was revealed that one button would be responsible for all the crazy phone shenanigans, it makes for an interface that isn't crowded and an accessibility that will have many picking up the game and playing instantly. You can raise bridges, close and open gates and doors, change traffic lights, raise and lower blockers... and that's just the beginning! As you progress through the game, you'll earn experience points that can help advance your level and in doing so, gift you with skillpoints. You can use these points on any of the four trees which are Hacking (the one you'll want to go for first seeing as how it's what makes the game so unique and because it is what will open the most opportunities to you), Combat, Crafting (which is pretty cool and is definitely useful when you're in tight spots) and Driving. The other sides of the gameplay are also well implemented. Driving has received a mixed reaction and while I will say that it isn't as good as that of GTA V, the arcadey style is reminiscent of Need for Speed and feels great as you smash through the streets, knocking over poles, bins and occasionally civilians at high speeds. With the car on demand app, you can call pretty much any vehicle as soon as you've found it/bought it/unlocked it. This is a great idea and makes getting around easy. While you can't save or customize cars, you can get an endless supply of any chosen machine. The on foot controls are also excellent. Free running and parkour are lightly implemented and they can make the chases easy and exhilarating. The shooting and combat is amazing. The melee isn't really explored with one button and one weapon, but there are over 30 guns and they react differently yet well. I loved the silenced pistol you start off with, but often switched to my grenade launcher, ACR assault rifle and automatic shotgun. Slaughtering bad guys feels great and the weapon wheel responds well in real-time. But it isn't just crazy shooting, because there is a surprising amount of stealth options. Sneaking around with a suppressed gun, scoring headshots and lining up kills is awesome, but it's even better when you can take out a whole base through the use of well placed traps after a bit of camera hopping. Hacking truly is your weapon. The "slow time Focus" mechanic may be claimed from other games, but you won't care seeing as how you'll use it so often. Whether it's lining up a shot or slowing time to hack something at high speeds in a car, Focus is brilliant!

    The gameplay of Watch Dogs is highly smooth and is one of the best experiences I've had all year. But what about the story? Many have said that it's cliched and repetitive. Yes, Aiden Pearce does have a Batman voice and yes he is fairly bland, but at least his cause is justified and the supporting characters more than make up for his attitude. Clara Lille is sly and resourceful, T-Bone is cool and Jordi gives the game charisma. The narrative centres around Aiden going after a bunch of bad dudes who are responsible for killing his 6 year old niece. It starts off as a straightforward revenge tale and takes a while to warm up, but get halfway though Act II (there are 5 act) and you'll find the game hard to put down. I clocked the campaign at 31 hours and was 58.1%.As you can see, it's a long game.

    The best thing about Watch Dogs is its side content. The city isn't massive, but each person has their own story and agenda which makes it feel more lifelike than San Andreas, Steelport or even Skyrim. There are a tonne of side missions, collectibles, investigations and mini games, along with cool digital trips that have their own missions and skill trees. The multiplayer is also great, with traditional games like CTF and Racing standing beside the imaginative Hacking and Tailing invasion modes that make the game feel like Dark Souls. Those two modes are free to play on any console as well which is great.

    I could go on, because Watch Dogs is truly a massive game. Don't believe the haters- It's great!    … Expand
  85. Joker_harley408
    Aug 19, 2014
    0
    This ame was terrible, the graphics are excellent and multiplayer is fantastic when it chooses to work. 9/10 games i've played didnt work, or my game would crash. The main character had the same emotions through out every single scene, even when i blew up cars and had the police/ swat after me the main character had such a mellow tone i feel the story was ruined. The campaign had itsThis ame was terrible, the graphics are excellent and multiplayer is fantastic when it chooses to work. 9/10 games i've played didnt work, or my game would crash. The main character had the same emotions through out every single scene, even when i blew up cars and had the police/ swat after me the main character had such a mellow tone i feel the story was ruined. The campaign had its moments however the game was so terrible i only played 20% of the game before i returned it. If you like finding errors and flaws in games that you spend $60 for and $400 + for a game system them buy this game, other than that i wouldnt buy this game again unless its $10. I was really excited for this game when it came out but i couldnt buy it during the release i had to wait a few months. I was glad i couldn't, if i had to be stuck with this game i would have been ripped $&%@… Expand
  86. thethethe
    Aug 19, 2014
    5
    It's really just okay. The protagonist is so blank and unrelatable, plus the gameplay is very mediocre. Definitely not worth 50 dollars, but probably worth 30 or less.
  87. Makaveli
    Aug 18, 2014
    5
    I'm re-writing my review of this game I did back in May....
    I just realized that I still had this game to be honest. After I beat it I put it on the shelf and just forgot about it, until my friend today asked me if I thought it was a good game..
    It can not be that good if I have already forgot about its existence. To be honest I don't even remember the story very well, I just remember    I'm re-writing my review of this game I did back in May....
    I just realized that I still had this game to be honest. After I beat it I put it on the shelf and just forgot about it, until my friend today asked me if I thought it was a good game..

