So after my titanfall review, I've decided to do reviews on every game I get that is on the 8th console generation(PS4 and Xbox one) on the last console generation. So up today is watch dogs.
We all remember E3 2012. Everyone in the gaming industry was excited and intrigued when watch dogs made its first appearance. An open world GTA style game where the city is your weapon. it was new and original, and people myself included, were ready to get their hands on it.
Then our excitement was halted as a six month delay on release took place. I had a mixed reaction to the delay. On the one hand, it makes me happy that gaming companies are willing to have delays in order to make a good game. On the other, it began to draw questions on how good either version(Next or current gen) Could be. It's bound to happen when console generations shift. Gaming companies have to decide how they spend their time. The obvious choice should be next gen, but you don't want to abandon many of your customers. The economy is tough, and many people don't want to put out four hundred dollars just for gaming. So in the early years of a new console release, many games are released on all systems. Now the next trouble for the developers. Games can suffer drastically if this cross generation development is done wrong. Some games previous generation may as well not be made, and the current gen can experience problems as well.
I only bring this up because when it comes to watch dogs, some of these issues show. Make no mistake, Titanfall wasn't the same on the 360 as it was on the Xbox one, but it still looked great. Watch dogs doesn't look bad, but some of the graphics, rain and faces in gameplay to name a couple, almost feel as though they didn't put as much effort as they could into it. Comparing the rain in this to Grand Theft Auto 5(Great game, by the way), GTA wins. I know that some of you are going to say that isn't a big deal, and you're right. That doesn't mean it isn't an issue.
Okay, now to the good part of the review. So yes, the graphics aren't as good and it shows, but the most important pieces are still intact. the shooting is great and on par with other third person shooters. The driving is a little different, but with practice becomes a breeze. There aren't as many hacking options as I thought there would be, but the ones in place make for a fun time wreaking havoc on Chicago. The protagonist isn't too special and the story plays around a pretty standard out for revenge mission, but it's compelling and even manages to bring out some emotion. I won't spoil to much, but I will say that you do feel for out main character by the end.
So in the end, Watch Dogs is a product of its time. The graphics don't shine and have some problems but for the most part it's good. And when it comes down to it, should graphics really matter that much? I mean, of course you want a game to look nice but the most important part of a game is the gameplay. And that is where Watch Dogs shines. We got what we were promised. AN open world GTA style game where the city is your weapon, and what a weapon it makes.
I apologize if this seems more like a rant on console generations then a review, but you should check out Watch Dogs if you haven't already. It plays great, looks fine, and is definitely an original idea. More current gen on last gen reviews to come, and other reviews, so if you liked this, know I have more planned.