Although the world of video games is fast paced and unpredictable with its various genres, monotony does creep in every now and then. Watch Dogs a presentation of Ubisoft Montreal is a norm breaker as it departs from tried and tested genres and explores the potentials of electronic espionage and hacking. It’s about time the video gaming industry picked up on this money minting theme which Hollywood has already capitalized upon. Watch Dogs has also garnered distinction for itself by rendering a detailed open world the likes of which has never before been seen. When the first announcement of the game was made in E3 back in June 2014, it created unprecedented hype and anticipation amongst gamers and critics alike. It was immediately hailed as the game that would be personification of the next gen consoles.
Plot
Watch Dogs follows the exploits of protagonist named Aiden Pearce, an extraordinary hacker gifted with the panache of exploiting electronic vulnerabilities. During one of his electronic heist something goes awry resulting in the death of a family member. Spurred by vengeance Aiden turns into a vigilante known as "The Fox". The plot might seem like a run of the mill revenge story but it’s more convoluted with enough twists and turns to keep players riveted.
Gameplay
Watch Dogs takes place in the fictional futuristic city of Chicago which is hyper connected and managed by a software called "ctOS". The rendering of an open world city which can be freely navigated to the heart’s content plus its dazzling graphics, textures and game play complexity alone makes it a master piece. The game is played from a third person perspective where players would control Aiden. Apart from the main quest, there are interesting side quests to keep things from getting too linear.
The most interesting and novel concept of the game however is Aiden's ability to hack into the aforementioned ctOS and manipulate it. This is done by Aiden's trusty cellphone which is equipped with applications such as profiler and crime prevention system. The cellphone can also be used to turn the surroundings in Aiden's favor such as unlocking vehicles, weapons and wreaking havoc by manipulating the traffic lights.
The development teams deserves accolades for coming up with nifty and intuitive controls that really bestow the feeling of realism whenever Aiden carries out one of his hacking attempts. Be it breaking into CCTV feed to get a strategic vantage point or blacking out entire city block to make your escape, all is done with perfection. Aiden as a character can also be made more powerful by upgrading his skill tree. The skill tree can be upgraded by adding points to combat, driving, crafting or hacking capabilities. There's room left for the players to mold Aiden the way they want. There's something for everyone! Those who prefer to go in with guns blazing and those that prefer a more stealthy strategic approach that involves networking hacking.
Verdict
Watch Dogs is an awesome and impressive presentation but in terms of character development especially of its protagonist, one can’t help and feel there’s not enough substance there. There’s no dearth of action sequences which are very well crafted but things get a little repetitive. The difficulty level spikes whenever the alarm goes off and Aiden finds himself being pursued by cops who are impossible to shake. Overall it’s an amazing game with lots to offer but falls just fraction of an inch short of the hype it generated prior to its release.