    It can not be that good if I have already forgot about its existence. To be honest I don't even remember the story very well, I just remember that your daughter is dead and you are out for revenge.. I also remember the "next gen" handling of cars.. Ya right...

    I mean it is OK, but if you are expecting something to keep you busy for awhile, this isn't it..
    The graphics are not bad, but it's hardly next gen like the devs wanted you to believe... The car handling & physics is defiantly 3 gens back... Every car in this game my as well be a tank because you can smash these cars into a wall 40 times and the car will still be running...
    If this is suppose to be next gen where cars are bouncing off of walls and trains can stop on a dime then my physics teacher was a no good liar...
    Don't call your game "next gen" just because it has a 1 button hacking mechanic that IS fun for about an hour, until you get used to it and gets boring..
    I actually liked AC4 better and that is saying a lot considering Ass Creed has been milked to the bone..
    The pvp kind of uses the same mechanic of Dark Souls, but it defiantly isn't as fun.. Hacking peoples phones and you have to catch them before the download is complete... Give me a break, it's stupid..

    I'm not even a big GTA 5 guy.. I have it, it's good but I got sick off that too considering I've been playing GTA since GTA 1, it just all feels the same, but I will say that it is leagues above Watch Dogs.

    This is my opinion of the game, some people may not agree, that is fine, everyone has their own taste and different experiences. My experience with Watch Dogs was not a good one.. To each their own..    … Expand
  88. weisscraft
    Aug 18, 2014
    10
    This game is far not so bad as you can read about it. I play on PS4 and most of haters, as I see, came from PC. They blame it for: a) bugs; b) not E3 graphics; с) not GTA V; d) high price. I leave PC gamers with their pain. As PS4 gamer I can assert that there is no bugs, graphics is nice and price is standard. Concerning the GTA V comparison I can say that the open world of Watch DogsThis game is far not so bad as you can read about it. I play on PS4 and most of haters, as I see, came from PC. They blame it for: a) bugs; b) not E3 graphics; с) not GTA V; d) high price. I leave PC gamers with their pain. As PS4 gamer I can assert that there is no bugs, graphics is nice and price is standard. Concerning the GTA V comparison I can say that the open world of Watch Dogs seems to me more alive since you can know everything about passers-by, listen their phone talks, and so on. I feel myself deeply involved in the life on screen and it is amazing feeling. The story is not obsessive, and you can play it at your own pace. Gameplay is rather various and you can choose more action or more puzzles. No doubt this game worth 8 points from professional critics. But I give it 10 to balance all that unfair hate.… Expand
  89. PyongyangMayor
    Aug 17, 2014
    7
    I like this game. It's not going to be a GOTY but it's pretty good. Though it ain't worth $60. Hell no. There isn't enough hours you can spend on this game for it to be worth $60. $40 yeah. If you see this game new (or used) for $34.99, buy it. If it's $60 or more, don't bother.
  90. McPhil
    Aug 16, 2014
    1
    One of the worst games I've played in a long time. I'm still annoyed that I bought it digitally so that I cannot return it. Controls, bad. Story, bad. Setting, blah. Car handling, bad. I cannot emphasise how little this game is worth playing.
  91. royksteam123
    Aug 12, 2014
    10
    Great game, gets fun when u get your way around the hacking system and got some enjoyable puzzles, not too hard, but not too handhelding either. Online is alot of fun, you can do stuff like going into other players games as civilians trying to hack them for an amount of secons without them detecting and killing you. theres also stuff like racing ect. ai isnt bad, enemies are good atGreat game, gets fun when u get your way around the hacking system and got some enjoyable puzzles, not too hard, but not too handhelding either. Online is alot of fun, you can do stuff like going into other players games as civilians trying to hack them for an amount of secons without them detecting and killing you. theres also stuff like racing ect. ai isnt bad, enemies are good at hiding, sometimes i barely believe the red spots that shows where they are on my gps in game.… Expand
  92. gypsygib
    Aug 11, 2014
    8
    The core mechanics of shooting and infiltration are great, the driving needs work but doesn't detract from the gameplay and the hacking is more functional than exciting. From a gameplay standpoint it's a solid game and very good for an open world game. However, where the game falters is the story. it was so convoluted that by the end I just didn't care anymore and wasn't really sure whyThe core mechanics of shooting and infiltration are great, the driving needs work but doesn't detract from the gameplay and the hacking is more functional than exciting. From a gameplay standpoint it's a solid game and very good for an open world game. However, where the game falters is the story. it was so convoluted that by the end I just didn't care anymore and wasn't really sure why Aiden was doing anything.

