How do you describe this game to a non-gamer? How can you
emphasise the excitement this game brings to me, a self-confessed Nintendo
fanboy? Watch_Dogs is
coming soon to all consoles and you'd better watch out. Or not, because Ubisoft
delayed this game to "ensure its quality" though the rest of the
industry is pretty certain Ubisoft didn't want to compete against its own game, Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag.
That aside, I actually want to sift through the post-hype and maybe start to
generate some of my own and take a good hard look at the information we have on Watch_Dogs. The game is centred
on hacker extraordinaire and anti-hero Aiden Pierce in the not too distant
future of Chicago. Aiden must overcome the Central Operating System, the Windy
City's very own Big Brother. Using guns, parkour and what appears to be the latest
in smartphone technology, the player assists Aiden to become the vigilante that
the city deserves, but perhaps not the one it needs right now... Wait I'm get
my dark and gritty mixed-up again. To be fair the game boasts a cool faux
sci-fi feeling that will hopefully liven up the story a bit. Also to throw in
some more bias I'm going to explain why I will be getting the Wii U version.
Take Grand
Theft Auto, add some Hitman and then a healthy dollop of Ubisoft
which includes the flavours of Assassins
Creed and Prince of Persia and we're halfway into the cocktail
that Watch_Dogs is
turning into. We could say, rather aptly, that the gameplay is something that
the video game community hasn't seen fully developed and explored before and I
think that's something worth getting excited for. In a wasteland of console
games littered with sequels and remakes here comes a brand new IP, that is in
fairness going to be sequelised to death like another Ubisoft franchise I could
mention (*cough* Ass-2-Ass Creed *burp*). But cynicism aside, at least this is
the first game and we can just pretend that companies don't keep selling us the
same crap year in and year out. No! I said enough cynicism, take your
medication Sean. From what has been seen from the trailers and demos, Watch_Dogs boasts being
able to give control of an entire cities worth of electronics to the player.
This ranges from augmented reality that gives every NPC a backstory (or at
least an age, occupation and income), to hacking into traffic lights to cause pile-ups
that can be used as makeshift blockades. Because what are American drivers, if
not arrogant enough to drive straight into oncoming traffic because they had
right of way. While not exactly realistic (or is it?) it is a new gameplay
mechanic that I can't wait to have ready at my fingertips.
Yes, that's right this isn't a blog about
the new demo Ubisoft let me play, just boring old trailer analysis. So while I
have unfortunately not had the opportunity to play and get into the mindset of
"Extreme Googling" (TM, trademark pending), from what we know about
the game already we can start speculating. So everyone had a phone in Grand Theft Auto V so
maybe it'll work similar to that? Maybe they may use "weapon wheel"
we've seen in so many games with hacks instead of firearms. From what I can
gather from the available footage, the heads-up display seems reminiscent of
the Ass-2-Ass Creed weapon select and seeing as Ubisoft copy and pasted the
watchtowers from those games into Far
Cry 3 and nobody cared I think it’s safe to assume Ubisoft is willing
to copy itself without fear of being sued.
This may all seem rather trivial, but I am
trying to make a point here.
For those of you who don't know what a Wii
U is, it was the first current-gen console released AND I DON"T CARE WHAT
ANYBODY ELSE SAYS. I've been playing Batman:
Arkham City on it and I've got to tell you, the Wii U Gamepad stuff is
implanted pretty well, almost perfectly. You can equip items, purchase upgrades
and access your map all through the touchpad. The game doesn't pause when you
use the Gamepad though and Batman uses his own wrist-mounted touchscreen as you
play around. It's a nice simple way of adding a layer of immersion into a game,
basically doing away with a pause screen (though of course there is a pause
button. Nintendo can be stupid sometimes, but they're not that stupid...
right?) I bring this up because, to me, it looks like the Wii U has the edge
over its competitors (including PC, which has been stated as being the
strongest focus) in being the definitive way to play this game. Senior Producer
Dominic Guay even stated that the Wii U Gamepad is a "natural" fit
for the games central theme of hacking. Some may bemoan the use of a second
screen for gaming, as the gamer will have to take his or her eyes off the
action to use it. However (despite the DS using dual screens since 2004) when
done correctly such as in my Batman example and to add another, in Naughty
Dog's The Last of Us, unpausing gameplay can lead to
some very dynamic situations.
Of course though, I can be devil’s
advocate as well. We all know that even though the Wii sold billions more
copies (quote not accurate) than everyone else, the Wiimote never gave us the
feeling that we were using Link's sword or a Jedi's lightsaber. All I mean to
say is that I want to see the coming together of Watch_Dogs and the Wii U
live up to its full potential. Also noting that the console had HD capabilities
(how could you cave in Nintendo), it paints an optimistic picture.
And as for the story, well, to say the
least Watch_Dogs is
the *ahem* underdog here because it has to come out in a world where triple A
gaming has released two beautiful gems of games, Bioshock Infinite and The Last of Us. The benchmark
for storytelling in games has been raised quite higher than it was before and Watch_Dogs will just be
another game that will have to run the gauntlet. Also the game is set in future
Chicago which was also in The
Last of Us but I doubt we'll be seeing mushroom zombies. A more
important note to make would be that, as is a very well-known fact by now,
Batman's Gotham City (specifically Nolan's version) is a pseudo-Chicago. Just
pray that the story doesn't make the mistake of being dark and gritty (which it
clearly is) for the sake of being dark and gritty. 'Nuff said.
Of course, who am I but a gamer with a
personality disorder? I'd like to hear if anyone else is still excited for Watch_Dogs and what system
they'll be playing on.
NOTE: This is an article I wrote a few months
back, so I did need to update some of the information I had then. I should also
say I didn't even have a Wii U when I originally wrote this article and as well
as before I pre-ordered Watch_Dogs
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