    The graphics had plenty of wow moments, especially at night or in the rain and the sound and music were excellent. Downgrade or not, the game looks great often. A major issue is that you're constantly being notified about side missions which gets annoying. Regarding the same, there were too many to do on a single play through without sacrificing the immersion of the already disjointed, convoluted and forgettable story. For the most part the side missions are decent but with the sheer number of them and collectables, I just ignored them halfway through the game to see I the story would get better - it didn't. This game should have had a New Game Plus to allow me to replay the story and continue with my progression. Maybe a second play through with more audio files would have made the story make more sense...

    The online is very intersting. Ubisoft is definitely trying to meld SP and online and what they've done is innovative. The standard MP plays well, the racing is particularly fun.

    Overall it's a game with very good shooting mechanics and a lot of potential but the convoluted story and lack of new game plus keeps it from being great.

    It's hard to rate, at times it felt like a 9/10 at others a 6/10. A new game plus would have increased replayability and its rating as a result. Having just completed the game, however, my feeling is it's a 7.5 overall. I don't regret buying it, but there's no reason to keep it either.    … Expand
  93. jonbhoy67
    Aug 11, 2014
    4
    The idea was sadly let down by the end product. The novelty of the hacking quickly disappears when you realise how bad the game mechanics are. More bugs than the Pixar back catalogue and an incredibly dull storyline with even worse side missions. Avoid.
  94. hodgesb
    Aug 10, 2014
    6
    I had high hopes that Watch Dogs would be a decent game, but unfortunately I found very little entertainment from the title. Overall, the story was not engaging and the main character, Aiden Pearce, was just so bland. I tried forcing myself to continue playing it and hoping it would improve, but after about 10 hours into it I gave up.
  95. MeiLongDong
    Aug 10, 2014
    4
    Was very disappointing. Nothing like what they showed in early trailers. The driving sections (which there is a lot) feels like you're playing on N64 and I'm not joking. I don't care if you find this game for a dollar, save your money. Play GTA instead for a good open world experience.
  96. starhallow
    Aug 9, 2014
    0
    it's a disappointment an okay game that was riding on hype. it wouldn't have been able to sell as much as it had if there wasn't hype because god and everybody knows this game was lacking in almost everything. So don't spend your money i sure wished i didn't
  97. PapaBurgundy206
    Aug 8, 2014
    5
    Watchdogs is an okay game. It wasn't bad nor was it by any means an outstanding game. The game play is fun, but the storyline is just okay. I thoroughly enjoyed the side missions, especially the Gang hideouts. I also heard that there were a lot of glitches in this game but it may have just been primarily the PC version I did not notice any on the PS4. The graphics for the cutscenes lookedWatchdogs is an okay game. It wasn't bad nor was it by any means an outstanding game. The game play is fun, but the storyline is just okay. I thoroughly enjoyed the side missions, especially the Gang hideouts. I also heard that there were a lot of glitches in this game but it may have just been primarily the PC version I did not notice any on the PS4. The graphics for the cutscenes looked great but as far as the environment of the game I was a little disappointed.
    I really wanted to love this game but I couldn't. It was definitely not one of Ubisoft's better games which surprised me because most of their games I really enjoy playing over again. This one I would not play over again.    … Expand
  98. randomname420
    Aug 8, 2014
    9
    If you're looking for a completely original game, this isn't it. It's a complete knock off of GTA. That being said, it's a pretty good knockoff.

    I'll start by saying I didn't expect much from this. I ignore hype as much as possible. If anything, too much hype lowers my expectations. When I did play it, it exceeded my expectations. The graphics are the best I've seen so far on the    If you're looking for a completely original game, this isn't it. It's a complete knock off of GTA. That being said, it's a pretty good knockoff.

    I'll start by saying I didn't expect much from this. I ignore hype as much as possible. If anything, too much hype lowers my expectations. When I did play it, it exceeded my expectations.

    The graphics are the best I've seen so far on the PS4. Most of the games out so far look like last generation games. Watch Dogs looks and feels like a true next-generation game.

    The story line is passable, but a bit goofy at times. You're supposed to be the good guy, yet you're running around hacking people's bank accounts and car jacking them left and right. The probably shouldn't have made the main character out to be too much of a saint.

    The game play is good, but a little too easy at times. I rarely felt challenged by any of the action. The missions are different enough to keep the game interesting.

    I haven't played much of the online content. Only part of it is free without a membership. But what I could play was entertaining at least.

    Overall, I think it's worth playing all the way through. It's a good 40 hours or so of entertainment. After that, I don't think there's much worth replaying. Personally, I bought it used on ebay and will turn around and sell it for what I paid, so I got my money's worth.    … Expand
  99. VenkmanGB35
    Aug 6, 2014
    8
    I have to admit, when I first booted this game up I was not blown away like I expected to be. I played it for about two hours and was kind of bored wiith it. However, I decided to pick it back up and it turned out to be really good! The first two hours while boring, are meant to set up the long-term story arc for the charachters- which it did. Once the story go going it was very enjoyableI have to admit, when I first booted this game up I was not blown away like I expected to be. I played it for about two hours and was kind of bored wiith it. However, I decided to pick it back up and it turned out to be really good! The first two hours while boring, are meant to set up the long-term story arc for the charachters- which it did. Once the story go going it was very enjoyable and I became addicted to seeing what would happen next. The graphics- although not as good as advertised where still really great. The water and light effects were awesome and I had no lag on my PS4. Chicago was fully realized and my favorite location was Pawnee- a small hick town outside of the main city. I only had a few majore issues with the game, the driving and the fact that you can't shoot a gun and drive. If these two things were fixed I would probobly give the game a 9 instead of an 8. Overall this is a great game that was tons of fun to play. I can't wait for a substantial piece of DLC to hit so I can jump back in and play some more.… Expand
  100. Brat
    Aug 5, 2014
    4
    Didn't even bother to finish it... got bored in the middle. I'm a big fan of AC games and finished each one with all the extras but here is a perfect example of overhyped game. Wasted money buying a preorder.
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Awards & Rankings

37
#37 Best PS4 Game of 2014
4
#4 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2014
9
#9 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 80 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 64 out of 80
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 80
  3. Negative: 0 out of 80
  1. Softpedia
    Aug 6, 2014
    85
    Watch Dogs is a fun open world experience. However, the repetitive chases and the formulaic gameplay tend to get tedious and boring after a while. As such, you might want to enjoy the different multiplayer experiences and take frequent breaks to just roam around the city.
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  2. CD-Action
    Jul 25, 2014
    70
    It’s a bold first step on the new terrain for Ubisoft. The game is enjoyable, offers some interesting mechanics and lasts for long enough, but is bland as a whole. The characters lack personalities, the city could use more distinctness and the story is instantly forgettable. [07/2014, p.46]
  3. SpazioGames
    Jul 18, 2014
    85
    Overall, it is almost without a doubt the best platformer that has popped up on the current generation of consoles and is a bedrock on which Ubisoft could build a brand to remember.
    Read full review
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